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B ellini, bronze and bombards: S ultan M ehmed II 's requests reconsidered
Author(s) -
Cevizli Antonia Gatward
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
renaissance studies
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.117
H-Index - 16
eISSN - 1477-4658
pISSN - 0269-1213
DOI - 10.1111/rest.12059
Subject(s) - bronze , portrait , enthusiasm , sign (mathematics) , painting , art , art history , history , ancient history , theology , philosophy , mathematical analysis , mathematics
Gentile B ellini's portrait of the O ttoman sultan M ehmed II , painted in 1480 during the artist's stay in the O ttoman capital, has become emblematic of cultural exchange between V enice and the O ttomans. However, documentary evidence suggests that the sultan was more interested in obtaining bronze founders than painters. A re‐consideration of the documents of the V enetian Senate from 1479–1480 will alter the perspective from which this episode is usually viewed, giving B ellini a less central role and indicating that the contemporary mission of the bronze founder B artolomeo B ellano was of no less importance. M ehmed's requests for bronze founders – made simultaneously to V enice and F lorence – have been interpreted as a sign of M ehmed's enthusiasm for portrait medals. This explanation will be questioned and it will be argued that the sultan's interest in bronze founders extended beyond their artistic production to their knowledge of cannon technology, shedding light on V enice's refusal to send a second founder.