Khalil Sherif Pasha, transliterated variously as Halil Şerif Pasha (, 20 June 1831 – 12 January 1879), was an Ottoman-

Egyptian ''Egyptian'' describes something of, from, or related to Egypt. Egyptian or Egyptians may refer to: Nations and ethnic groups * Egyptians, a national group in North Africa ** Egyptian culture, a complex and stable culture with thousands of year ...

statesman, diplomat and art collector, who lived during the

Tanzimat The (, , lit. 'Reorganization') was a period of liberal reforms in the Ottoman Empire that began with the Edict of Gülhane of 1839 and ended with the First Constitutional Era in 1876. Driven by reformist statesmen such as Mustafa Reşid Pash ...

period. His collection was described by

Théophile Gautier Pierre Jules Théophile Gautier ( , ; 30 August 1811 – 23 October 1872) was a French poet, dramatist, novelist, journalist, and art and literary critic. While an ardent defender of Romanticism, Gautier's work is difficult to classify and rema ...

as "the first ever to be formed by a child of Islam". He was furthermore involved in diplomatic affairs following the aftermath of the

Crimean War The Crimean War was fought between the Russian Empire and an alliance of the Ottoman Empire, the Second French Empire, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, and the Kingdom of Sardinia (1720–1861), Kingdom of Sardinia-Piedmont fro ...

. He also served as the Ottoman Minister of Foreign Affairs.

Name

For most of his life, Halil was known by the name Halil Bey or Khalil Bey. "

Bey Bey, also spelled as Baig, Bayg, Beigh, Beig, Bek, Baeg, Begh, or Beg, is a Turkic title for a chieftain, and a royal, aristocratic title traditionally applied to people with special lineages to the leaders or rulers of variously sized areas in ...

" was not a surname but rather a courtesy title recognized and sanctioned by the Ottoman government to designate a man as being the son of a

Pasha Pasha (; ; ) was a high rank in the Ottoman Empire, Ottoman political and military system, typically granted to governors, generals, dignitary, dignitaries, and others. ''Pasha'' was also one of the highest titles in the 20th-century Kingdom of ...

. Halil used the title "Bey" as part of his name because his father Muhammad Şerif had attained the rank of Pasha. On 10 August 1871, Halil Bey was raised to the rank of ''

Mushir () is an Arabic word meaning "counsellor" or "advisor". It is related to the word shura, meaning consultation or "taking counsel". As an official title, it historically indicates a personal advisor to the ruler. In this use it is roughly comp ...

'' (Field Marshal) by Sultan Abdul Aziz (reigned 1861–1876). The rank of "Mushir" entitled Halil to use his father's name "Şerif", as well as the honorific title "Pasha", as parts of his name.

Life

Of Turkish-Albanian origin, Halil was born in

Cairo Cairo ( ; , ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Egypt and the Cairo Governorate, being home to more than 10 million people. It is also part of the List of urban agglomerations in Africa, largest urban agglomeration in Africa, L ...

in the mansion of

Muhammad Ali Pasha Mehmed Ali Pasha may refer to: * Muhammad Ali of Egypt (1769–1849), considered the founder of modern Egypt * Çerkes Mehmed Pasha (died 1625), Ottoman statesman and grand vizier * Mehmed Emin Âli Pasha (1815–1871), Ottoman statesman and gra ...

. Halil's father, Muhammad Şerif Pasha, of Albanian origin, (died 13 February 1865) had emigrated to Egypt from

Kavala Kavala (, ''Kavála'' ) is a city in northern Greece, the principal seaport of eastern Macedonia and the capital of Kavala regional unit. It is situated on the Bay of Kavala, across from the island of Thasos and on the A2 motorway, a one-and ...

(in what is now northern Greece) to serve as a captain in Muhammad Ali's army, making a huge fortune in the process. Muhammad Şerif Pasha sent Halil, along with his brothers Ali Pasha Sherif (1834–1897) and Osman, to be educated at the '' École Militaire Égyptienne'' (Egyptian Military School), which Muhammad Ali Pasha had set up in Paris in 1844. Halil took up his first official post in 1855 as Commissioner to the

International Exhibition A world's fair, also known as a universal exhibition, is a large global exhibition designed to showcase the achievements of nations. These exhibitions vary in character and are held in different parts of the world at a specific site for a perio ...

in Paris that year. He entered the Ottoman diplomatic service in 1856, serving as one of the

plenipotentiaries A ''plenipotentiary'' (from the Latin ''plenus'' "full" and ''potens'' "powerful") is a diplomat who has full powers—authorization to sign a treaty or convention on behalf of a sovereign. When used as a noun more generally, the word can also r ...

negotiating the end to the

, and then as ambassador to

Athens Athens ( ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Greece, largest city of Greece. A significant coastal urban area in the Mediterranean, Athens is also the capital of the Attica (region), Attica region and is the southe ...

and

Saint Petersburg Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the List of cities and towns in Russia by population, second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the Neva, River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland ...

, on which posts he began collecting art. He grew to dislike the cold of Saint Petersburg and so retired in a private capacity to

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

in the mid-1860s, renting expensive rooms from the English collector Lord Hertford on Rue Taitbout and becoming a noted gambler, art collector and patron. He was introduced to

Gustave Courbet Jean Désiré Gustave Courbet ( ; ; ; 10 June 1819 – 31 December 1877) was a French painter who led the Realism movement in 19th-century French painting. Committed to painting only what he could see, he rejected academic convention and the ...

Sainte-Beuve Charles Augustin Sainte-Beuve (; 23 December 1804 – 13 October 1869) was a French literary critic. Early life He was born in Boulogne, educated there, and studied medicine at the Collège Charlemagne in Paris (1824–27). In 1828, he se ...

, and commissioned '' Le Sommeil'' (''The Sleepers'') and '' L'Origine du monde'' from him. The latter painting is likely to be of his then lover, Constance Quéniaux. He also acquired '' Le Bain turc'' (''The Turkish Bath'') from

Ingres Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres ( ; ; 29 August 1780 – 14 January 1867) was a French Neoclassicism, Neoclassical Painting, painter. Ingres was profoundly influenced by past artistic traditions and aspired to become the guardian of academic ...

and other works by Delacroix, Troyon, Daubigny, Meissonier,

Corot CoRoT (French: ; English: Convection, Rotation and planetary Transits) was a space telescope mission which operated from 2006 to 2013. The mission's two objectives were to search for extrasolar planets with short orbital periods, particularly t ...

Rousseau Jean-Jacques Rousseau (, ; ; 28 June 1712 – 2 July 1778) was a Genevan philosopher ('' philosophe''), writer, and composer. His political philosophy influenced the progress of the Age of Enlightenment throughout Europe, as well as aspects ...

and Gérôme. Works known to have been owned by Halil Şerif Pasha include: * Eugène Delacroix, '' The Murder of the Bishop of Liège'' (now in the

Louvre The Louvre ( ), or the Louvre Museum ( ), is a national art museum in Paris, France, and one of the most famous museums in the world. It is located on the Rive Droite, Right Bank of the Seine in the city's 1st arrondissement of Paris, 1st arron ...

, Paris) * Eugène Delacroix, '' The Women of Algiers'' (one version is in the Louvre, Paris, but it is unclear if this is the one owned by Halil) * Eugène Delacroix,
Tasso in the Hospital of St Anna at Ferrara
' (Buhrle private collection, Zurich) * Eugène Delacroix, ''Tam o' Shanter'' (after the poem by Robert Burns) (Castle Museum, Nottingham) * Eugène Delacroix, ''Arab Cavalry Practising a Cavalry Charge'' (Fabre Museum, Montpellier) In January 1868 he sold off his art collection just before leaving to become Ottoman ambassador to Vienna, thus getting out of Paris only two years before the

Franco-Prussian War The Franco-Prussian War or Franco-German War, often referred to in France as the War of 1870, was a conflict between the Second French Empire and the North German Confederation led by the Kingdom of Prussia. Lasting from 19 July 1870 to 28 Janua ...

. After the Vienna posting, he moved to Istanbul and married Princess Nazli Fazl, the daughter of a prominent reformer of the time, Mustafa Fazl Pasha. In 1877, he returned to Paris as Ottoman ambassador for a few months, but was dismissed from his post in September of that year. Halil Şerif Pasha died in Istanbul on 12 January 1879. Some sources record his death as being due to heatstroke while seated on a horse during

Abdul Hamid II Abdulhamid II or Abdul Hamid II (; ; 21 September 184210 February 1918) was the 34th sultan of the Ottoman Empire, from 1876 to 1909, and the last sultan to exert effective control over the fracturing state. He oversaw a Decline and modernizati ...

's accession parade. However, the accession parade was in August 1876.

References

Sources

* Francis Haskell, 'A Turk and His Pictures in Nineteenth-Century Paris', ''Oxford Art Journal'', Vol. 5, No. 1, Patronage (1982), pp. 40–47 {{DEFAULTSORT:Halil Serif Pasa 1831 births 1879 deaths Muhammad Ali dynasty Egyptian people of Albanian descent Egyptian philanthropists Egyptian art collectors Ambassadors of the Ottoman Empire to Austria Ambassadors of the Ottoman Empire to Greece Ambassadors of the Ottoman Empire to the Russian Empire Ambassadors of the Ottoman Empire to France 19th-century people from the Ottoman Empire 19th-century diplomats