During his 19th century lifetime Amedeo Preziosi was an enigmatic artist. His origins were long unknown though becoming notable for his focus on Romania as a subject. Landscapes, protraits of day-to-day life, and a fascination with the ‘oriental’ aura of Romanian life became his subject matter. Reaching Romania in 1868, his works document the last-half-of century when Romania came into its own as a new nation under the reign of Carol I.
It was eventually established that he was born in 1816 of a Maltese noble family. Ignoring his father’s wish to complete law studies in France, he turned to a passion for ‘romantic-styled’ painting at the Ecole des Beaux Arts. This led to a growing reputation and commissioned works by British art patrons captivated by Constantinople/Istanbul and the Orient as a subject.