AFTER TITIAN, ITALY, 17TH/18TH CENTURY

Meaning ‘Light of the Moon’, Mihrimah Sultan (1522-78) was the daughter of Sultan Süleyman (r.1522-66) and Sultana Rossa, his favourite wife. As such, Mihrimah enjoyed considerable power and was active in politics, chief of the Imperial Harem under Selim II (r.1566-74) and engaged in diplomacy with foreign courts. She engaged in a number of architectural commissions and two mosques in Istanbul bear her name: one at Edirne Gate and the other in Uskudar quarter, which was edified by the great architect Mimar Sinan. Her great importance is evidenced by her being the only child of her father to be buried within his tomb in the Süleymaniye Complex in Istanbul.
This painting is one of a number which were painted after a portrait of Mihrimah Sultan by Tiziano Vecellio, or Titian (1488/90-1576). The portrait, which is now lost, depicted the Princess as Saint Catherine and belonged to Bishop Paolo Giovio (1483-1552), who assembled a well-known collection of portraits housed in his villa – aptly named Museo – on Lake Como. Other versions of the painting are found at the Pera Museum, Istanbul (inv.no.102); the Courtauld Gallery, London (inv.no.331); and Lacock Abbey, Wiltshire (inv.no.996348). A similar painting was sold at Sotheby’s, London, 31 March 2021, lot 57 whilst another, more full body portrait, was also sold by Sotheby’s, London, 10 June 2020, lot 216.