View source for Cesar Legaspi

{{Short description|National Artist, Philippines (1917–1994)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=January 2018}}
{{Philippine name|Torrente|Legaspi}}
{{Infobox artist
| name             = Cesar Legaspi 
| image            = File:Cesar Legaspi 2017 postal cover of the Philippines cr (cropped).jpg
| image_size       =
| caption          = 
| birth_name       = Cesar Torrente Legaspi
| birth_date       = {{Birth date|1917|4|2}}
| birth_place      = [[Tondo, Manila]], [[Insular Government of the Philippine Islands|Philippine Islands]]
| death_date       = {{Death date and age|1994|4|7|1917|4|2}}
| death_place      = [[Manila]], [[Philippines]]
| nationality      = [[Filipino people|Filipino]]
| field            = [[Painting]]
| training         = [[University of the Philippines]]
| movement         = [[Cubism]] <br> [[Neorealism (art)|Neorealism]]
| influences       = 
| works            = 
| patrons          = 
| awards           = {{nowrap|[[File:National_Artist_of_the_Philippines.svg|25px]] [[Order of National Artists of the Philippines]]}}
}}
'''Cesar Torrente Legaspi''' (April 2, 1917 – April 7, 1994) was a [[Filipino people|Filipino]] [[National Artist of the Philippines|National Artist]] in painting. He was also an art [[Art director|director]] prior to going full-time in his visual art practice in the 1960s.  His early (1940s–1960s) works, alongside those of peer, Hernando Ocampo are described as depictions of anguish and dehumanization of beggars and laborers in the city.  These include ''Man and Woman'' (alternatively known as ''Beggars'') and ''Gadgets''.  Primarily because of this early period, critics have further cited Legaspi's having "reconstituted" in his paintings "[[cubist|cubism]]'s unfeeling, geometric ordering of figures into a social expressionism rendered by interacting forms filled with rhythmic movement".<ref name=Endaya>Endaya, Imelda Cajipe (artist and independent curator) and Cecilia B. Rebong (Philippine Consul-General).  ''"Pamana: Modernong Sining"'' (A Heritage of Modern Art), An Art Exhibit from the Collection of the Philippine Center in New York, Printed Catalogue, The Consulate General of the Philippines, Philippine Center Management Board, and PCGNY.net, June 11, 2007, 12 pages.</ref><ref>[http://ncca.gov.ph/about-culture-and-arts/culture-profile/national-artists-of-the-philippines/cesar-legaspi-2/ Cesar Legaspi] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211109163954/https://ncca.gov.ph/about-culture-and-arts/culture-profile/national-artists-of-the-philippines/cesar-legaspi-2/ |date=November 9, 2021 }}. ncca.gov.ph (June 1, 2015)</ref>

==Early life==
Legaspi was born to Manuel Legaspi and Rosario Torrente in Tondo, Manila. He took up painting for one term at the [[University of the Philippines]] School of Fine Arts before he decided to take commercial art courses instead. There he received medals for perspective and illustration projects. He earned his Certificate of Proficiency in 1936, after which he continued his education in art under Pablo Amorsolo. He went to [[Madrid]] in 1953 and pursued Art Studies under a scholarship at the Cultura Hispanic until 1954. He also went to Paris to study at the Academie Ranson for one month under [[Henri Goetz]]. Back in the Philippines, he had his first one-man show at the Luz Gallery in 1963. While this led to an active phase with his major pieces, he also worked as a magazine illustrator and artistic director at an advertising agency. He finally left the agency in 1968 to focus on his painting.
<!-- Commented out because image was deleted: [[File:Cesar_Legaspi21.jpg|150px|thumbnail|right|Legapi museum [[nameplate]]]] -->

==Later career==
During his career as an artist, he had the opportunity to be part of several exhibits abroad, including the First Plastic Arts Conference in Rome in 1953, the São Paulo Biennial in Graphic Arts in 1967 and 1969, and the Wraxall Gallery in London with Filipino artists [[Mauro Malang Santos]] and [[Benedicto Cabrera]] in 1982. Apart from this, he holds the record of five retrospective exhibitions at different venues: the Museum of Philippine Art in 1978, the National Museum and the Metropolitan Museum in 1988, and the Luz Gallery and the Cultural Center of the Philippines in 1990. He was an active member of the Art Association of the Philippines and was part of the Neo-Realists. He was also the head of the Saturday Group artists from 1978 until his death on April 7, 1994.

Legaspi's major works include:
* 1945 – ''Man and Woman''
* 1947 – ''Gadgets''

[[File:Cesar Legaspi 2017 postal cover of the Philippines cr.jpg|thumb]]

==Personal life==
He was married to Betty/Vitaliana who kept them afloat with 5 children as he was still beginning to establish his art practice. Their children, in chronological order were Dennis, Rebecca, Maricelle/Celeste, Alicia, and Diana, the latter practiced as a lighting designer before migrating to the US. His middle  daughter, [[Celeste Legaspi]], is a singer, actress and theater-film producer.

==Death==
At the age of 76, Cesar Legaspi died on April 7, 1994 (five days after his birthday) due to prostate cancer.
[[File:Cesar legaspi grave.jpg|thumb|[[Libingan ng mga Bayani]] grave]]

==In popular culture==
Portrayed by [[Ian Veneracion]] in the anthology series ''[[Maalaala Mo Kaya]]'' episode "Portrait" (2018).

==References==
{{Commons category|Cesar Legaspi}}
{{Reflist}}

==See also==
*[[Fernando Amorsolo]]
*[[Vicente Manansala]]
*[[Philippine Center|Art Collection of the Philippine Center, New York City]]
{{National Artists of the Philippines}}
{{Filipino painters}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Legaspi, Cesar}}
[[Category:Filipino people of Spanish descent]]
[[Category:Filipino people of Basque descent]]
[[Category:National Artists of the Philippines]]
[[Category:1917 births]]
[[Category:1994 deaths]]
[[Category:People from Tondo, Manila]]
[[Category:Artists from Metro Manila]]
[[Category:20th-century Filipino painters]]
[[Category:Burials at the Libingan ng mga Bayani]]
[[Category:Deaths from prostate cancer in the Philippines]]