PREZIOSI

STAMBOUL,
RECOLLECTIONS OF EASTERN LIFE

PREZIOSI, Amadeo

Paris, Lemercier, 1858

First edition, Oblong Folio, 56 x42 cm.

with tinted lithographed title and 29 chromolithograph plates.

The son of Count Gio Francois Preziosi of Malta, Amadeo initially studied the law before turning to painting. After studying under Giuseppe Hyzler, Perziosi subsequently completed his art education at the Paris Academy of Fine Arts. He moved to Constantinople in 1842, fell in love with the city, and was able to make a living painting the places and people that surrounded him. It is noted in the Atabey catalogue that “Preziosi was well-known …. His studio is mentioned in Murray’s guidebooks for 1854 and 1871. By that time he had become an institution in the city… He produced views of the city, and genre and costume drawings” (The Ottoman World p.535). His paintings sold well to both the affluent local and the Grand Tourist, and his reputation was such that also served as a court painter to Sultan Abdul Hamid II. Preziosi visited Cairo in 1862 and the colourful views here depict street scenes and local inhabitants in the city and along the Nile. First published in 1862, the present limited issue was published under the direction of the Encyclopédie des Arts Décoratifs de L’Orient.