Abdulcelil Levni

Levnî began his work in Istanbul during Sultan Mustafa II's rule and eventually became chief painter (boyacı) at the palace atelier.

[1] Gathering influence from western styles, particularly portraiture of Rafael, Levnî created a genealogical tree of the Sultans using images instead of text like traditional padishas.

The original, housed in the Topkapi Palace Museum in Istanbul, features 137 vividly colored miniatures by Levni, a renowned painter from the court of Ahmed III (1703-1740).

Surname-i Vehbi adheres to the longstanding Ottoman tradition of creating specially crafted books with both written content and illustrations to commemorate significant events like royal births and weddings.

The festivities, including parades, musical performances, circus acts, and fireworks displays, are eloquently captured by Levni's artistic skill in his miniatures, most of which span two pages in this remarkable volume.

The accompanying text for the book, authored by Vehbi, a renowned court poet, is presented in its entirety in this facsimile edition, offering a comprehensive glimpse into the historical celebration.

[2][4] Like his paintings, Levnî combined traditional styles of courts, particularly the aruz meter, as well as humor and popular language of the people in his poetry.