Portraits of the Noble Tarsia Family (around 1700)

Author: Natalis Bertolini

A representative portrait, venerating the town nobility, was a general phenomenon in the art of the 17th century. The family was brought fame with military commanders, learned men/humanists and the Baroque composer Antonio Tarsia. The top translators and interpreters at the Ottoman Court in Constantinople were dressed in the “Turkish way”. They represent persons from Venetian diplomacy, which sought young men in Koper for the future dangerous professions of the so-called dragomans. In the service of Venice and other European courts, during the advancement of Turks into Europe, the interpreters from Koper attained the highest honours.