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Renaissance painting of Ottoman sultan divides Turkish government, opposition

Mehmed the Conqueror is a popular figure among Turks, but the same cannot be said of his 15th century painting.
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The acquisition of a Renaissance painting of Mehmed the Conqueror by the municipality of Istanbul, the very city he conquered in 1453, has brought a wave of applause for Ekrem Imamoglu, the city’s media-savvy mayor from the opposition Republican Peoples’ Party. But it has brought an even bigger wave of controversy on whether it was the municipality or the Ministry of Culture and Tourism that should have bought this painting, and whether the painting was overpriced or even authentic.

Imamoglu himself broke the news of the purchase with a June 25 tweet: “A 15th-century portrait of Sultan Mehmed II the Conqueror was bought by the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality at a live auction in London today. We are thrilled and cannot wait to welcome this celebrated work of art in Istanbul soon.”

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