Antonio Mart?nez Barrio

(b Huesca, 1750; d Madrid, 1798). Spanish goldsmith. The son of a goldsmith of the same name, he went to Saragossa in 1764 to attend the classes in painting and drawing given by the painter Jos? Luz?n y Mart?nez (1710-85). In 1769 he went to study at the Real Academia de Bellas Artes de S Fernando in Madrid. In 1775 Mart?nez deposited with Charles III a number of gold and silver pieces, made by himself, as a guarantee for a loan to subsidize a visit to Paris and London. On his return to Spain in April 1776 he brought models of gold and silver objects and a good knowledge of the most modern styles. In October 1777 he presented to the King a proposal for a school

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