Antônio Casimiro was “one of the most influential Portuguese set designers, costume designers and visual artists”with a career of more than six decades which marked “deeply cinema, theater and television in Portugal”. He was 91 years old.
Set and costume designer António Casimiro, 91, died this Monday, in Lisbon, Casa do Artista announced.
Despite “a deep connection to Casa do Artistahaving been part of the association’s governing bodies for several years”, as director João Lourenço writes in the statement, Antonio Casimiro did not live at Casa do Artista and died in a hospital unit in the capital.
The set designer was also part of the board of directors of the Sociedade Portuguesa de Autores and was scenographic coordinator of Teatro Aberto, in Lisbon.
Born on June 26, 1934, in Lisbonstudied at the Antônio Arroio School of Decorative Arts and then graduated from the Escola Superior de Belas Artes, also in the capital.
He received a scholarship from the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation on Italian television (RAI), in 1960. In the following decade, in 1973, he returned to Italy to take a General Television Course in Florence, as a scholarship holder from the Italian State. Three years later, he completed a color television internship in Paris.
He joined RTP in 1958 as assistant to set designer Octávio Clérigo (1935-2003). On State television, he was the main scenographer for 22 years and headed the scenography service for 18 years.
Antonio Casimiro taught at the Higher School of Theater and Cinema and at the Open Universityin Lisbon.
In the statement released by Casa do Artista, signed by director João Lourenço, it is highlighted that Antonio Casimiro was “one of the most influential Portuguese set designers, costume designers and visual artistswith a career of more than six decades that had a profound impact cinema, theater and television in Portugal”.
In 2024, Casa do Artista dedicated the exhibition “Percursos Dispersos” to him, which recreated the environment of his studio and “celebrated the diversity and depth of his creative work, a public recognition of his artistic and human dimension”.
For João Lourenço, “António Casimiro will be remembered as a master of the scene, whose work in building visual worlds in cinema, television and theater defines an essential part of the history of the performing arts in Portugal”.
