Carlos Villaluz Francisco

Acquired directly from the Artist

Private Canadian Collection

Virginia Ty-Navarro, Paul B. Zafaralla, Sonia P. Ner, Crispina M. Reyes, Carlos V Francisco, The Man and Genius of Philippine Art, Ayala Museum, University of Michigan, 1985, pp. 45 - 46

 

Patrick D Flores, The Life and Art of Botong Francisco, Vibal Foundation, Inc., 2010, p. 18, colorplate

Excellent overall condition as viewed, as is the canvas, which is clear and taut. Examination under ultraviolet light reveals no sign of restoration. Framed.
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Carlos Villaluz Francisco, ubiquitously known as Botong, is considered the national artist of the Philippines, responsible for revolutionizing the landscape of art in the nation. As an artist who delved deeply into the literature and minutiae of Filipino history, he is renowned for having transformed its scholarly narratives into glorious visual chronicles. Botong was born in 1912 to a modest household in Angono, Rizal, which is now hailed as the art capital of the country. Having discovered his flair for drawing at a young age, he trained at the University of Philippines School of Fine Arts. Sotheby’s is privileged to present an iconic painting by this artist, one that reveals his quintessential adulation for native customs and cultural traditions, an appeal that incessantly stimulated him to create fresh imagery.

 

The expansive oil painting, Muslim Betrothal, illustrates an engagement ceremony practiced by the Tausug tribe in the Philippines. The painting comprises a young couple accepting blessings from an imam as they kneel upon a platform of bamboo. Humble scaffoldings shelter the seated wedding guests and vigorous nude dancers who gather to celebrate the momentous occasion. Receding in the distance are blue mountains, which provide an element of relief to otherwise heaving composition. The convoluted structure of the work is akin to that of The Great City of Tenochtitlan, a rigorously assembled mural by Diego Rivera. Rivera juxtaposes tight-knit figures in the foreground with a sprawling, horizontal landscape behind, playing with tensions and releases when arranging his picture plane. There is a flatness and stiffness to both works because entities and figures in the distance, only slightly smaller compared to those in the foreground, are amassed on top of the composition.

 

It is no surprise that Botong idolized this Mexican counterpart, following in his footsteps and indeed revitalizing the art of mural painting in his own nation, a technique to which he remained loyal for three decades. Much like Diego Rivera’s encyclopedic rendition of the happenings at an Aztec marketplace, Botong’s Muslim Betrothal serves to educate the viewer. As the work leads the eye horizontally across the canvas, it brings to notice a plethora of diminutive details that provide insights into the rituals prevalent within this betrothal observance; a man on the left side clutches a conch, a pig reposes in slumber and gongs ornament the scene towards the right. It is patent that Botong is a well-informed artist, who depicts truthful, microcosmic moments that together make up the holistic life story of his nation.

 

Unlike the more senior painter Fernando Amorsolo, who rendered romanticized, pastoral scenes of the Filipino countryside, Botong preferred to elucidate the realities of his homeland with all its candid intricacies. Together with his contemporaries Galo Ocampo and Victorio Edades, Botong was considered as part of the Tirumvirate. Exposing more authentic accounts of Filipino identity, these three primary modernists marked a concerted departure from portrayals of idyllic, rustic images that prevailed during the American era. Though he chooses to depict a scene quite similar to that in the Renaissance painting The Marriage of Cupid and Psyche, Botong’s work is palpably more sociologically driven. While Andrea Schiavone exemplifies a sublime and mythological union of the gods, Botong records study and research into the earthly marital rite of a minority population in the Philippines.

 

Whereas Schiavone follows the foundations of Western linear perspective and employs a station point, Botong focuses on compartmentalizing his composition into taut and delineated groupings. There are multiple lined domes that border the couple: the curvature of their two bowed bodies, their cascading yet controlled draperies, and the overarching imam whose body language envelopes them. Similarly, the embracing couple in Gustav Klimt’s The Kiss is also ensconced within a protective halo. Though both Klimt and Botong infuse a sense of rigidity by compressing their groupings and stacking various objects one above the other, they retain an element of lyricism in the details within these confinements and in their lurid color palette. The result creates the effect of a tapestry and recalls strict but fluid outlines found within the Art Nouveau movement.

 

In the same vein Botong’s figures lack the naturalism so prevalent in its Italian comparison. Cupid and Psyche both stand in the contrapposto position, each bending one knee slightly to create an asymmetrical balance and a relaxed yet dynamic rendition of natural movement. Concomitantly, the dancers in the backdrop of Muslim Betrothal move in a more dramatic manner and are captured in a histrionic tribhanga pose. Also embodied by the enticing maidens in the Gupta-period mural from the Ajanta caves in India, the tribhanga, or triple-bend, posture fashions an S-shaped curve to the body instigated by a flexion in the neck, waist and knee. Considered a sensual position originating from Indian classical dance, it is a more spirited and robust manner of illustrating movement, but one with less verisimilitude than that contrapposto stance. The sheer dynamism exuded from Botong’s uninhibited, dancing nudes exemplifies the joy and vivacity of the festive occasion.

 

It is apparent that this striking picture uncovers a discerning knowledge of history and exploration of myriad stylistic art forms. Botong would stare into his blank wall or canvas for long periods of time, armed with a profound comprehension of his subject matter, until he achieved a moment of epiphany. Thence, he would paint rapidly and fervently, with determined and confident strokes sans any hint of hesitation. These impeccable paintings provide a glimpse into the innovative mind of an artist who altered the art of a nation. Spanning subjects ranging from culture, art, education, economics and history to science, his works now stand as cultural icons in Filipino history. Since his masterworks are primarily immortalized on the walls of private homes, modern buildings and in the headquarters of large institutions, they rarely appear in the public market. Muslim Betrothal represents a stellar work painted by this pensive and mysterious man who dedicated his life to describing the true life experience of the Filipino people.