Fikret Mualla Saygı

His work reflects influences from Expressionism and Fauvism, with subject matter focusing on Paris street life, social gatherings such as cafés and circuses.

At the age of 12, he was crippled in his right foot when he kicked hard to imitate his uncle Hikmet Topuzer, a footballer for Fenerbahçe SK.

A childhood accident, leaving Mualla with a bad physical condition, contributed to his erratic personality and mental disorder in his adult years.

In Istanbul, he was deemed to have normal mental health after a three-day stay in Bakırköy Psychiatric Hospital.

He became friends with soprano Semiha Berksoy, writer Nazım Hikmet and painter Abidin Dino.

Before he went to 1939 to Paris, he made around thirty oil paintings for the Turkish pavilion at the New York World's Fair asked by his close friend Abidin Dino.

His lifetime in Paris passed with alcohol dependency, mental alienation and cognitive dissonance.

In line with his will, his remains were brought to Turkey and were interred at Karacaahmet Cemetery in Istanbul.