Art or Document? Layard’s Legacy and Bellini’s Sultan

Abstract

The article explores changes in the attribution, reception, and interpretation of Gentile Bellini’s The Sultan Mehmet II. Formerly in the collection of Austen Henry Layard, the portrait now forms part of the collection of the National Gallery, London. The essay examines Layard’s own interpretation and display of the painting in order to shed light on how this influenced the initial public reception of the portrait and its later interpretation by curators and art historians. It also considers external factors that influenced the critical reception of the painting as well as its interpretation by successive generations of National Gallery curatorial staff. The essay concludes with an appraisal of the meaning of the painting within the national collection today.

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