Antonio Muñoz Degrain

Antonio Muñoz Degrain was a Spanish painter of landscapes and literary and historical scenes, known for intense, sometimes unusual colour. He began in the academic style and moved towards a freer, brighter manner, with vivid skies and glowing light.

He was born in Valencia in 1840. He decorated the ceiling of the Teatro Cervantes in Málaga in 1870 and taught at the Málaga academy for many years. In 1884 he won first prize at the National Exhibition with The Lovers of Teruel, a tragic love story that is now in the Museo del Prado. He later became professor of landscape and then director at the Real Academia de Bellas Artes de San Fernando in Madrid. He gave many of his works to the museum in Valencia.

His paintings for us include Cervantes in Algiers and views of the Alcazaba of Málaga. In the landscapes, look at the saturated colour. He died in Málaga in 1924.