Count Amadeo Preziosi was descended from a family which had migrated from Corsica to Malta in the 17th century and been awarded a title by the king of Sicily. Preziosi was born in Valetta on 2 December 1816, and spent his childhood and youth in Malta. His father Count Gio Francois was an eminent figure in Malta and a wealthy man.

Preziosi was educated by private tutors, and his passion for drawing and painting began as a child. Although he studied law in compliance with his parents' wishes he eventually abandoned this profession to devote himself to painting, first entering the studio of Giuseppe Hyzler, and subsequently going to France to complete his art education at the Paris Academy of Fine Arts. This was a time when European pa...