Set and costume designer António Casimiro, Portuguese master of cinema, theater and TV, has died at the age of 91

Set and costume designer António Casimiro, 91, died this Friday, February 23, in Lisbon, Casa do Artista announced.

Despite “a deep connection with Casa do Artista, having been part of the association’s governing bodies for several years”, as director João Lourenço writes in the statement, António 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 Lisbon, he studied at the António 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.

António Casimiro taught at the Higher School of Theater and Cinema and at the Open University, in Lisbon.

In the statement released this Monday by Casa do Artista, signed by director João Lourenço, it is highlighted that António Casimiro was “one of the most influential Portuguese set designers, costume designers and visual artists, with a career spanning more than six decades that had a profound impact on cinema, theater and television in Portugal”.