Gentile Bellini's Portrait of Sultan Mehmed II

In 1479, the Venetian painter Gentile Bellini arrived at the Ottoman court in Istanbul, where he produced his celebrated portrait of Sultan Mehmed II. An important moment of cultural diplomacy, this was the first of many intriguing episodes in the picture''s history.

Elizabeth Rodini traces Gentile''s portrait from Mehmed''s court to the Venetian lagoon, from the railway stations of war-torn Europe...