(between 1860 and 1870) Amedeo Preziosi was born in 1816 in Malta to a
noble family of Italian descent. His father, Giovanni Francesco Preziosi, had high-level functions in the local administration and represented the
Maltese people at the negotiations of the
Treaty of Amiens in 1802, while his mother, Margareta née Reynaud, was of
French origin. Amedeo, the first child of the Preziosi family, was baptised in the
Porto Salvo Church in
Valletta and given the name Aloysius-Rosarius-Amadeus-Raymundus-Andreas. His younger brother
Leandro Preziosi became one of the pioneers of early photography in Malta. Amedeo was attracted by the arts from early age and was taught by
Giuseppe Hyzler, a very appreciated painter in Malta. While his father wanted Amedeo to study law, sending him to study at the Law School in
Sorbonne, Amedeo was more interested in arts and continues his painting studies at the
École des Beaux-Arts.
Dervish portrayed by Amedeo Preziosi, 1860s circa,
Muzeul Naţional de Artă al României In an era when postal cards were still at their beginning and so was the photographic art, Preziosi offered the European tourists and visitors of Istanbul drawings of the city and the surroundings. In 1858, he decided to publish the most popular works as lithographs at the Lemercier workshop in Paris. The chromolithography album, named
Stamboul, Recollections of Eastern Life and re-edited in 1861 as ''Stamboul, Souvenir d'Orient
was drawn on the lithography stone by Preziosi himself. He published a second album, Souvenir du Caïre'', comprising drawings he made during a trip to
Egypt. Preziosi knew Italian - his mother tongue - and for sure French. Preziosi came to Romania in June 1868 and began drawing scenes from Bucharest as well as several others across the country, including a few which depict Prince Carol I. The sketches he draw were later turned into watercolours in his workshop in Istanbul, which he would then sell to the Prince of Romania for prices ranging from 300 to 1200
Francs. The following year, between May 30 and July 15, Preziosi spent time again in Romania, his drawings, in pencil, ink and watercolours are found in a sketchbook
La Valachie par Preziosi, now found at the Municipal Museum in Bucharest. After his return from his last trip to Romania, little is known of Preziosi. He continued his art in Istanbul, but as photography became widespread, his watercolours were no longer as profitable, since cheap and unlimited numbers of copies could be made of a particular photograph. (formerly San Stefano),
Istanbul,
Turkey. Preziosi was killed by an
accidental gun discharge while hunting. He was buried in the Catholic cemetery of Santo Stefano (today
Yeşilköy), Istanbul. ==Legacy==