Pieter Coecke van Aelst Panorama

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Procession of Sultan Süleyman through the Atmeidan

Pieter Coecke van Aelst’s 1553 woodcut panorama frieze reflects the Friday processional scene of Sultan Süleyman the Magnificent (reigned 1520-1566). In this woodcut image, the Netherlandish artist portrays Turkish customs and fashions for an international audience. Notable historic landmarks, including Byzantine monuments from the city of Constantinople are prominently displayed behind the procession, such as the minarets of the Fatih Sultan Mosque (left), the Hippodrome, and, to the left of the Egyptian obelisk, is the Church of the Pantokrator In the foreground of the image near the Hippodrome are standing figures, which Necipoglu identifies, as Apollo and Venus brought from Buda after the conquest.Van Aelst produced this woodcut image based on his observations during his time in Constantinople in 1533, when he was sent by Dermoyen to document his visit with a hope to inspire the Sultan to request a tapestry commission in the tradition of European monarchs.

 

Sources:

Gulru Necipoglu, “The Aesthetics of Empire: Arts, Politics and Commerce in the Construction of Sultan Süleyman’s Magnificence” in The Battle for Central Europe: The Siege of Szigetvár and the Death of Süleyman the Magnificent and Nicholas Zrínyi (1566. 

https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/375772

Portraying the City
Pieter Coecke van Aelst Panorama