Panel/oil painting.

Inscribed "Ismael Sophy Rex Pers". (Casale, Sinem Arcak (2023). Gifts in the Age of Empire: Ottoman-Safavid Cultural Exchange, 1500–1639. University of Chicago Press. p. 34. ISBN 978-0226820422.)

Housed at the Galleria degli Uffizi, Florence.

The idea of a universal gallery made up of portraits of illustrious men was thanks to Cosimo I de' Medici. In 1552, the duke of Tuscany sent the painter Cristofano dell'Altissimo to Como to copy the collection of portraits of illustrious men that the learned bishop Paolo Giovio, who had recently died in Florence, had collected in his villa on the lake from 1521. It was a very rare collection, the most important of its kind, both for the presence of numerous splendid originals and for the large number of subjects. Copies were sent from Como in groups from 1552 to 1587/89, so much so that Vasari, in the second edition of the "Lives" (1568), lists 280 portraits already present in Florence. In the meantime, Vasari himself had set up for Cosimo, in Palazzo Vecchio, a room annexed to the rooms of the Guardaroba, the so-called room of the Globe or of the geographical maps, destined to welcome in a particularly worthy setting also the collection of portraits of illustrious men who hand was forming. The program so loved by Cosimo I did not bear fruit with the new Grand Duke Francesco, while it resumed immediately and in full with the accession to the throne of Ferdinand I. Between 1587, the initial year of his government, and 1591 he arranged for the transfer collection of portraits in the corridor of the Uffizi; in 1597 the diplomatic traveler and writer from Vicenza Filippo Pigafetta rearranged the collection according to the "dignities and professions" and highlighted the most serious gaps in order to then complete and update the whole series. The Giovian collection was continued until 1840, today it has 492 pieces and is extraordinarily important from a historical-iconographic, if not stylistic, point of view. The portrait in question, mentioned in Vasari's list of 1568, depicts Ismail I Sophy (1487/1524). King of Persia, founder of the Safawid dynasty, who fought against the Turks.

Cristofano produced the portrait (c. 1552–68), long after Ismail’s death, by copying from Paolo Giovio’s “Giovio series” — which gathered images sourced from travelers and diplomats rather than from a live sitting. As a result, it's believed the painter may have idealized Ismail’s features, adapting them to the aesthetics of the Florentine school. Research highlights that while copying Giovio’s originals, Cristofano “made some changes in the solution of portrait composition … painted it in his own way”. That suggests stylistic reimagining rather than strict fidelity. He may have enhanced spiritual attributes, aligning the image with European expectations of a “Sufi‑saint‑king,” as Giovio’s writings depicted him. (1 January 2020). "Identification of portrait featuresof Shah Ismail I according to the 16th century european sources". Problems of Arts and Culture. International scientific journal.

• * "Fig. 4.3 Stylized portrait of Ismail I by the Italian painter Cristofano dell’Altissimo (c. 1552–1568), Uffizi Gallery" in (2024) Queens around the world, 1520-1620: a century of female power, Palgrave Macmillan, p. 98 ISBN: 978-3031586330. Dror Ze'evi is Professor Emeritus of social and cultural Middle Eastern history at Ben Gurion University.
• "The Soviet Encyclopaedia of Azerbaijan showed the Bellini as the author of the portrait of Shah Ismail I (1; 83)" (Soviet Encyclopaedia of Azerbaijan p.83) in The “Sufi” Portrait in the Giovio Series p.16
• "Jacopo's younger son, Giovanni Bellini (c. 1430-29.11.1516), was one of the most famous Venetian oil painters. He was a teacher of Titian and Giorgione. Giovanni Bellini's work forms the basis of Venetian High Renaissance painting. Simplicity and proportion of composition, richness of color are characteristic features of his work. His works include: "Madonna Albertetti" (1487), "Madonna" (1488), "The Pleasure of the Gods" (1514), the famous profile portrait (?) of Shah Ismail Hatay, paintings of Madonnas, male portraits kept in museums in Berlin, New York, London, and Paris, etc." (Soviet Encyclopaedia of Azerbaijan p.83)
• "Cristofano dell'Altissimo was born in Florence in 1520, first he was Bronzino's student and then became a student of Pontormo. Bronzino's influence on Cristofano's works is still evident. For a long time since 1552, he had produced copies of the portraits in the series in Como by order of Cosimo de'Medici (2; 108). This portrait collection is called The Giovio Series and now has a permanent home in the Uffizi Gallery." The “Sufi” Portrait in the Giovio Series p.16
• "The portrait in oils with a height of 60, width of 45 centimeters, is preserved in the Uffizi Gallery by inventory number 5 (C.P., page 215, no. 418). The Portrait was painted in 1568, i.e. 44 years after Ismail I's death, and was probably copied from the Giovio series by order of the famous Medici family." The “Sufi” Portrait in the Giovio Series p.16
• "Sufi was known in Europe as a sheikh, saviour, and even a prophet. According to the legends spread, he was incredibly powerful, humanist and fair. For the very reason, there were rumours that Sufi had converted to Christianity and he was expected to be a saviour for the Christians and Europeans. Due to the aforementioned mentioned reasons, he was probably depicted as a spiritual, handsome, and bright person in the portrait painted by Cristofano." The “Sufi” Portrait in the Giovio Series p.17
• "In the paintings by famous Safavid artists, Shah Ismail was depicted with the shaved face but a long moustache. For example, in the miniatures of XVII century artist Muin Musavvir, we see Shah wearing moustaches. Interestingly, Shah Ismail I described his face shaved often in his ghazal written under the penname of "Khatai":
  

"Let's shave, the king of the world, once every three days,

To become the most handsome of the world once every three days." The “Sufi” Portrait in the Giovio Series p.18