Born in Istanbul in 1903, he studied at Mualla Saint Joseph and Galatasaray High School. The artist, who went to Switzerland for his education, realized that painting attracted more attention while he was studying engineering here. Thanks to the support of the consul of the period (Rıza Bey), he went to Germany to study painting. He studied poster and designer at the Munich Academy of Fine Arts, and then painting at the Berlin Academy of Fine Arts. He became a student of Arthur Kampf with Hale Asaf at the Academy.

Mualla, who spent most of her life in France, took her subjects from sections of Parisian life such as cafes, circuses and streets. He conveyed the moments he lived in his paintings as color and form, and took the people of the bohemian environment he lived in as the subject of his painting. Far from the theoretical problems of painting, without being influenced by contemporary trends, he painted with a subjective enthusiasm as he felt.

In 1976, 9 years after his death, an exhibition was held in Ankara with his 118 paintings compiled from various collections. Most of his works are in private collections.