Abdulcelil Levni

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Signature of Levni on a miniature painting

Abdulcelil Levni, or shortly known as Levni, (b. Abdulcelil Çelebi, late 17th century, Edirne – d. 1732, Istanbul) was an Ottoman court painter and miniaturist.

[edit] Biography

He was born in Edirne, Ottoman Empire in the late 17th century. He became the most prominent painter of Turkey, and received the title of court painter under Sultans Mustafa II and Ahmed III, for whom he executed his marvellously composed masterpieces: the Surname-i Sultan Ahmed Han and the Surname-i Vehbi, the Book of Festival. This book, still in the library of the Topkapı Palace, depicts the festivals around the Golden Horn that took place in 1720 to commemorate the cicumcision of four sons of Sultan Ahmed III during the early 18th-century Tulip Era. However Levni's main concern seems to have been to paint single leaved miniatures depicting individuals, drawings of beautiful girls, languishly reclining ladies, and charming young men. The faces of his figures show little expression.