Portret van Alp. Allard before 1885

This is a portrait of Alp. Allard, a commissioner-general in the Ottoman Bank, created by an anonymous artist and printed on a page of text. The position Allard held would have been a fairly new one, as the Ottoman Bank was founded in 1863 with the purpose of acting as a central bank. The portrait provides a glimpse into the visual culture of the late Ottoman period and the role of figures like Allard in the empire's financial dealings. As the Ottoman Empire underwent modernization, the representation of individuals like Allard reflected changing social and economic structures. Allard's identity is tied to the complexities of the Ottoman Empire's engagement with Western financial institutions. How does his portrait, embedded within this block of text, invite us to consider the interplay between individual identity and the broader historical and cultural context of the late Ottoman Empire?