This list omits the hundreds of illustrated books by Turkish artists that still exist as complete works, with Ottoman-language titles and text accompanying the pictures. It’s pretty hard to miss that Surname-i Hümayun or Siyar-i Nabî are authentic Ottoman works, for example.
Authentic Works
Melchior Lorichs, 1555-1559
Melchior Lorichs (1526/27 – after 1583) was a Danish-German artist who traveled to Istanbul in 1555 as part of the German ambassador’s retinue. He made extensive sketches of the city and people while he was there. After he left, he continued to draw Ottoman subjects, the best-known work being his panoramic view of Istanbul.
The originals of many of his works are extant, and priceless. Of the pieces that survive as woodcuts, the quality is wildly variable. The architectural drawings appear to me to be accurate. The engravings and woodcuts of people are stylized according to European aesthetics, but some are of good quality; some have notable mistakes, and some are garbage. Notable among the garbage are several images of women, sometimes unlabeled, sometimes with labels like “Raheme Soltane” or “Verhenas Sultane,” that appear to be variations upon the same picture. Take his engravings with a spoonful of salt, and seek out originals when you can.
(What makes the unevenness of his work especially maddening is the fact that he’s one of the very few artists of any nation who depict poor people.)
Türkisches Kostümbuch, 1574
The Türkisches Kostümbuch, also known as the Bremen Album, was painted in 1574 by the Flemish artist Lambert de Vos. De Vos was an artist in the retinue of David Ungnad, whose embassy in Istanbul produced at least four volumes of images. One volume is now missing, but survives in two copies (see below); of the surviving volumes, two are by de Vos.[link]
The Freshfield Album, 1574
This album of architectural drawings was produced by a European artist who was part of the retinue of the ambassador David Ungnad. It may have been drawn by the artist Lambert de Vos, who was part of the same embassy and creating similar albums at the same time.
I Turchi/Codex Vindobonensis 8626, 1586-1591
The album named I Turchi, more commonly known by its library code Codex Vindobonensis 8626, was created in 1586-1591 by an unknown artist attached to the retinue of Ambassador Bartolomeo von Pezzen.
Bartholomaus Schachmann, 1588-1589 – Genre Scenes
When Bartholomaus Schachmann returned from his 1588-1589 travels through the Ottoman Empire, he created an album of 105 watercolor and pencil drawings. Some of the pictures were his own work, done during his travels; other pictures were done by another artist, either in his own retinue or attached to the embassy; and a third artist created a series of stock portraits, possibly in Danzig, and probably from other people’s work.
The result is one album with two classifications. The scenes with multiple people were probably drawn from life, and should be considered authentic. The single-person images should be considered copies, although some of them are of topics rare enough that the original may not have survived, and they might be classified as authentic with reservations.
Authentic with Reservations
The lost Türchenbuch of David Ungnad, c. 1573-1578
During David Ungnad’s 1573-1578 tenure as Habsburg ambassador to Istanbul, he had a set of paintings made. The originals are now lost, but two artists made copies that survive.
Zacharias Wehme, 1582
The German artist Zacharias Wehme made copies of the Türchenbuch in 1582.[link] [link]
Codex Vindobonensis 8615, c. 1585
The illustrations in Codex Vindobonensis 8615, c. 1585, by Johannes Löwenklau/Lewenklaw/Leunclavius, are copies of the Türchenbuch. It’s unknown who made the copies–possibly Löwenklau himself.[link]
Copies
Nicolas de Nicolay, 1551
Nicolas de Nicolay (1517-1583) was a French soldier, geographer, and diplomat who traveled to Istanbul in 1551 to join the entourage of the French ambassador to the court of Suleiman the Magnificent. While he was in Istanbul he made a number of sketches, which were later turned into engravings for his 1567 book Les Quatre Premiers Livres des navigations et perigrinations orientales.
Although his book was wildly popular and influential throughout Europe, the quality of the engravings is… crap. They’re crap. The engraver’s misunderstanding of the originals range from mildly awful to egregious. Unfortunately, because Nicolay’s work was so influential and there’s so goddamned much of it, it appears all over the place as a good reference. It’s not. If we had his originals it would be a different story, but as it is, the engravings are useless unless you already know so much about Ottoman costume that you can spot the errors, at which point you don’t need the engravings.
Jacopo Ligozzi, 1577
Circa 1577, the Italian artist Jacopo Ligozzi painted at least 29 images of Ottomans. The paintings are lush, detailed, incredibly high quality–and copies.[link] This is a rare and seductive example of the copy being more detailed than the original.
The Dryden Album, c. 1580-1590
The unsophisticated watercolors of the Dryden Album may be originals, or may be copies of another manuscript. Because of this ambiguity, for now I have listed the album as a copy.[link]
Bartholomaus Schachmann, 1588-1589 – Single-Person Images
See Schachmann’s entry under Authentic for more information.
Recueil de costumes turcs, c. 1550-1620
This book appears to be hand-drawn and -colored. The library listing describes it as “after Nicolas de Nicolay,” although I wouldn’t describe it as a close copy.
Need Classification
MS Bodl. Or. 430, a 1588 German traveler’s notebook containing 57 watercolors. Almost impossible to find reproductions. Have a couple of Pinterest pages: [link] [link]
Türkisches Manierenbuch, c. 1595. [link]