Birth Anniversary of Cesar T. Legaspi
The #NationalMuseumPH celebrates the 105th birth anniversary of Modernist painter Cesar T. Legaspi, born #OnThisDay in 1917.
Cesar T. Legaspi was one of the Thirteen Moderns considered forerunners and pioneering advocates of modern art in the country. The group was formed before World War II and led by National Artist Victorio C. Edades (1895-1985). After the war, Legaspi joined the Neo-realist movement as one of its core members. The group produced works that feature Philippine themes in a style that is representational in form but more open to various degrees of abstraction.
The National Fine Arts Collection has six paintings by Legaspi, including “Mother and Child.” Created in 1952, this oil on panel painting represents the influence of the neo-realism style. It is on display at the National Museum of Fine Arts, Gallery XVIII as part of the exhibition “Pillars of Philippine Modernism (II),” featuring modern art in the Philippines from the 1940s to 1980s. This exhibition presents the works of Cesar T. Legaspi and his fellow modernists and National Artist awardees Carlos V. Francisco (1912-1969), Jose T. Joya (1931-1995), and Abdumalri Asia Imao (1936-2014).
Legaspi was born on April 2, 1917, in Tondo, Manila. His art training started at the University of the Philippines where he received his Certificate of Proficiency in 1936. After this, he continued his training under Pablo C. Amorsolo (1898-1945). In 1950, he exhibited his works at the Manila Hotel along with the other neo-realists. He later flew to Madrid, Spain in 1953 to study at the Cultura Hispanica as a scholar. He took an art course at the Academie Ranson in Paris, France under French American surrealist painter and engraver Henri Bernard Goetz. Upon his return, he held his first one-man show at the Luz Gallery in 1963. While practicing his art, he also worked as an artist for Elizalde & Company and as art director and vice president for creative planning for an advertising agency Philprom. In 1968, he retired from advertising and focused on his art as a full-time painter. He participated in several exhibitions abroad including the First Plastic Arts Conference in Rome (1953), São Paulo Biennial in Graphic Arts (1967 and 1969), and Wraxall Gallery in London (1982). He held retrospective exhibitions in the country at the Museum of Philippine Art (1978), National Museum (1988), Metropolitan Museum (1988), Luz Gallery (1990), and Cultural Center of the Philippines (1990). Legaspi was an active member of the Art Association of the Philippines and became the head of the famous Saturday Group of Artists from 1978 to 1994.
While Legaspi suffered from color blindness, this did not deter him from pursuing his love for art. His life is an inspiration to everyone as seen in how he overcame his challenge and made an important contribution to Philippine art. Legaspi was awarded National Artist for Visual Arts in 1990, four years before he passed away on April 7, 1994.
The National Museum of Fine Arts is now open for walk-in visitors! You may also view the 360 degrees virtual tour of selected NMFA galleries on the link https://www.nationalmuseum.gov.ph/nmfa360/HTML5/NMFA360.html. See you at the National Museum!
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Text by NMP-FAD
Photo by Bengy Toda
© 2022 National Museum of the Philippines
