Franz Caucig

1755 Gorica – 1828 Vienna

Born in the Slovene town of Gorica, the painter Franz Caucig studied first at the Vienna Academy and from 1779 underwent further training in Bologna and Rome, where he adopted the Neo-classicist style and established friendly ties with Felice Giani and Antonio Canova. Caucig spent a total of ten years (1781–1791) in the Eternal City before moving to Mantua, where he made plaster casts of classical sculptures and drawings after works of old masters for the Vienna Academy. A longish study trip to Venice (1791–1797) marked the end of his Italian peregrinations. After his return to Vienna in 1798, Caucig was appointed a professor at the Academy, later becoming its director in 1820.