Portrait of Sultan Suleyman the Magnificent
by LORCK, Melchior, Woodcut
Ferdinand I, later the Holy Roman Emperor, hired Lorck in 1555 to accompany a diplomatic mission to Constantinople (Istanbul), Turkey. The goal was to negotiate peace with the Ottoman Empire. Lorck’s role was to record the Ottoman’s way of life to improve Western knowledge of the culture of Turkey. After the artist returned to Vienna, in 1559, he created 128 woodcuts of the sketches of his Constantinople adventures. These woodcuts are collectively known as The Turkish Publication.