Fikret Mualla Saygi
Bio
Fikret Mualla Saygı was born in Istanbul in 1903. He went to Germany to study engineering. Fikret Mualla preferred to form his art freely by allowing his artistic instincts instead of a formal education in art. He visited museums throughout Switzerland and Italy. He moved to Paris in 1939. With his tragic life and depressions coupled with unique characteristics of his works, he succeeded in opening the doors of Turkish Modern Art to the west. He is the first Turkish artist whose name is mentioned in European Art literature. Generally he became known with his bright colored gouache figurative paintings on paper using a style developed in his early years. To the contrary of disorder and chaos in his personal life, he reflects the stance of an artist in control of the theme and style in his paintings. Entertainment places, bars, people walking in the streets, markets and cafés of Paris are displayed in Fikret Mualla’s paintings in a colorful and joyful style. He passed away in Paris in 1967. His paintings are in museums and collections worldwide.