01 Painting by Orientalist Artists, with footnotes, 69

Antonio María Fabrés y Costa, 1854-1938, SPANISH

A GIFT FOR THE FAVOURITE

Oil on panel

44.5 by 55.5cm., 17½ by 22 in.

Private collection

Antoni Maria Fabrés i Costa (Spanish: Antonio Maria Fabrés y Costa; 1854–1938), also known as Antoni Fabrés, was a famous Catalan sculptor and painter during the turn of the 20th century.

It is said that he inherited his artistic skills, as his father was a draughtsman and his uncle a silversmith. He started studying at the Escola de la Llotja in his native city at the age of 13. When he turned 21, he received a grant to study in Rome. There are records of his sculptures from early in his career but later on he became a painter almost exclusively. He joined Marià Fortuny with a group that became known for their intense realism. Their popularity grew with the taste of the bourgeoisie seeking exotic images with oriental or medieval themes. In 1894 he moved to Paris. The popularity he had earned during his decade in Italy helped him open a large studio where he could create complex scenes for the upper classes.

Antoni Fabrés was called to take the place of Santiago Rebull as head of the Academia de San Carlos in Mexico City. The faculty had a hard time adapting to his distinct style and personality. In 1907, he returned to Rome. 


Fabrés was acclaimed in Barcelona, London, Paris, Vienna and Lyon. At the end of his life he was dealt a very unfortunate blow when in 1926 he decided to donate a large number of works to the Museu de Belles Arts de Barcelona. In exchange for this generous donation he asked the Museum that a hall be built with his name, but the museum never built that hall and although he protested several times, they could never settle the argument. Antoni Fabrés died in Rome in 1938. More on Antonio Fabrés

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