Antonio Maria Blanco (15 September 1912 – 10 December 1999) was a painter of
Spanish
Spanish might refer to:
* Items from or related to Spain:
**Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain
**Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries
**Spanish cuisine
Other places
* Spanish, Ontario, Cana ...
and
American
American(s) may refer to:
* American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America"
** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America
** American ancestry, pe ...
descent.
Biography
Antonio Maria Blanco was born in the
Ermita
Ermita is a district in Manila, Philippines. Located at the central part of the city, the district is a significant center of finance, education, culture, and commerce. Ermita serves as the civic center of the city, bearing the seat of city g ...
district of
Manila
Manila ( , ; fil, Maynila, ), officially the City of Manila ( fil, Lungsod ng Maynila, ), is the capital of the Philippines, and its second-most populous city. It is highly urbanized and, as of 2019, was the world's most densely populate ...
,
Philippines
The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no),
* bik, Republika kan Filipinas
* ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas
* cbk, República de Filipinas
* hil, Republ ...
. He initially lived and worked in
Florida
Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...
and
California
California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...
in the United States, until he became interested in exploring the islands of the
Pacific Ocean
The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the continen ...
that had been a source of inspiration for painters such as
Paul Gauguin
Eugène Henri Paul Gauguin (, ; ; 7 June 1848 – 8 May 1903) was a French Post-Impressionist artist. Unappreciated until after his death, Gauguin is now recognized for his experimental use of colour and Synthetist style that were distinct fr ...
,
José Miguel Covarrubias and others before him. He planned to go to
Tahiti
Tahiti (; Tahitian ; ; previously also known as Otaheite) is the largest island of the Windward group of the Society Islands in French Polynesia. It is located in the central part of the Pacific Ocean and the nearest major landmass is Austr ...
, but fate brought him to
Hawaii
Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only stat ...
,
Japan
Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...
and
Cambodia
Cambodia (; also Kampuchea ; km, កម្ពុជា, UNGEGN: ), officially the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country located in the southern portion of the Indochinese Peninsula in Southeast Asia, spanning an area of , bordered by Thailand t ...
, where he was a guest of honor of Prince
Norodom Sihanouk
Norodom Sihanouk (; km, នរោត្តម សីហនុ, ; 31 October 192215 October 2012) was a Cambodian statesman, Sangkum and FUNCINPEC politician, Norodom Sihanouk filmography, film director, and composer who led Cambodia in vari ...
. From Cambodia he went to Bali in 1952 and married a traditional
Balinese dance
Balinese dance ( id, Tarian Bali; ban, ᬇᬕᬾᬮᬦ᭄ᬩᬮᬶ) is an ancient dance tradition that is part of the religious and artistic expression among the Balinese people of Bali island, Indonesia. Balinese dance is dynamic, angula ...
r named Ni Ronji in 1953. Bali gave Blanco important elements that he needed to develop his artistic gifts: the beautiful scenery, the dreamlike atmosphere of the environment and the pervasive art and great love.
Settled in Bali, Blanco began to realize his dreams in life and work. He built a house and museum in Ubud which contains many of his paintings.
The land on which the construction was erected was given to Blanco by the King of Ubud
Tjokorda Gde Agung Sukawati. Women are the focal point of his paintings and one could say that Blanco was a painter of the
eternal feminine
The eternal feminine, a concept first introduced by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe in his play ''Faust'' (1832), is a transcendental ideality of the feminine or womanly abstracted from the attributes, traits and behaviors of a large number of women a ...
and his style is romantic-expressive and dreamy.
Blanco received numerous awards, including the Tiffany Fellowship (special award from The Society of Honolulu Artists), Chevalier du Sahametrai of Cambodia, the Society of Painters of Fine Art Quality of President Sukarno and the Prize of the Art Critique in Spain. Blanco was also awarded the order of Cruz de Caballero from the King of Spain
Juan Carlos I
Juan Carlos I (;,
* ca, Joan Carles I,
* gl, Xoán Carlos I, Juan Carlos Alfonso Víctor María de Borbón y Borbón-Dos Sicilias, born 5 January 1938) is a member of the Spanish royal family who reigned as King of Spain from 22 Novem ...
, giving him the title of "Don" in front of his name.
Many collectors have appreciated his paintings, including the actress
Ingrid Bergman
Ingrid Bergman (29 August 191529 August 1982) was a Swedish actress who starred in a variety of European and American films, television movies, and plays.Obituary ''Variety'', 1 September 1982. With a career spanning five decades, she is often ...
, Mexican telenovela queen
Thalia
Thalia, Thalía, Thaleia or Thalian may refer to:
People
* Thalia (given name), including a list of people with the name
* Thalía (born 1971), Mexican singer and actress
Mythological and fictional characters
* Thalia (Grace), one of the three ...
(Ariadna Thalia Sodi Miranda),
Sukarno
Sukarno). (; born Koesno Sosrodihardjo, ; 6 June 1901 – 21 June 1970) was an Indonesian statesman, orator, revolutionary, and nationalist who was the first president of Indonesia, serving from 1945 to 1967.
Sukarno was the leader of ...
(the first President of Indonesia),
Suharto
Suharto (; ; 8 June 1921 – 27 January 2008) was an Indonesian army officer and politician, who served as the second and the longest serving president of Indonesia. Widely regarded as a military dictator by international observers, Suharto ...
(the second president of Indonesia), the former Indonesian Vice President
Adam Malik
Adam Malik Batubara (22 July 1917 – 5 September 1984), or more commonly referred to simply as Adam Malik, was an Indonesians, Indonesian politician, diplomat, and journalist, who served as the 3rd Vice President of Indonesia from 1978 until ...
, Prince Norodom Sihanouk,
Michael Jackson
Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009) was an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and philanthropist. Dubbed the "King of Pop", he is regarded as one of the most significant cultural figures of the 20th century. Over a ...
and many more.
The Blanco Renaissance Museum, Blanco's lifetime dream, was opened on December 28, 1998 at his residence in a beautiful environment, where more than 300 works of Blanco are exposed in chronological order to show his artistic development. The sumptuous and impressive building offers a glimpse of the theatrical character of the artist. He emulated the flamboyance of
Dali, to whom he has been compared.
Don Antonio Maria Blanco died on December 10, 1999 in
Denpasar
Denpasar (; Balinese script, Balinese: ᬤᬾᬦ᭄ᬧᬲᬃ) is the capital of Bali and the main gateway to the island. The city is also a hub for other cities in the Lesser Sunda Islands.
With the rapid growth of the tourism industry in Bali ...
,
Bali
Bali () is a province of Indonesia and the westernmost of the Lesser Sunda Islands. East of Java and west of Lombok, the province includes the island of Bali and a few smaller neighbouring islands, notably Nusa Penida, Nusa Lembongan, and Nu ...
, from heart and kidney disease, survived by his wife and four children: Cempaka, Mario, Orchid and Mahadewi. Since Blanco converted to
Hinduism
Hinduism () is an Indian religion or '' dharma'', a religious and universal order or way of life by which followers abide. As a religion, it is the world's third-largest, with over 1.2–1.35 billion followers, or 15–16% of the global p ...
, he had a cremation ceremony Balinese style in Ubud, finished on 28 December 1999.
Gallery
His house on a hill in
Ubud
Ubud is a town on the Indonesian island of Bali in Ubud District, located amongst rice paddies and steep ravines in the central foothills of the Gianyar regency. Promoted as an arts and culture centre, it has developed a large tourism industry. ...
is now a museum devoted to him.
File:Antonio Blanco le musée.JPG, The house and museum of Antonio Blanco in Ubud
Ubud is a town on the Indonesian island of Bali in Ubud District, located amongst rice paddies and steep ravines in the central foothills of the Gianyar regency. Promoted as an arts and culture centre, it has developed a large tourism industry. ...
File:Antonio Blanco Atelier.JPG, Antonio Blanco's workshop in his museum in Ubud
Ubud is a town on the Indonesian island of Bali in Ubud District, located amongst rice paddies and steep ravines in the central foothills of the Gianyar regency. Promoted as an arts and culture centre, it has developed a large tourism industry. ...
References
External links
Don Antonio Blanco - In MemoriamThe Antonio Blanco museum official web site*
* (Russian)
Documentary about Bali art and Antonio Blanco influence
{{DEFAULTSORT:Blanco, Antonio
1912 births
1999 deaths
Indonesian painters
People from Ermita
Indo people
Converts to Hinduism
Indonesian former Christians
Indonesian Hindus
Indonesian people of American descent
Indonesian people of Spanish descent
Filipino emigrants to Indonesia
Deaths from kidney disease
Filipino expatriates in the United States