Antonio Caba

ANTONIO CABA CASAMITJANA (Barcelona, 1837 - 1907).
"Apparition of the Virgin and Child to St. Francis", 1869.
Oil on canvas. Relined.
Signed and dated in the lower left corner.
Measurements: 139.5 x 98 cm; 155.5 x 119 cm (frame).

Painter and decorator born in Barcelona, Antonio Caba began his studies at the School of Fine Arts in Barcelona, where he had as teachers Gabriel Planella, Pablo Milà Fontanals and Claudio Lorenzale. He then furthered his studies in Madrid thanks to a pension granted to him by the Diputación de Barcelona in 1863. There he was a student of Federico de Madrazo. Later he traveled to Rome and Paris, broadening his training as a disciple of the fresco artist Carlos Ruiz Delaroche. Throughout his career Caba submitted his works to numerous official exhibitions, being awarded a second medal at the National Exhibition of Fine Arts in 1864 and a gold medal at the Universal Exhibition in Barcelona in 1888. For many years he taught, first at the Llotja School in Barcelona and later at the Academies of San Fernando in Madrid and Sant Jordi in Barcelona, teaching, among others, the impressionist painter Eliseu Meifrèn. In San Fernando he was assistant professor, and in Sant Jordi he became professor and director of the Academy. His work is currently preserved in the Prado Museum, the National Art Museum of Catalonia, the Museum of L'Empordà, the City Council of Perelada (Gerona) and the Abbey of Montserrat, as well as in various private collections.