Macario Vitalis (1898 - 1990)
European Village
signed and dated 1942 (lower right)
oil on canvas
24" x 36" (61 cm x 91 cm)


Accompanied by a certificate issued by Ofelia Gelvezon-Tequiand Claude Tayag confirming the authenticity of this lot
PROVENANCEPrivate Collection, USA



The scenes Macario Vitalis painted in Europe allude to his nostalgic sojourns in the peninsula. A native of Lapog, Ilocos Sur, the adolescent Vitalis studied at the Colegio de la Inmaculada Concepción in Vigan at the same time took private schooling with the classic figurative painter Señor Ocampo. Devoted to the art of painting, in 1917, Vitalis then embarked on a new chapter in his life in the city of San Francisco where he studied at the California School of Fine Arts while working as a hotel porter at night. To further refine his career, the young painter moved to an artistic community in Montmartre, Paris. During his stay, Vitalis shared an atelier with two other artists around the place where Vincent Van Gogh resided. Then in the late 1950s, he decided to permanently settle in Plestin-Leynes Grèves, a coastal town in Brittany that captivated him since his first visit. Vitalis slowly established his artistic career in the area as both locals and foreigners admired his works. A painter influenced by French Post-Impressionism, Vitalis was awarded in 1975 "the only honorary citizen" of Plestin-LesGreves, Brittany for his murals at the Plestin Town Hall and Maison de Retraite. In 1984, he became a recipient of a medal of excellence at the Grand Prix de la Peinture, organized by the Institut Académique de Paris. In the later years of his artistic career, the prestigious artist then held a major retrospective exhibition of his oeuvres at the main gallery of the Cultural Center of the Philippines in 1986. (P.I.R.)