Esplugas, Antoni (1852-1929)

He was one of the first Catalan photographers. In 1876 he opened a photographic studio in Barcelona in the Plaça del Teatre. At the Universal Exhibition of 1888 he obtained the exclusive right to photograph the people who went up in the fixed balloon that existed, and as a result of this activity he obtained aerial photographs of Barcelona for which he received the silver medal of the Exhibition; these photographs were considered for some time to be the first aerial photographs taken in Spain. His work enjoyed great recognition through various awards and decorations, and he also enjoyed prestige as a photographer to the royal household and a knight of the Order of Isabella the Catholic. He moved to Passeig de Gràcia.
He also practised a more personal type of photography in two facets that distinguished him from the majority of photographers of his time: the nude and informative photography close to photojournalism.