FÉLIX RESURRECCIÓN
HIDALGO Filipino Artist Born
Félix Resurrección Hidalgo y Padilla February 21, 1855 Binondo, Manila, Spanish East Indies
Died
March 13, 1913 (aged 58) Barcelona,, Spain Filipino
Nationality
Painting, drawing
Known for
Notable work(s) 1884 Las virgenes Cristianas expuestas al populach 1887 La barca de Aqueronte in museums: •
•
Movement
Metropolitan Museum of Manila Lopez Museum Impressionism
Felix Resurreccion Hidalgo’s place in Philippine Art was secured in the last quarter of the nineteenth century through his large Neoclassical canvases which harvested Gold and Silver Medals in prestigious International Exhibitions. At a time when merely to have one’s painting accepted and hung in the highly competitive International Exhibits was a mark of having arrived as a painter, Hidalgo’s entries stood out among thousands of paintings (representing in these Exhibits the best Europe and America had to offer) to win distinction: a Gold Medal for his major work, La Barca de Aqueronte and Silver Medals for two others (Jovenes Cristianas Expuestas al Populacho and Adios del Sol). It is therefore through these two historical paintings “in the grand manner” (a seascape with figure, Adios del Sol is a departure from the traditional manner) that Hidalgo’s reputation as a painter is assured in both Philippine Art history and the popular mind.
Submitted by: Evalle, Krizia Mae O. Pineda, Patricia Mae Z. Umpad, Lynette Joselle C. Yasis, Loralie Mae S.
HUMANITIES 1
Sat 12pm – 3pm 3pm
Early Life & Education Felix R. Hidalgo was the third of seven children of Eduardo Resurreccion Hidalgo, landed proprietor and lawyer, and Maria Barbara Padilla, entrepreneur. He studied in the University of Santo Tomas where his artistry was encouraged by Fr. Sabater. He studied law, which he never finished, received a bacheller en filosifia in March 1871. He was simultaneously enrolled at the Escuela de Dibujo y Pintura under, Spanish painter, Agustin Saez. In 1876, he previewed his " La Barca" (The Native Boat), "Vendadora de Lanzones " (Lanzones Vendor) and other paintings at the Teatro Circo de Bilibid before they were sent to the Philadelphia Universal Exposition of that year. In 1878, he painted the poignant and well-crafted "Los Mendigos" (The Beggars). He was sent to Spain in 1879 as a pensionado and studied in the School of Fine Arts in Madrid. He attended the Real Academia de Bellas Artes de San Fernando de Madrid, whose courses he described in a letter to lose Rizal as obsolete and boring. During this period he exhibited "La Siesta" (Nap in the Afternoon), 1881, a piece which was favorably reviewed in La Ilustracion Espanola y Americana in that year. Upon termination of his studies, instead of returning to the Philippines, he went to Paris and put up a gallery at 43 Blvd. Arago. Hidalgo was then on his own. For a while he suffered and starved in the best artistic tradition. Later, however his family came upon some measure of prosperity and was able to maintain him. An uncle, P. Jose Sabido Padilla, helped him when the business of his mother suffered reverses. His studio became one of the centers of Filipino activities. There, Filipino exiles and revolutionaries found a sanctuary. In 1879, he went to Rome, still as a pensionado, where he finished a portrait, "Senador Romano" (Roman Senator), and others. In 1883, he toured Spain rejoining his patron and close friend, Francisco de Yriarte in Galicia. There, he pitched a tent to study nature more closely. He then moved to Paris for further studies with the partial support of de Yriarte.
Artistic Career In 1877, Resurrección Hidalgo was awarded second place in the contest for best cover design for the de luxe edition of Fr Manuel Blanco's "Flora de Filipinas" (Plants of the Philippines). In 1879 he left for Spain as a pensionado in fine arts of the Ayuntamiento of Manila.
His Las virgenes Cristianas expuestas al populacho (The Christian virgins Exposed to the Populace), was awarded the ninth silver medal at the 1884 Exposición General de Bellas ArtesE in Madrid.This showed a group of boorish looking males mocking semi-naked female Christians, one of whom is seated in the foreground, with head bowed in misery. In the same exposition, Luna's Spoliarium was awarded a gold medal. In the Exposición General de las Islas Filipinas in Madrid in 1887, Hidalgo presented La barca de Aqueronte (“The Boat of Charon”) 1887, and Laguna estigia ("The Styx"), 1887, for which he received a gold medal. La barca was again shown at the Exposition Universelle in Paris and was awarded a silver medal by an international jury. In 1891 it was accorded a diploma of honor at the Exposición General de Bellas Artes of Barcelona. This painting also received a gold medal in the International Exposition of Fine Arts in Madrid during the commemoration of the 400th anniversary of the discovery of America. He exhibited Adios al sol ("Farewell to, the Sun"), 1891 at the Exposición Internacional de Bellas Artes in Madrid in that year and El crepusculo ("The Dawn"), 1893, at the Universal exposition in Chicago, also in that year. He showed both paintings again at the Exposición Artistica de Bilbao in August 1894. In the Exposición Regional de Filipinas in Manila in January 1895, Hidalgo was represented by his paintings done in the grand romantic manner. In April of the same year he exhibited Oedipus y Antigone("Oedipus and Antigone"), El violinista ("The Violinist"), Cabeza napolitana("Head of a Neapolitan"), Cabeza del viejo ("Head of an Old Man"), Un religioso ("A Religious"), and others at the Salon at Champs-Élysées, Paris. Hidalgo produced over a thousand works which include oil paintings, watercolor, pastels and charcoal drawings. His subjects range from the mythological and historical to landscapes, seascapes, portraits and figures of the genre. He received awards in Paris in 1889, in Chicago in 1892 and in the Panama-Pacific Exposition in 1915. Hidalgo received a gold medal for his overall participation at the Universal Exposition in St. Louis, Missouri in 1904. His El violinista was individually accorded a gold medal. Eventually, he became a great prize winner and his paintings were exhibited at the French Academy and marked H.C. (Hors Concours). However, he kept to himself and continued in his romantic studies despite the artistic revolution going on in his time. Thus while some of his later paintings showed some impressionist influence, he was never in the center of the movement and the impressionist school pass him by.
Notable Works
Las Virgenes Cristianas Expuestas al Populace (The Christian Virgins Exposed to the Populace), 1884
La barca de Aqueronte (The Boat of Charon/ Charoon’s Boat), 1887
Oil on canvas
Oil on canvas
Other Artworks
La Laguna Estigia (The River Styx/ The Styx), 1887 Portrait of Rizal, 1883 A Lady in the Moonlight
Study of Governor Bustamante
Seascape with Boat
References
Felix Resurreccion Hidalgo. Lopez Museum & Library. Retrieved from: http://lopez-museum.com/collections/felix-resurreccion-hidalgo/ Felix hidalgo. Geringer Art Ltd. Retrieved from: http://www.geringerart.com/bios/hidalgo.html Félix Resurrección Hidalgo. Wikipedia Retrieved from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Félix_Resurrección_Hidalgo Felix Resurreccion Hidalgo. WikiFilipino Para sa Filipino. Retrieved from: http://en.wikipilipinas.org/index.php/Felix_Resurreccion_Hidalgo Portrait of Rizal Painted in Oil by Hidalgo in 1883 Retrieved from: http://tagaloglang.com/The-Philippines/Filipino-Art/portrait-of-rizal-painted-inoil-by-hidalgo-in-1883.html
