Hidden Treasures of the Collection: "Mehemet Effendi, Ambassadeur Turc, arrive aux Tuileries, 21 mars 1721"

The walls of Staatsburgh’s drawing room are covered with many paintings that are nearly impossible to examine from the tour carpet. Continuing with our “Hidden Treasures of the Collection” series, this essay will take a closer look at the painting seen below, which is on the south wall of the drawing room. The oil on canvas painting depicts Mehmet Effendi, the Turkish Ambassador, and his entourage visiting Paris for the first time to have an audience with King Louis XV. It is one of many objects in the collection that is French or depicts France.

Painting in the style of Charles Parrocel, "Mehmet Effendi, the Turkish Ambassador, Entering the Tuileries to go to his audience with the King, March 21, 1721," Staatsburgh State Historic Site, NYS OPRHP

This painting features a documented historic event that happened on March 21, 1721.  Yirmisekiz Mehmed Çelebi Effendi (ca. 1670–1732) was an Ottoman stateman who was directed by Sultan Ahmed III (1673-1736) to serve as an ambassador to France and travel there to meet the king.  Effendi traveled with a retinue of approximately 85 others from Turkey, which was part of the Ottoman Empire, to Paris, France.  This was one of the first visits of an Ottoman ambassador to France.  The Ottomans did not set up an embassy in Paris for another 70 years.  This visit aimed to establish a more permanent diplomatic relationship between France and the Ottoman Empire and create a strategic alliance for both countries.  The visit was very visible and public to showcase cultural exchanges and ensure the success of cooperation between France and the Ottoman Empire.

Portrait of Yirmisekiz Mehmed Celebi Effendi by Pierre Gobert, 1724

The event was certainly a spectacle since most French citizens had never seen someone from this part of the world or wearing this style of dress. They lined the streets of Paris and watched as the Turkish delegation made their way to the Tuileries Palace where Effendi met with the young king. Even though Louis XV had already been king for six years, he was still only 11 years old at the time of the Turkish ambassador’s visit in 1721. Until Louis turned 13, a regent oversaw the government and ruled in his name. Louis XV lived at the Tuileries Palace until he became of age and moved back to Versailles where he had previously lived until his great-grandfather, Louis XIV died. When Effendi described the meeting, he said that he brought Louis a letter of friendship from the sultan, but the young king was too shy to reply himself so a suitable reply was made on his behalf.

Closeup of Staatsburgh's painting

The bottom of the frame is labeled with the name of an artist, Parrocel, which refers to Charles Parrocel (1688-1752), a French artist.  Parrocel was born in Paris and trained by his father, Joseph Parrocel, a French baroque painter best known for his drawings and paintings of battle scenes.  The elder Parrocel had commissions from King Louis XIV for Les Invalides, the Château de Marly and the Palace of Versailles.

Charles Parrocel (1688-1752) by Maurice Quentin de La Tour

Like his father, Charles Parrocel frequently specialized in battle and hunt scenes, but he was commissioned by Louis XV to complete several paintings commemorating the Turkish ambassador’s trip to Paris. At least two of these paintings are currently in the collection at Versailles. We do not believe that the painting at Staatsburgh was painted by Charles Parrocel himself, but perhaps it was copied from one of his original commissions. The first painting, as seen below, is an approximately 6’ x 10’ oil on canvas that was completed in 1723. It has a much brighter and more dynamic quality than the Staatsburgh painting. While both depict the same event, there is much variation in the setting and the figures.

Image: Oil on canvas by Charles Parrocel, c.1723, Versailles Collection

The second painting, which is also in the collection of Versailles, depicts a scene that looks much more like the one in the Staatsburgh painting. Perhaps the artist who painted the Staatsburgh painting copied this original Parrocel painting. One major difference between the two is size because the Versailles painting is massive compared to the one at Staatsburgh. While the Staatsburgh painting is about 1.5’ x 2.5’, this painting pictured directly below is approximately 11’ x 22’ which is quite large for an oil on canvas. The size may also be the reason there look to be fold or separation marks running horizontally through the painting. It is also interesting to note that the Staatsburgh painting has a frame effect painted into the canvas, which distinguishes it from the others. Even though Parrocel completed several paintings depicting this event, we do not believe that he personally created the version in our collection. It was most likely a copy painted in the style of Charles Parrocel.

Image: Oil on Canvas by Charles Parrocel, c.1723, Versailles Collection

Staatsburgh's copy - compare with the above original located at Versailles

Most paintings in the drawing room are also lacking a definitive attribution.  Many of them have an artist’s name on the frame, but art experts have viewed these paintings and determined that they are actually copies done in the style of the artists named on the frames.  It was also common for art students to copy the works of other artists as part of their training so that is one potential source for the paintings in this room.  It is also possible that Staatsburgh’s interior designers, likely the firm Allard & Sons, acquired these paintings and placed them throughout the room to give a certain look.  This was a common theme throughout Staatsburgh and it illustrates the efforts of the design team to create a certain aesthetic, which copied the styles of 17th and 18th century France. Wealthy American families, like the Mills family, copied the styles of the long-established European aristocracy to provide legitimacy to their own efforts to become leaders of a more newly formed American society. Art, like this copy of a Charles Parrocel painting, was just one element of an aesthetic that proclaimed the desire of Ruth Livingston Mills to serve as a leader of Gilded Age Society.

This painting is located on the south wall of the Drawing Room.  Keep an eye out for it on your next visit!