Hezarfen Ahmet Celebi

Acrylic, watercolor & gold on passepartout cardboard, 30 x 25 cm, Artist’s Collection

The world-renowned Ottoman traveller Evliya Celebi relates how in 1632, the Ottoman polymath Hezarfen Ahmed Celebi flew from Istanbul’s Galata Tower across the Bosphorus, a strait separating the European and Asian continents, with wings that he himself designed and produced. This painting is meant to honor his inspiring adventure. Hagia Sophia, a world-famous Byzantine cathedral/museum/Islamic mosque is also pictured.