Hagia Sophia

This is a remarkable building. It is almost 1500 years old, which is not bad for a building sited in the middle of an earthquake zone! It was for a long time the world’s largest interior space, and the design of this building, in particular its large central dome, effectively became the archetype for the entire Byzantine style of architecture.

The view that I have painted is from the Sultan Ahmet Park, a picturesque open space which is surprisingly calm given the number of people, particularly tourists, who are normally to be found in the park.

I had been hoping that the yellow ochre tone that I used in this picture would give some “glow“ or “warmth” to the building, and to some extent I think it has. However, I am less pleased with some of the detail in the picture, but I am lucky because most of the defects that I can see are not immediately obvious – in other words the painting gives a good first impression, even if that is not sustained over time.