Carnicero, Antonio (1748-1814)

The son of the sculptor Alejandro Carnicero, he entered the Real Academia de Bellas Artes de San Fernando at the age of ten. At the age of twelve he travelled to Rome as a boarder. On returning to Madrid in 1766 he rejoined the academy.
He worked for the court at the Real Fábrica de Tapices de Santa Bárbara and other jobs, cultivating a style in which we find traits of Rococo and Neoclassicism.
He excelled as a draughtsman and engraver. His skill can be seen in the picturesque series Trajes de España e Indias (“Spanish and Indian Costumes”, 1777), his series of engravings on Bullfighting (1790) and his series of portraits of illustrious Spanish personalities (1788). He participated with his prints in the publishing project that the Royal Spanish Academy prepared for a deluxe printing of Don Quixote, which was edited by Joaquín Ibarra in 1780 and 1782, and was a milestone in the publication of the quintessential classic of Spanish literature.