Bali 47 Antonio Blanco, Artistic eccentricity

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Antonio Blanco
Ubud
Artistic eccentricity
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Bali
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Ubud Blanco Renaissance Museum Antonio Maria
Blanco (1912 1999) was a painter of Spanish and
American descent. Settled in Bali, Antonio began
to realize his dreams in life and work. He built
a house and museum in Ubud which contains many of
his paintings.
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Antonio was born in Philippines. He initially
lived and worked in Florida and California,
United States, until he became interested in
exploring the islands of the Pacific Ocean that
had been a source of inspiration for painters
such as José Miguel Covarrubias, Paul Gauguin,
and others before him.
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He planned to go to Tahiti, but fate brought him
to Hawaii, Japan and Cambodia, where he was a
guest of honor of Prince Norodom Sihanouk.
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The land on which the construction was erected
was given to Antonio by the King of Ubud Tjokorda
Gde Agung Sukawati.
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From Cambodia he went to Bali in 1952 and married
a traditional Balinese dancer named Ni Ronji in
1953.
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Bali gave Antonio important elements that he
needed to develop his artistic gifts the
beautiful scenery, the dreamlike atmosphere of
the environment and the pervasive art and great
love.
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However, their married life was not that easy. As
an idealist artist, Blanco decided not to sell
his paintings though they were in financial
difficulties. As a wife, Ni Ronji couldnt force
Blanco to do something against his determination.
And here Ni Ronji was, with the financial
difficulties and idealist husband, she was
successful to survive.
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Even Ni Ronji was always there beside Blanco when
important friends including first RIs president
coming to their home. She performed the most
famous Balinese dance to welcome them
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The five-acre property beside the Campuhan River
contains an art museum, which has an outrageous
design that utterly dominates the grounds a
family house a temple a restaurant and a gift
shop. If you're lucky, you might meet Mario
Blanco (the maestro's son) on the grounds, and he
may tell you stories of his father's adventures
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Visitors enter the grounds through a circular
gate. They walk through a menagerie of birds and
assorted animals before they reach the main
grounds, a manicured lawn with a gigantic
fountain in the middle, facing a 50-foot green
marble sculpture that serves as a decorative gate
into the museum.
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The sculpture that serves as a decorative gate
into the museum is modeled after Blanco's own
signature, and the height (in meters) represents
his birthday, September 15.
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The stairs that climb up to the museum entrance
are flanked with naga - snake sculptures - and
are painted red at the middle, like a red carpet
leading up to a VIP haunt. As you enter, you'll
notice golden Balinese dancers at each corner of
the roof, and the goddess Saraswati (the Hindu
goddess of knowledge, a favorite muse of
Blanco's) topping off the whole building
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The steps are guarded by two naga (- snake
sculptures) - Naga is the sacred name of mythical
serpent in Southeast Asian and Indian
literature.
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The alternative explanation for the cause of
earthquakes is the Balinese belief that Bali sits
on the back of a turtle, the world-turtle,
Bedawang Nala, who occasionally stirs and sets
off earthquakes. Bedawang is flanked by two
dragon-snakes, the Nagas, one of which is green
or blue and the other is red. There are many
representations of Bedawang and the Nagas in
Balinese paintings, carvings, shrines and
cremation towers. The Balinese bang pots and
drums during an earthquake to wake up the Nagas,
Basuki and Anantaboga, in case they have fallen
asleep on the job of holding the earth's
foundations together.
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Golden Balinese dancers at each corner of the roof
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The goddess Saraswati (the Hindu goddess of
knowledge, a favorite muse of Blanco's)
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The museum building blends European and Balinese
design, much as Antonio Blanco melded European
art and Balinese sensibilities in his work. The
interior covers three storys, all housing
different works by Blanco from different periods.
It was the Maestro's own wish that his works
never be exhibited to the public outside of his
own museum.
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Blanco received numerous awards, including the
Tiffany Fellowship (special award from The
Society of Honolulu Artists), Chevalier du
Sahametrai of Cambodia, the Society of Painters
of Fine Art Quality of President Sukarno and the
Prize of the Art Critique in Spain. Antonio was
also awarded the order of Cruz de Caballero from
the King of Spain Juan Carlos I, giving him the
title of "Don" in front of his name.
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The countrys President SBY, visited the museum
and left a message of support
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Many collectors have appreciated his paintings,
including the actress Ingrid Bergman, Mexican
telenovela queen Thalia (Ariadna Thalia Sodi
Miranda), Sukarno (the first President of
Indonesia), Suharto (the second presindet of
Indonesia), the former Indonesian Vice President
Adam Malik, Prince Norodom Sihanouk, Michael
Jackson and many more
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The Blanco Renaissance Museum, Antonio's lifetime
dream, was opened on December 28, 1998 at his
residence where more than 300 works of Antonio
are exposed in chronological order to show his
artistic development. The sumptuous and
impressive building offers a glimpse of his
theatrical character. He emulated the flamboyance
of Dali, to whom he has been compared.
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Blanco wasn't simply a painter, but a consummate
artist - he incorporated poetry into some of his
works, and some of the poetry isn't fit to be
repeated in polite society! Visual riddles and
puns are worked into his art, and it takes a keen
eye to spot them all. The guide will be happy to
explain what you see as you walk around
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Looking around the museum, a pattern emerges of
the subjects that fascinated Blanco to the end of
his life women, his own children, and the magic
of Bali. The women are by far his most popular
subject unabashedly sexual, some in languid
reclining poses.
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Presentation Sanda Foisoreanu
2012
Sound Gus Teja - Morning Happiness