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Lot Essay
Germain-Fabius Brest was born in Marseille in 1823. First he attended the École des Beux-Arts in Marseille under the tutelage of Émile-Charles-Joseph Loubon and further continued his education in Paris in the studio of Constant Troyon. His Paris Salon debut was in 1851 and for the first four years he submitted mostly landscape paintings of Piemont and Provence. In 1855 he traveled to Constantinople at the suggestion of his professor, where he stayed until 1859. The influence of his sojourn to this Ottoman capital dominated the remainder of his career thus elevating Brest into the ranks of the great Orientalists consumed entirely by the splendour of Constantinople.
Le Beiram; cérémonie de baise-main à Constantinople, sous le Sultan Mahmoud II is without a doubt one of Brest's most impressive and ambitious compositions. Structurally, the tradition of similar reception scenes has its roots in the work of 15th Century Renaissance artists like Gentile Bellini - a good comparison is his Procession in Piazza S. Marco - as well as the works of 18th Century artist like Jean-Baptiste Vanmour - famous for depicting processions and receptions at the court of Ahmet III.
Compositionally, Le Beiram; cérémonie de baise-main à Constantinople, sous le Sultan Mahmoud II is closely based on a famous reception scene by Kapidagli Konstantin titled Reception at the court of Sultan Selim III at the Topkapi Palace, Istanbul (fig. 1). Similarities between Kapidagli's famous work and the present painting are limited to the placement of the ceremony and the sultan before the Gate of Felicity at Topkapi Palace. Kapidagli's now famous painting functions as a record of contemporary history. Selim III was the reigning sultan at the time when Kapidagli executed his piece, and therefore the painting functioned as a tribute to a sovereign monarch. In contrast, Brest's work is a theatrical reenactment of olden times. It was during the reign of Sultan Abdülaziz (1861-1876) that Brest executed the present work of Mahmoud II (1808-1839), the father of the reigning monarch.
While painting the present piece in Paris for exhibition at the Salon, Brest most likely did not have any access to images of Sultan Mahmoud II, as there is minimal resemblance between the sultan depicted and known images of Mahmoud II. Yet, Brest would have had access to engravings of the Gate of Felicity in Topkapi Palace by artists such as Louis François Cassas (fig. 2), which is probably the reason for the dominance of the architecture in the present composition.
The Gate of Felicity in Topkapi Palace (fig. 3) connects the second courtyard to the third courtyard, which are the private inner areas of the palace. Ceremonies such as those held on a new sultan's accession were held in front of this gate and only the sultan was permitted to pass through the gate on horseback. Even on foot only a favored handful of statesmen and trusted intimates could enter through these gates. Such strict restrictions concerning the use of this gate elevated it to a symbol of imperial power, and numerous artists have been fascinated by it. It is also not uncommon to see depictions of the gate where its proportions have been manipulated to create a greater sense of height hence reflecting the immense power it symbolized (fig. 2).
Topkapi Palace was occupied by reigning Ottoman Sultans until 1856, at which time the seat of the empire was moved to Dolmabahçe Palace, a newly-constructed Baroque residence. Brest's interest in painting an earlier monarch in the setting of an older palace reflects a romantic sensibility common among the 19th Century Orientalist painters. It was a conscious and perhaps even a commercial choice on behalf of Brest to represent the oriental in exaggeratedly foreign terms for the sake of heightened mystery. By 1865, the execution date of the present painting, Ottoman officials were wearing the red fez and were dressed in highly decorated uniforms modeled after similar examples in the Habsburg court. By looking back to an earlier time in the history of Constantinople, Brest was able to imbue his work with all the mystery and exoticism that so fascinated his European audience.
(fig. 1) Kapidagli Konstantin, Reception at the Court of Sultan Selim III at the Topkapi Palace, Istanbul, Late 18th Century, Topkapi Palace Museum.
(fig. 2) Louis François Cassas, La "Porte de la Félicité" dans la deuxième cour du palais de Topkapi, Early 19th Century, Private Collection.
(fig. 3) Contemporary photograph of the Gate of Felicity at the Topkapi Palace, photo courtesy of Ahmet Ertug.
Le Beiram; cérémonie de baise-main à Constantinople, sous le Sultan Mahmoud II is without a doubt one of Brest's most impressive and ambitious compositions. Structurally, the tradition of similar reception scenes has its roots in the work of 15th Century Renaissance artists like Gentile Bellini - a good comparison is his Procession in Piazza S. Marco - as well as the works of 18th Century artist like Jean-Baptiste Vanmour - famous for depicting processions and receptions at the court of Ahmet III.
Compositionally, Le Beiram; cérémonie de baise-main à Constantinople, sous le Sultan Mahmoud II is closely based on a famous reception scene by Kapidagli Konstantin titled Reception at the court of Sultan Selim III at the Topkapi Palace, Istanbul (fig. 1). Similarities between Kapidagli's famous work and the present painting are limited to the placement of the ceremony and the sultan before the Gate of Felicity at Topkapi Palace. Kapidagli's now famous painting functions as a record of contemporary history. Selim III was the reigning sultan at the time when Kapidagli executed his piece, and therefore the painting functioned as a tribute to a sovereign monarch. In contrast, Brest's work is a theatrical reenactment of olden times. It was during the reign of Sultan Abdülaziz (1861-1876) that Brest executed the present work of Mahmoud II (1808-1839), the father of the reigning monarch.
While painting the present piece in Paris for exhibition at the Salon, Brest most likely did not have any access to images of Sultan Mahmoud II, as there is minimal resemblance between the sultan depicted and known images of Mahmoud II. Yet, Brest would have had access to engravings of the Gate of Felicity in Topkapi Palace by artists such as Louis François Cassas (fig. 2), which is probably the reason for the dominance of the architecture in the present composition.
The Gate of Felicity in Topkapi Palace (fig. 3) connects the second courtyard to the third courtyard, which are the private inner areas of the palace. Ceremonies such as those held on a new sultan's accession were held in front of this gate and only the sultan was permitted to pass through the gate on horseback. Even on foot only a favored handful of statesmen and trusted intimates could enter through these gates. Such strict restrictions concerning the use of this gate elevated it to a symbol of imperial power, and numerous artists have been fascinated by it. It is also not uncommon to see depictions of the gate where its proportions have been manipulated to create a greater sense of height hence reflecting the immense power it symbolized (fig. 2).
Topkapi Palace was occupied by reigning Ottoman Sultans until 1856, at which time the seat of the empire was moved to Dolmabahçe Palace, a newly-constructed Baroque residence. Brest's interest in painting an earlier monarch in the setting of an older palace reflects a romantic sensibility common among the 19th Century Orientalist painters. It was a conscious and perhaps even a commercial choice on behalf of Brest to represent the oriental in exaggeratedly foreign terms for the sake of heightened mystery. By 1865, the execution date of the present painting, Ottoman officials were wearing the red fez and were dressed in highly decorated uniforms modeled after similar examples in the Habsburg court. By looking back to an earlier time in the history of Constantinople, Brest was able to imbue his work with all the mystery and exoticism that so fascinated his European audience.
(fig. 1) Kapidagli Konstantin, Reception at the Court of Sultan Selim III at the Topkapi Palace, Istanbul, Late 18th Century, Topkapi Palace Museum.
(fig. 2) Louis François Cassas, La "Porte de la Félicité" dans la deuxième cour du palais de Topkapi, Early 19th Century, Private Collection.
(fig. 3) Contemporary photograph of the Gate of Felicity at the Topkapi Palace, photo courtesy of Ahmet Ertug.