Cameria, or Mihrimah Sultan (1522-1578), daughter of Suleiman the Magnificent
after Titian (Pieve di Cadore 1488/90 - Venice 1576)
Category
Art / Oil paintings
Date
1600 - 1699
Materials
Oil on canvas
Measurements
1175 x 870 mm (46 1/4 x 34 1/4 in)
Place of origin
England
Order this imageCollection
Lacock, Wiltshire
NT 996348
Caption
This picture is a copy after a lost original, a version of which is in the Courtauld Institute, London (attributed to Titian). The Lacock picture was inscribed, at a later date indistinctly, in gold: A Grecian Lady / Favourite of / Gilbert Talbot. It must surely refer to Gilbert Talbot (c.1606 – 95), who retained ambassadorial roles in Venice. There is a portrait of him at Lacock (Italian School), which is painted to look like the portraits of Giorgione and Titian. The picture is possibly an English copy, and the inscription a romantic recollection, not based on fact, but which serves to link the picture to Lacock. A portrait of Cameria by Cristofano dell’Altissimo, was painted for the gallery of famous people in the Uffizi. Titian’s portrait of Cameria and her mother, the Sultana Rossa, was recorded by Vasari and Ridolfi.
Summary
Oil painting on canvas, Cameria, or Mihrimah Sultan (1522-1578), daughter of Suleiman the Magnificent, after Titian (Pieve di Cadore 1488/90 - Venice 1576), 17th century, inscribed: A Grecian Lady, Favourite of Gilbert Talbot. Sir Gilbert Talbot was a son of Sharington Talbot of Salwarp. The painting would seem to be a variation of an original (now lost) of circa 1552 by Titian, depicting Cameria, daughter of Suleiman II the Magnificent, as Saint Catherine.
Full description
Cameria’s mother, the Sultana Rossa, was the favourite wife of Suleiman I.This picture is a copy after a lost original, a version of which is in the Courtauld Galleries (attributed to Titian). The Lacock picture was inscribed, at a later date indistinctly, in gold: A Grecian Lady / Favourite of / Gilbert Talbot. It must surely refer to Gilbert Talbot (c.1606 – 95), who retained ambassadorial roles in Venice. There is a portrait of him at Lacock (Italian School), which is painted to look like the portraits of Giorgione and Titian. The picture is possibly an English copy, and the inscription a romantic recollection, not based on fact, but which serves to link the picture to Lacock. A portrait of Cameria by Cristofano dell’Altissimo, was painted for the gallery of famous people in the Uffizi. Titian’s portrait of Cameria and her mother, the Sultana Rossa, was recorded by Vasari and Ridolfi. Related pictures: i) a head and shoulder portrait of the lady, inscribed with her name, is in the Uffizi; labelled Cameria Sol: II Filia by Cristofaro dell’Altissimo for Cosimo I from Paolo Giovo’s gallery of famous people. ii) version by Titian, described by Vasari (Milanesi ed., VII, p.456) & Ridolfi (Von Hadeln, I, p.194); a copy after Titian’s lost original noted in Wethey’s Portraits: L-2, pp.190-1 (117.5 x 87 cm.) iii) a similar ¾-length portrait, inscribed Gameria Solimani imperat…1841 (Sotheby’s, 30th November 1983, lot 125) iv) version in the Courtauld Gallery, of Cameria as St. Catherine (with the head more to the left, nearly in profile); same headdress and pose, but with a wheel, upon which rests her right hand (99.3 x 71.5 cm.)
Provenance
Given by Matilda Theresa Talbot (formerly Gilchrist-Clark) (1871 – 1958), who gave the Abbey, the village of Lacock and the rest of the estate to the National Trust in 1944, along with 96 of the family portraits and other pictures, in 1948
Credit line
Lacock Abbey, The Talbot Collection (National Trust)
Marks and inscriptions
A Grecian Lady, Favourite of Gilbert Talbot.
Makers and roles
after Titian (Pieve di Cadore 1488/90 - Venice 1576), artist previously catalogued as after Cristofano dell'Altissimo (c.1525 - Florence 1605) , artist