AMEDEO PREZIOSI - KUMKAPI

AMADEO PREZIOSI 1816-1882

Kumkapi

Signed, dated 1877

Watercolour on paper

40.5 x 68.5 cm

AMADEO PREZIOSI 1816-1882

Amedeo Preziosi was born into a noble family in Malta in 1816. His father, Giovanni Francesco Preziosi, held a senior position in the local government and represented Malta in the negotiations for the Treaty of Amiens in 1802.

Preziosi was interested in art from childhood and was trained by Giuseppe Hyzler, a highly acclaimed painter in Malta. He continued his education at the École des Beaux-Arts.

After completing his education, he chose to move to the Near East, a region where other artists in Paris preferred to work. The date of his departure from Malta to Istanbul is unknown, but it is thought to have been between 1840 and 1842.

The earliest known drawings of Istanbul date back to November 1842. In 1844, Robert Curzon, the private secretary of Lord Stratford Canning, the British Ambassador to Istanbul, commissioned Preziosi to make the album Costumes of Constantinople. This album is currently on display in the British Museum.

Preziosi, who was working at a time when postcards and photography were just beginning to become widespread, would make drawings of Istanbul and its surroundings for European tourists. In 1858, he decided to publish his most popular works as prints in the Lemercier workshop in Paris. In 1862, Preziosi completed the printing of the albums Stamboul, Recollections of Eastern Life and Souvenir d'Orient. Later, he published his second album, Souvenir du Caïreadlı, which consisted of drawings he made during his trip to Egypt.

Preziosi's studio was frequently visited by tourists wishing to take home a souvenir of Istanbul. Among those who visited the studio were King Edward VII of the United Kingdom and the Prince of Wales, who bought several of his watercolours.

Arriving in Romania in June 1868, Preziosi began painting landscapes in Bucharest and around the country. He sold these paintings to the Prince of Romania for prices ranging from 300 to 1,200 francs. The following year, between 30 May and 15 July, he made charcoal, ink and watercolour studies in Romania. These works are currently exhibited in the sketchbook La Valachie par Preziosi in the Municipal Museum in Bucharest.