Born in Amsterdam of Belgium parents Carabain was a painter of monumental townscapes and landscapes. As a pupil at the Amsterdam Academy of Arts he studied under the genre painter Jacobus Schoemaker Doyer (1792-1867) and Valentin Bing (1812-1855) also a painter of genre but historical subjects as well.

Travelling extensively, particularly in France, Italy, Germany and Austria, Carabain depicted many of the major towns and cities that he saw grandly displaying some of the most monumental buildings of Europe with extremely high clarity and great luminosity of detail. Usually working on canvas, and very rarely on a large scale, he typically portrayed the townsfolk going about their daily tasks, perhaps on their way or at market, and his depiction of donkeys is as much a characteristic as his signature itself.

In 1880 at the age of 46, Carabain became a naturalised Belgian having lived and worked in Brussels for many years and having exhibited there since 1862; he had also exhibited in Amsterdam and The Hague from 1852 onwards and in London in 1874.

His works can be found in museums in: London, Victoria and Albert museum, Manchester, Prague, Museum Ruddfinum “Vue de Poggiodomo”; Ypres “Grand Place a Bruxelles” and a series of paintings in the Hôtel de Villes of Brussels can be seen which depict views of the city.