Famous Filipino Painters / Artists: Felix Resurreccion Hidalgo y Padilla (born on 1855 and died on 1913) is acknowledged as one of the great Filipino painters of the late 19th century, and is significant in Philippine history for having been an acquaintance and inspiration for members of the Philippine reform movement which included Jose Rizal, Marcelo del Pilar, Mariano Ponce and Graciano Lopez Jaena, although he neither involved himself directly in that movement, nor later associate himself with the First Philippine Republic under Emilio Aguinaldo.
His winning the silver medal in the 1884 Madrid Exposition of Fine Arts, along with the gold win of fellow Filipino painter Juan Luna, prompted a celebration which was a major highlight in the memoirs of members of the Philippine reform movement, with Rizal toasting to the two painters' good health and citing their win as evidence that Filipinos and Spaniards were equals.
Hidalgo received a gold medal for his overall participation at the Universal Exposition in St Louis, Missouri in 1904. His El violinista was individually accorded a gold medal. In 1912, he visited his relatives in Manila for six months, after which he hurried back to Paris. His mother, who had not seen him for 30 years, wanted him to be with her in her last days, but he had to leave. The following year, Resurreccion Hidalgo died at Sarrea, near Barcelona, where he went to recuperate from failing health. His remains were brought to Manila, where it now lies entombed in the Hidalgo family mausoleum at the Cementerio del Norte.