(Florence 1530 – circa 1605)
Portrait of Suleiman the Magnificent (1494–1566), bust-length,
oil on panel, 40 x 32.5 cm, framed

Provenance:
Private European collection

The present painting relates to the portrait of Suleiman the Magnificent, painted by Cristofano dell’Altissimo for the celebrated ‘Series of Illustrious men’ commissioned by Cosimo I de’ Medici, now in the Uffizi, Florence (inv. no. 3051).

Suleiman the Magnificent, the tenth Ottoman sultan, is depicted in profile, dressed in a white turban and ermine coat. The epithet ‘Magnificent’ was given him by Western sources for his intense diplomatic and military activities, which led the Ottoman Empire to its greatest expansion in Europe, Asia and Africa. Suleiman is remembered by Turkish writers as the ‘Lawgiver’ for his reform of the Ottoman legal system.

The ‘Series of Illustrious men’ in the Uffizi is inspired by and partially copied from the famous collection of portraits set up by the physician and philosopher Paolo Giovio in his villa in Borgovico on Lake Como. In June 1552, in fact, Cosimo I sent Cristofano dell’Altissimo to Como with the task of painting a similar series of portraits. The artist stayed there for more than ten years, sending numerous of works to the Medici court; in 1562 he finally returned to Florence, continuing his work with the help of assistants.

The portraits, all painted on panel and characterised by the same dimensions, vivid colours and explanatory inscriptions in Roman characters, were hung in the Sala del Mappamondo in Palazzo Vecchio, as also recalled by Vasari. The series was popular in the sixteenth century and Cristofano himself, assisted by other artists such as Iacopo and Francesco Zucchi, Girolamo Massei and Alessandro Allori, partially reproposed it several times to decorate other Medici residences, such as Cardinal Ferdinando’s Roman palace.

This series of portraits includes numerous images of Middle Eastern rulers, including Suleiman the Magnificent, Muhammad II, Djem and Alchitrof. This nucleus of portraits reflects the collection of Paolo Giovio, who was interested in the Islamic world and published his commentary on the Things of the Turks in 1532, dedicated to the Emperor Charles V.