AHMET III AND HIS RETINUE

BORN IN VALENCIENNES IN 1671, JEAN-BAPTISTE VANMOUR LEFT FOR CONSTANTINOPLE IN 1699 WITH THE FRENCH AMBASSADOR CHARLES DE FERRIOL. HE REMAINED THERE FOR 38 YEARS UNTIL HIS DEATH IN IN 1737, PAINTING SCENES OF OTTOMAN LIFE, LOCAL COSTUMES (SEE LOT 4), VIEWS OF CONSTANTINOPLE AND DEPICTIONS OF DIPLOMATIC EVENTS. HIS RECUEIL DE CENT ESTAMPES REPRéSENTANT DIFFéRENTES NATIONS DU LEVANT, COMMISIONED BY FERRIOL AND PUBLISHED IN 1714, WAS ENORMOUSLY SUCCESSFUL AND WAS PUBLISHED IN AT LEAST FIVE LANGUAGES. IN 1625 HE WAS GRANTED THE EXTRAORDINARY TITLE OF PEINTRE ORDINAIRE DU ROY EN LEVANT IN RECOGNITION OF BOTH HIS AND THE LEVANT'S IMPORTANCE TO THE FRENCH GOVERNMENT.

VANMOUR WAS AN IMPORTANT PRECURSOR OF ORIENTALISM AND TURQUERIE IN THE WEST, HIS INFLUENCE EXTENDING BOTH INTO PAINTING (SEE LOT 30) AND THE DECORATIVE ARTS. THE FRIEZE-LIKE COMPOSITION AND ARRANGEMENT OF FIGURES IN THE PRESENT PICTURE ARE REMINISCENT OF ANDREA MANTEGNA AND ARE TYPICAL OF VANMOUR'S DEPICTIONS OF DIPLOMATIC EVENTS. IT APPEARS TO DERIVE FROM OR BE THE INSPIRATION FOR THE PRINCIPAL GROUPING IN A LARGER WORK, LE SULTAN ET SA SUITE (SEE A. BOPPE, LES PEINTURES DU BOSPHORE AU XVIIIE SIèCLE, PARIS, 1989, PP. 14-15).