Sultan Mohammed II. (1451 - 1481)

Sultan Mohammed II (c. 1558), in the Bavarian State Painting Collections, depicts the Ottoman conqueror of Constantinople (reigned 1451-1481) as part of a series of Turkish sultans. Such portrait series of Ottoman rulers were popular in sixteenth-century Europe, reflecting both fascination with and fear of the Ottoman Empire, which posed the greatest military threat to European Christendom. Veronese likely based his portrait on earlier pictorial sources rather than life, creating an imaginative reconstruction that combines European portrait conventions with exotic costume details. Venice's unique position as both trading partner and military adversary of the Ottomans made such images particularly resonant in the Republic.

The portrait presents the sultan in elaborate Eastern costume with careful attention to textile details. Veronese's approach to the exotic subject balances documentary interest with his characteristic chromatic sophistication.