Image of the modern Ottoman sultan: visibility, identity, and modernity in the nineteenth century

Abstract

"Over the course of the dynamic nineteenth century, the image of the Ottoman sultan maintained a complex relationship with ideas surrounding the modernisation of the Empire. This book investigates that relationship by situating the tasvir-i humayun (imperial portrait) within the wider program of top-down modernisation movements initiated at the end of the eighteenth century under Sultan Selim III (r. 1789-1807) and culminating in the Tanzimat (Reorganization) era (1839-76). The study breaks new ground by considering the use of new image-making technologies and aesthetic trends - including oil-on-canvas paintings, lithographic prints, and photographs - primarily at the imperial court in Istanbul, but also at the provincial courts of the Ottoman Balkans"-- Provided by publisher. Provided by publisher.

Contents

Dynamism, diplomacy, and distribution -- "Dazzingly brilliant" : precious miniatures -- "Beautiful," "wonderful" wall-hanging works -- The Nişān in Ottoman-Balkan princely portraits -- The sultan's "true likeness" in the press -- Legacies of aesthetic shifts and new approaches.