(Valenciennes 1671–1737 Beyoglu)
Lady of a harem in Turkish costume,
oil on canvas, 41 x 30 cm, framed

Vanmour is known for his detailed renderings of Ottoman life under Sultan Ahmed III. The artist had been a protégée of the Marquis de Ferriol, a French diplomat, at an early date. When the marquis was sent to Istanbul as the French ambassador in 1699, Vanmour was a member of his entourage and executed hundreds of portraits there for his patron. When Ferriol returned to Paris in 1711, Vanmour stayed behind in Istanbul and continued working for other diplomats. Ferriol later published a book with numerous etchings based on Vanmour’s paintings. They illustrate the costumes of the different estates and show women performing their daily routines. The book soon became a big success and triggered a wave of enthusiasm for such exotic and oriental subject matter. The present painting is not related to any of the prints in the book. Vanmour was assisted by collaborators so that he could meet the rising demand for his pictures. One of Vanmour’s most important later patrons was the Dutch ambassador Cornelis Calkoen, who had been sent to Istanbul in 1727. He compiled a collection of more than 70 works by Vanmour and his workshop, most of which are now preserved at the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam.

We are grateful to Eveline Sint Nicolaas and Duncan Bull for their help in cataloguing the present painting on the basis of a photograph. They point out that the painting’s dimensions correspond to those of a standard format used by Vanmour and his workshop. Vanmour’s pictures from the Calkoen Collection either measure 33 by 26 cm in the case of fully autograph works or approximately 39 by 31 cm in the case of paintings in which the artist’s workshop participated, which applies to the present composition.

Additional picture
Jean Baptiste Vanmour, A Turkish Woman, Amsterdam, Rijksmuseum