Eunuch of the Seraglio

Amadeo Preziosi (1816 - 1882)

Colour lithograph

published 1858
  • About the work
    Location
    Country: Turkey
    City: Istanbul
    Place: British Consulate-General
  • About the artist
    Amadeo, Fifth Count Preziosi, a Maltese noble, abandoned his law studies to enter the Paris Academy of Fine Arts. He travelled to Constantinople in 1842 and while there was commissioned by the British Ambassador’s Private Secretary to make a series of drawings. This helped establish his reputation as an artist and he set up a studio in Constantinople. In addition to Italian, Preziosi spoke French, Greek, English and Turkish. He married a Greek woman from Constantinople and had four children. For many years he lived in Beyoglu, near the present British Consulate. While his pictures were often bought by locals, his reputation rapidly spread to Western Europe as travellers (including the Prince of Wales) took his works home as souvenirs.
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  • Details
    Title
    Eunuch of the Seraglio
    Date
    published 1858
    Medium
    Colour lithograph
    Acquisition
    Presented by Sir Stephen Gaselee, June 1930
    Provenance
    Presented to the British Consulate, Istanbul by Sir Stephen Gaselee, June 1930
    GAC number
    15436