NMP WELCOMES BLUMENTRITT KIN

Last Tuesday, 4 February, the National Museum of the Philippines welcomed the great-great-granddaughter of historian and ethnologist Ferdinand Blumentritt, Ms. Elke Pickert, and her husband Mr. Michael Ocvirk.

The Austrian couple  were given a tour of the National Museum of Fine Arts, where they saw for the first time in person artworks by Dr. José Rizal and Juan Luna, both dear friends of Blumentritt. Of particular interest was Luna’s watercolor painting “Bandera Filipina”, a loan from the National Library of the Philippines, and was the artist’s gift to Blumentritt during his visit to Litoměřice (then Leitmeritz).

During the sidelines of the tour, Ms. Pickert also gifted reproductions of Juan Luna’s watercolor portraits of Blumentritt’s daughter Dolores to the NMP.

Prior to their visit, NMP Deputy Director-General for Museums Jorell Legaspi and National Parks Development Committee Deputy Executive Director Jezreel Apelar accompanied Ms. Pickert and Mr. Ocvirk to see the Rizal Monument and bust of  Blumentritt at Rizal Park. The group continued their tour of Manila in Intramuros, where they visited the Museo ni Jose Rizal in Fort Santiago and the new Centro de Turismo. 

Considered one of the most enthusiastic foreign scholars on Philippine culture during his time, Ferdinand Blumentritt engaged in a series of conversations, largely through letters, with Dr. Rizal, particularly on ethnology and natural history. Despite not setting foot on Philippine soil, Blumentritt helped shape the field of Philippine Studies through his work and friendship with Filipino reformists in Europe in the late 19th century,  earning himself a respected stature among the finest intellectuals in the country.

We thank Ms. Pickert for her visit and for rekindling the historical ties between two of the leading historical figures of the Philippines.

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