Cazabon, Michel (1813-1888), a Caribbean artist, became known for his landscape scenes and portraits. Cazabon’s paintings form a valuable record of life in the Caribbean region during the mid 1800’s.
Michel Jean Cazabon was born on Sept. 20, 1813, near San Fernando, Trinidad (now Trinidad and Tobago). His parents owned a sugar plantation. They were “free coloreds,” whose families had immigrated to Trinidad from Martinique after the French Revolution of 1789. Cazabon attended school in England. He returned to Trinidad in 1830. In 1839, he went to Paris to study painting. His work was shown at the Salon du Louvre in 1839, and every year from 1843 to 1847. He also exhibited his landscape paintings in Paris in the 1840’s.
In 1848, Cazabon returned to Trinidad, where he became a popular society artist. He painted portraits of planters and merchants, and landscapes of Trinidadian scenery. In 1862, Cazabon moved to St. Pierre, Martinique. In 1870, he returned to Trinidad. He died in virtual poverty on Nov. 20, 1888.
