Markos Botsaris, Marco Botzari, Hand Colored Portrait Lithograph, 1842

About this sheet

An original antique lithograph, hand colored, from the Galleria Universale di Tutti i Popoli del Mondo (Venice, Giuseppe Antonelli, 1842). The single image is a half length portrait against a gray oval ground. The man has long brown hair, a full mustache and a red cap with a gray blue tassel, and looks upward to the right. He wears a red jacket with open sleeves embroidered in gold, over a white and blue waistcoat with gold buttons and red trim, and a full pleated white skirt. A dagger with a curved hilt is tucked into his gold sash, and he rests one hand on the hilt of a sword. The gray ground fades out toward the edges of the oval, so that the colored costume carries the image, and the caption sits in the open space below.

The lettering reads "Tav. 152" at upper left, "GRECIA" in the center and "Tom IV" at upper right. The caption reads "MARCO BOTZARI" (Markos Botsaris).

Markos Botsaris was a Souliote leader in the Greek War of Independence and was killed in 1823 in a night attack on the Ottoman camp at Karpenisi. The Souliotes were the Orthodox Christian highlanders of Souli, in the mountains of Epirus. He became one of the best known heroes of the war.

A strong single portrait that suits a study or a hallway, and a natural centerpiece for a collection on Greek history or on the philhellenic movement of the 1820s.

Condition: Light age toning; light handling soiling along the edges and a few small spots in the margins. Printed image clean.

This is an original antique print, not a modern reproduction. This item is sold unframed. Any framed or interior images are shown for presentation and inspiration only, unless the listing explicitly states that the item is sold framed.