Amedeo Preziosi (2 December 1816 – 27 September 1882) was a
Maltese painter and traveler known for his watercolours and prints of the
Balkans
The Balkans ( ), also known as the Balkan Peninsula, is a geographical area in southeastern Europe with various geographical and historical definitions. The region takes its name from the Balkan Mountains that stretch throughout the who ...
,
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University) ...
, and
Romania
Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeast Europe, Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, S ...
.
Biography
![Nadar - Amedeo Preziosi](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/39/Nadar_-_Amedeo_Preziosi.jpg)
Amedeo Preziosi was born in 1816 to a
noble family
Nobility is a social class found in many societies that have an aristocracy (class), aristocracy. It is normally ranked immediately below Royal family, royalty. Nobility has often been an Estates of the realm, estate of the realm with many e ...
in Malta. 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
The Treaty of Amiens (french: la paix d'Amiens, ) temporarily ended hostilities between France and the United Kingdom at the end of the War of the Second Coalition
The War of the Second Coalition (1798/9 – 1801/2, depending on perio ...
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
Valletta (, mt, il-Belt Valletta, ) is an Local councils of Malta, administrative unit and capital city, capital of Malta. Located on the Malta (island), main island, between Marsamxett Harbour to the west and the Grand Harbour to the east, i ...
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.
[Ionescu, p. 15] While his father wanted Amedeo to study law, sending him to study at the Law School in
Sorbonne
Sorbonne may refer to:
* Sorbonne (building), historic building in Paris, which housed the University of Paris and is now shared among multiple universities.
*the University of Paris (c. 1150 – 1970)
*one of its components or linked institution, ...
, Amedeo was more interested in arts and continues his painting studies at the
École des Beaux-Arts
École des Beaux-Arts (; ) refers to a number of influential art schools in France. The term is associated with the Beaux-Arts style in architecture and city planning that thrived in France and other countries during the late nineteenth century ...
.
After his return home, Amedeo did not find in Malta a suitable environment for an artist, especially since his father disapproved his chosen career. As such, Amedeo chose to leave the island and move to the
Near East
The ''Near East''; he, המזרח הקרוב; arc, ܕܢܚܐ ܩܪܒ; fa, خاور نزدیک, Xāvar-e nazdik; tr, Yakın Doğu is a geographical term which roughly encompasses a transcontinental region in Western Asia, that was once the hist ...
, an area lauded by the fellow artists in
Paris
Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...
. The year when he left Malta for
Istanbul
Istanbul ( , ; tr, İstanbul ), formerly known as Constantinople ( grc-gre, Κωνσταντινούπολις; la, Constantinopolis), is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, serving as the country's economic, ...
is not known, but is thought to be between 1840 and 1842.
The earliest drawings of Istanbul are dated November 1842. Two years later, in 1844, Preziosi was commissioned by
Robert Curzon, the private secretary of the British Ambassador to Istanbul, Lord
Stratford Canning, 1st Viscount Stratford de Redcliffe
Stratford Canning, 1st Viscount Stratford de Redcliffe, (4 November 1786 – 14 August 1880) was a British diplomat who became best known as the longtime British Ambassador to the Ottoman Empire. A cousin of George Canning, he served as Envoy ...
to create an album called ''Costumes of Constantinople'', which now is located in the collections of the
British Museum
The British Museum is a public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is among the largest and most comprehensive in existence. It docum ...
.
[Ionescu, p. 16]
![Preziosi - Derviş cerşetor](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/25/Preziosi_-_Dervi%C5%9F_cer%C5%9Fetor.jpg)
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
Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediter ...
.
Preziosi married a Greek woman of Istanbul, with whom he had four children: Mathilde, Giulia, Catherine and Roberto, living in Hamalbaşi Sokagi in Pera and later in the quiet village of San Stefano (today
Yeşilköy
(; meaning "Green Village"; prior to 1926, San Stefano or Santo Stefano el, Άγιος Στέφανος, Ágios Stéfanos, tr, Ayastefanos) is an affluent neighbourhood ( tr, mahalle) in the district of Bakırköy, Istanbul, Turkey, on the M ...
), away from the agitation of the city.
[Ionescu, p. 19]
Preziosi was proficient in the languages of the region (Greek and Turkish), as well as major European languages (English, French, Italian) and he worked as deputy of the
dragoman
A dragoman or Interpretation was an interpreter, translator, and official guide between Turkish-, Arabic-, and Persian-speaking countries and polities of the Middle East and European embassies, consulates, vice-consulates and trading posts. A ...
of the British Embassy as well as the First Dragoman of the Greek legation.
His workshop was routinely visited by tourists wishing to return home with a souvenir of Istanbul, and among his guests was, in April 1869,
Edward VII of the United Kingdom
Edward VII (Albert Edward; 9 November 1841 – 6 May 1910) was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and Emperor of India, from 22 January 1901 until his death in 1910.
The second child and eldest son of Queen Victoria an ...
, then the Prince of Wales, who bought several watercolours from him. In 1866, as the new Prince of Romania,
Carol I
Carol I or Charles I of Romania (20 April 1839 – ), born Prince Karl of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen, was the monarch of Romania from 1866 to his death in 1914, ruling as Prince (''Domnitor'') from 1866 to 1881, and as King from 1881 to 1914. He w ...
visited Istanbul, he met Preziosi and invited him to Romania to make watercolours of the landscapes and people of the country.
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 franc is any of various units of currency. One franc is typically divided into 100 centimes. The name is said to derive from the Latin inscription ''francorum rex'' (King of the Franks) used on early French coins and until the 18th centu ...
. 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.
[Ionescu, p. 40]
![Amedeo Preziosi grave](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/45/Amedeo_Preziosi_grave.jpg)
Preziosi was killed by an
accidental gun discharge while hunting. He was buried in the Catholic cemetery of
Yeşilköy
(; meaning "Green Village"; prior to 1926, San Stefano or Santo Stefano el, Άγιος Στέφανος, Ágios Stéfanos, tr, Ayastefanos) is an affluent neighbourhood ( tr, mahalle) in the district of Bakırköy, Istanbul, Turkey, on the M ...
, Istanbul.
Legacy
After his death, his works were forgotten for decades. In Bucharest, his works were presented again to the public in 1934, and in 1985, some of his works were displayed in an exhibition at London's
Victoria and Albert Museum
The Victoria and Albert Museum (often abbreviated as the V&A) in London is the world's largest museum of applied arts, decorative arts and design, housing a permanent collection of over 2.27 million objects. It was founded in 1852 and nam ...
dedicated to him and in 2003, an exhibition of his works in Bucharest was organized by the
Museum of Bucharest.
"Amedeo Preziosi: Painter of an Exotic, Vanished World"
SE Times, July 14, 2003
Works
File:Amadeo Preziosi - The Grand Bazaar - Google Art Project.jpg, The Grand Bazaar
File:Amadeo Preziosi - The Silk Bazaar - Google Art Project.jpg, The Silk Bazaar
File:Amedeo Preziosi - Arabian ox cart.jpg, Arabian ox cart
File:Amedeo Preziosi - Istanbul cafe.jpg, A café in Istanbul
File:Amedeo Preziosi - Turks.jpg, Sufi whirling
File:Amedeo Preziosi - Istanbul boats.jpg, Istanbul boats
File:Dambovita preziosi.jpg, Dâmbovița River in Bucharest
File:Preziosi - Vizita domnitorului Carol I la Manastirea Pasarea,.jpg, Visit of Carol I at Pasărea Monastery, Wallachia
File:Amadeo Preziosi Albanians Mercenaries in the Ottoman Army.jpg, Albanian Mercenaries
File:Preziosi - in a Turkish Park.jpg, In a Turkish Park
File:Preziosi - The Tea Seller from Souvenir of Cairo 1862.jpg, The Tea Seller from Souvenir of Cairo 1862
See also
*List of Orientalist artists
This is an incomplete list of artists who have produced works on Orientalist subjects, drawn from the Islamic world or other parts of Asia. Many artists listed on this page worked in many genres, and Orientalist subjects may not have formed a m ...
*Orientalism
In art history, literature and cultural studies, Orientalism is the imitation or depiction of aspects in the Eastern world. These depictions are usually done by writers, designers, and artists from the Western world. In particular, Orientalist p ...
Notes
References
* Adrian-Silvan Ionescu, ''Preziosi în România'', Noi Media Print, 2003,
{{DEFAULTSORT:Preziosi, Amedeo
1816 births
1882 deaths
19th-century Maltese painters
19th-century travelers
Immigrants to Albania
Immigrants to Romania
Immigrants to the Ottoman Empire
Maltese artists
Maltese emigrants to Egypt
Maltese people of French descent
Orientalist painters
People from Valletta