MACARIO VITALIS (1898-1990)
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Macario Vitalis was born in 1898 in Lapog, Ilocos Sur. As a poor young adult, he left the Philippines for the United States in 1917, attending art school in San Francisco by day and working as an elevator boy at night. In 1924, Vitalis began his studies at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts. He left the US in late 1926, settling in France. There, Vitalis studied at the Academie de Montmartre and set up his studio in the Parisian suburb of Puteaux. In Paris, he met influential modernist painters including Pablo Picasso, creating works that depicted the ambiance of pre-war Parisian life.
Vitalis returned to the Philippines in 1963 where his Post-Impressionist work was shown in the National Library, including a series of Breton seascapes painted in the 1950s. The French Post-Impressionist movement influenced Vitalis’ color sensibility and his transition into visionary painting with themes of religion and spirituality.
Later in his life, Vitalis was recognized for his contributions to the Modernist movement and the Philippine art community. In 1981 his works, along with works by Nena Saguil, and Ofelia Gelvezon-Tequiwere, were shown in an exhibition Six Artistes Contemporains Philippins en Europe at the Academie Diplomatique Internationale in Paris. in 1984, he was honored with the medal of excellence from the Institut Academique de Paris. He was also the subject of a retrospective at the Cultural Center of the Philippines Main Gallery in 1986, where his works from as far back as 1936 were shown. Vitalis’ works can be found in the Lopez Museum’s collection in Pasig City. He died in 1990 during his final trip to the Philippines.
Notable Works:
View of City Hall, Market Day
Assembly of 11 characters including Camille Renault
View of a church, 1941
Colonel Lyautey and the palace of Rabat
View of a Norman village
The Bourbonneux bakery
The Cabaret
Camille Renault's restaurant
V ue from Paris and portrait of Camille Renault
Vitalis returned to the Philippines in 1963 where his Post-Impressionist work was shown in the National Library, including a series of Breton seascapes painted in the 1950s. The French Post-Impressionist movement influenced Vitalis’ color sensibility and his transition into visionary painting with themes of religion and spirituality.
Later in his life, Vitalis was recognized for his contributions to the Modernist movement and the Philippine art community. In 1981 his works, along with works by Nena Saguil, and Ofelia Gelvezon-Tequiwere, were shown in an exhibition Six Artistes Contemporains Philippins en Europe at the Academie Diplomatique Internationale in Paris. in 1984, he was honored with the medal of excellence from the Institut Academique de Paris. He was also the subject of a retrospective at the Cultural Center of the Philippines Main Gallery in 1986, where his works from as far back as 1936 were shown. Vitalis’ works can be found in the Lopez Museum’s collection in Pasig City. He died in 1990 during his final trip to the Philippines.
Notable Works:
View of City Hall, Market Day
Assembly of 11 characters including Camille Renault
View of a church, 1941
Colonel Lyautey and the palace of Rabat
View of a Norman village
The Bourbonneux bakery
The Cabaret
Camille Renault's restaurant
V ue from Paris and portrait of Camille Renault
