türkçe links to original Turkish article
(Milliyet Newspaper, 17 November 2019)
'Sultan' Wilhelm II in Ottoman Field Marshall's
Uniform.
For 101 years the painting of German Emperor Wilhelm II in an
Ottoman (!) field marshal's uniform has been sitting in the German
Consulate General in Gümüşsuyu, Istanbul. German painter Max
Fleck was commissioned to paint Wilhelm's portrait as a present for
Ottoman Sultan Mehmed Reşat V.
However (!), because of the transportation difficulties imposed by
the ongoing World War I, before the portrait reached Istanbul the Sultan
had been deposed and Wilhelm had been sent into exile in Holland (!).
Consequently, the portrait was left in limbo, neither being returned to
Germany nor given to Turkey over the passing 101 years.
Wilhelm visited Germany's wartime ally in Istanbul for the third time
in 1917. Fleck, the royal painter of the Prussian court, was assigned
by Wilhelm to paint his portrait as a gift for the Sultan. Wilhlem left
for Istanbul by train before the painting was completed and when the
portrait was subsequently sent, train difficulties encountered in the
Balkans delayed its arrival in Istanbul until 1918, by which time the
Sultan had been deposed, Wilhelm had been exiled to Holland, and
Germany and Turkey had lost the War.
Sultan Mehmed Reşat V greeting Wilhem II in Istanbul in 1917.
Painter Viron Vert has researched the painting's history and told
Milleyet that "after both the Sultan and Wilhelm were removed,
German officials were caught in a dilemma with regard to the
disposition of the painting. They sent it back to Berlin but the German
Foreign Ministry refused to accept the painting, asserting that 'we are
not its owner.' Ultimately, the painting came back to the Istanbul
German Consulate General, where in the early 1980s it was hung in the
'Wilhelm II Room'."
"A few years ago, the German National Museum wanted to bring the
portrait to Germany for exhibition but the German Foreign Ministery
would not give permission, statıng that since the portrait's ownership
remained unresolved it would have to stay in Istanbul."
Milliyet examined the portrait at the German Consulate General in
Istanbul. Its dimensions are 236 x 146 centimeters (93 x 57.5 inches),
set in a gold-plated frame with the German Emperor's crest at the top.
And although Wilhelm is wearing an Ottoman field marshall's uniform,
the Emperor's crown and scepter can be seen to his left in the painting.
Exile in Holland wasn't all that distressing for Wilhelm, who died
there in 1941.
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