ANTONIO GARCIA LLAMAS
Tony, as his friends fondly called him, was a product of the bes...t of Philippine and Spanish cultures. He was born in Intramuros, on May 16, 1912 of Adolfo Perez de Tagle Garcia Sr., founder of the Photo Engraving Plant (one of the buildings destroyed during the liberation of Maníla) and the beauteous Trinidad Llamas of Manila. A major influence for Tony's inclination towards the arts was his grandfather, the noted Spanish artist and engraver Antonio García Granda, a former director of Spain's Casa de la Moneda (Spanish Mint) and a renowned professor of engraving at the "Escuela Superior de Pintura, Escultura y Grabado de Manila" during the directorship of Agustin Saez.
Tony was also a product of the exclusive religious school for boys San Juan de Letran in Intramuros, where he received his elementary and high school education. He graduated from the University of the Philippines School of Fine Arts in 1930 and was very active as a football player and as a man of letters during his college days.
Early Success
Garcia Llamas first created waves in the Philippine Art scene in 1937 when he won the First Prize in the Open Poster Competition for the 33rd Intemational Eucharistic Congress. His poster for the First Philippine International Fair in 1953 also won the First Prize.
Garcia Llamas first created waves in the Philippine Art scene in 1937 when he won the First Prize in the Open Poster Competition for the 33rd Intemational Eucharistic Congress. His poster for the First Philippine International Fair in 1953 also won the First Prize.
But the challenge of studying and improving his skills abroad and making good in the intemational market, just like the great Filipino masters Juan Luna, Felix Resureccion Hidalgo and Fernando Amorsolo, made Garcia Llamas impatient. He traveled to Italy in 1938 and enrolled at the Academia de Belli Arti di Roma where he stayed for one year. He moved to Spain in 1939 and enrolled at the old school of Luna, Hidalgo and Amorsolo, the Academia de Bellas Artes de San Femando in Madrid, where he studied under the tutelage of Spain's outstanding contemporary painters Eduardo Chicharro and Manuel Benedito Vasquez Díaz. He must have felt the same frustrations that Luna, Hidalgo and Miguel Zaragoza experienced at the Academia de Bellas Artes de San Femando (the lessons were too basic for their skills), because one year thereafter he left the academy and set out to challenge the very exacting Spanish art circle and market.
In 1941, his first exhibit in Spain entitled "Indays" at Madríd,s Círculo de Bellas Artes created a sensation. Critics hailed him as the Filipíno Gauguin. One outstanding work in this exhibit of a trio of Filipino nudes highlighting their Filipino features was so highly acclaimed that it was reproduced in the "Shin Seiki", a cultural magazine published in the Philippines during the Japanese occupation.
In 1942, Generalissimo Francisco Franco awarded Antonio Garcia Llamas the Alfonso X El Sabio Medal. He was the first and only Fílipino ever to receive such a distinct award. In 1947 he married Luisa Bueno of Huelva, Spain and the couple was blessed with two daughters and a son, María Luisa, María Antonia and Manuel Adolfo.
He submitted two paintings and a sculpture to the 1948 Exposicion Nacional de Bellas Artes held in the Palacio de Exposiciones located at the Retiro Park in Madrid. Of the works by Garcia Llamas, the noted Spanish painter María Rosset commented in an interview which appeared in the Spanish aftemoon newspaper INFORMACIONES: "there are many excellent works in the exposition, but among my favorites is a painting, a portrait of a Dominican priest (Father Mufloz) by García Llamas". In 1949, his exhibit at the Salon de Mínerva, Circulo de Bellas Artes de Madrid was honored by the presence of Generalissimo Francisco Franco and his wifé.
Major Works
Homesick, Garcia Llamas retumed to Manila in 1950 and became a professor of Fine Arts at the University of Santo Tomas, where he taught for fifteen years. While in the Philíppines, he did the portraits of President and Mme. Magsaysay, and President and Mme. Marcos, whích now hang in Malacañang Palace. He was invíted as a personal guest and stayed in the presidential palace in Jakarta for three and a half months to do the portraits of President Sukarno and Mme. Fatriawatti Sukarno. He also did the portraits of his fírst cousin Cristina Castañer‑Ponce Enrile and his niece Amparito Llamas-Lhuilier. Portraits and paintings by Garcia Llamas are in the collections of names such as the late Don Luis Araneta, Don Andres Soriano, Ambassador C. Wilson, Ambassador Luis Gonzalez, Ambassador Manuel Nieto, Mrs. Luz Magsaysay, Mr. Bayot, Luisa Guidotti Vaca, Carlos Palanca, the heirs of the caricaturist Luis Lasa, the Oppen‑Cuyugan family, General Carlos P. Romulo (Mrs Virginia Llamas Romulo was another cousín), Manuel Galatas, Jose María Olbes of Sotogrande, Spain, Joaquin Elizalde, the Arrastria‑Presylers, the poet Manuel Bernabe, Vicky Quirino, Mrs. Chino Roces and Mrs. Margarita Cojuangco.
Homesick, Garcia Llamas retumed to Manila in 1950 and became a professor of Fine Arts at the University of Santo Tomas, where he taught for fifteen years. While in the Philíppines, he did the portraits of President and Mme. Magsaysay, and President and Mme. Marcos, whích now hang in Malacañang Palace. He was invíted as a personal guest and stayed in the presidential palace in Jakarta for three and a half months to do the portraits of President Sukarno and Mme. Fatriawatti Sukarno. He also did the portraits of his fírst cousin Cristina Castañer‑Ponce Enrile and his niece Amparito Llamas-Lhuilier. Portraits and paintings by Garcia Llamas are in the collections of names such as the late Don Luis Araneta, Don Andres Soriano, Ambassador C. Wilson, Ambassador Luis Gonzalez, Ambassador Manuel Nieto, Mrs. Luz Magsaysay, Mr. Bayot, Luisa Guidotti Vaca, Carlos Palanca, the heirs of the caricaturist Luis Lasa, the Oppen‑Cuyugan family, General Carlos P. Romulo (Mrs Virginia Llamas Romulo was another cousín), Manuel Galatas, Jose María Olbes of Sotogrande, Spain, Joaquin Elizalde, the Arrastria‑Presylers, the poet Manuel Bernabe, Vicky Quirino, Mrs. Chino Roces and Mrs. Margarita Cojuangco.
In the Philippines, his major works inciude the four evangelists appearing at the copula of the Santo Domingo Church in Quezon City, the murals at the entrance of the main building of the University of Santo Tomas, depicting the hístory of UST and the mural of Saint Anthony and the Child Jesus at the Santuario de San Antonio in Forbes Park, Makati. He also has a mural at the Asilo de San Vicente de Paul. Another painting which created a stir was his "Madonna Filipina" an image of the Virgin Mary wearíng a Philippine national dress, with a tropical view as background. This was exhibited and highly acclaimed at the Sacred Art exposition in Rome in 1950 and now belongs to the Andres Soriano family. Other famous works of Garcia Llamas inciude the Philippine motif paintings in a calendar published by the Compañía General de Tabacos de Filipinas. In the United States, his rnost well known oeuvre is the portrait of General Douglas MacArthur, which today hangs at the MacArthur Memorial Museum in Norfoik, Virginia. This portrait was also used as a cover for the píctorial autobiography of the general entified: "MacArthur: Duty, Honor, Country".
In 1963 Garcia Llamas retumed to Spain, his wife's birthplace. He continued to paint and exhibited in Madrid, Zaragoza, Merida and Barcelona. He did the portraits of the Duque de Sevilla and the Duquesa Vda. De Santa Elena. He visited Manila in 1964 to receive the Araw ng Maynila Patrtubay ng Sining at Kaliningan Award from the hands of Mayor A. Villegas.
Aside from beíng a noted painter, his artistic pursuits included singing and acting. He appeared in several stage plays and sung in a concert in Rome. He belonged to various professional and artistic clubs including the Circulo Escenico, the Circulo de Bellas Artes de Madrid, the Asociacíon de Escritores y Artistas de Madrid, the Casino Español and was once the director of the Manila Civic Opera.
Of the works of Garcia Llamas, the Marquis of Lozoya, historian, Counselor of the Realm and former Director General of Fine Arts in Spain said: ". He is a sure and exact draftsman and a delicate colorist on whose art is reflected the great arts of the orient. In his admirable series of portraits one notices not only the elegance of the sitter but also the spiritual elegance of the artist". The Filipino always stood out in his art. His exhibit at the Sala de Exposiciones del Centro Iberoamericano de Cooperacion held during the Semana Filipina in May 1979, highlighted abstract, realíst and allegorical works with titles like "Raíces de la Hispanidad, el Mestizaje", "Aswangs among the cane”, “Tishes and Bamboos,” "Kalunkutan", "Kapayapaan" and “Tagasa".
Among his last major works is the mural of the Virgin Mary "Mía Madonna" at the "Mía Madonna e Mía Salvessa" (My Lady and my Saviour) Church in Casapenna, Caserta, Italy, which was blessed by Pope John Paul II on 13 November 1990.
The Humane Filipino Artist
Before his demise, he talked lengthily about his life, his family ‑especíally his grandchildren, and his works. He discussed his Filipino mentors includíng Fabian de la Rosa, Rafael Enriquez, Vicente Rivera y Mir and Fernando Amorsolo; hís contemporaries HR. Ocampo, Botong Francisco, Nena Saguil, Edades, Legaspi and Manansala; and his students including Roger San Miguel. A good husband, he is survived by his wife of fifty‑two years Luisa (who was with him until he died in his sleep). Even at such an advanced age one could only marvel at the sharpness of his mind and the capaclty of his memory. Untíl the end, he could vividly remember details of his youth in Manila. A few weeks before his death, he was still taking walks in the cold, yet sunny, autumn leaf‑strewn streets of beautiful Madrid. His rooftop resídence/studio, where he breathed his last, is just beside the delightful Retiro Park, in whose ground lies the Palacio de Exposiciones, where Garcia Llamas exhibited his works. His studio has a wonderful view of Madrid's skyline, but contains very few of his paintings. Garcia Llamas was highly successful as a painter and most of his works had been sold to his appreciative patrons. His pastel sketches of Balinese women fetched good prices at the auctions of Southeast Asían Art held in Singapore by Christie's and Sotheby's.
Before his demise, he talked lengthily about his life, his family ‑especíally his grandchildren, and his works. He discussed his Filipino mentors includíng Fabian de la Rosa, Rafael Enriquez, Vicente Rivera y Mir and Fernando Amorsolo; hís contemporaries HR. Ocampo, Botong Francisco, Nena Saguil, Edades, Legaspi and Manansala; and his students including Roger San Miguel. A good husband, he is survived by his wife of fifty‑two years Luisa (who was with him until he died in his sleep). Even at such an advanced age one could only marvel at the sharpness of his mind and the capaclty of his memory. Untíl the end, he could vividly remember details of his youth in Manila. A few weeks before his death, he was still taking walks in the cold, yet sunny, autumn leaf‑strewn streets of beautiful Madrid. His rooftop resídence/studio, where he breathed his last, is just beside the delightful Retiro Park, in whose ground lies the Palacio de Exposiciones, where Garcia Llamas exhibited his works. His studio has a wonderful view of Madrid's skyline, but contains very few of his paintings. Garcia Llamas was highly successful as a painter and most of his works had been sold to his appreciative patrons. His pastel sketches of Balinese women fetched good prices at the auctions of Southeast Asían Art held in Singapore by Christie's and Sotheby's.
Even at 87 he kept his sense of humor and his conversation was peppered with risque jokes including one about Viagra being a cure for diarrhea. Wise as an owl, he talked about frustrations of retaining his wit and wanting to do so much, but being tied down by the physical limitations of a body that has seen almost nine decades.
Until the end, Antonio Garcia Llamas was a Filipino and a humane person. He could have opted to change citizenship and become a Spaniard, yet he never renounced his Filipino citizenship. Among his last, cherished and well kept possessions, was his Filipino passport. He showed his love for humanity through his art, he put substance to this love by donating his body to science after his death.
In the Catholic funeral mass held for him at the church beside the Retiro Park which he frequented, the following poem, a last homage composed by his son‑in‑law Tony Martínez was read:
Como esa hoja de otoño
Que en mes de noviembre vuel
Así se fué en silencio
Don Antonio García Llamas
Que en mes de noviembre vuel
Así se fué en silencio
Don Antonio García Llamas
Dejando una llamarada
De maravillas en el lienzo
Arte que fluye del alma
Magia de pinceles de sueños.
De maravillas en el lienzo
Arte que fluye del alma
Magia de pinceles de sueños.
Silently,
Like the falling leaves
of autumn in November,
Don Antonio Garcia Llamas bid adieu
Like the falling leaves
of autumn in November,
Don Antonio Garcia Llamas bid adieu
Leaving behind a blazing fire
of marvels upon canvas.
Art that flowed from his soul,
Magic from his brushes of dreams.
of marvels upon canvas.
Art that flowed from his soul,
Magic from his brushes of dreams.
Note: This article is written by: Jose Maria A. Cariño, Chargé d'Affaíres of the Phílippine Embassy in Madrid, Spain.
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