Rare paintings from the Masters: Zobel, Legaspi, and more at León Gallery’s year-end Kingly Treasures Auction
In line with its name, León Gallery’s Kingly Treasures Auction is presenting extraordinary works fit for kings and queens this Nov. 30, Saturday at 2 p.m.
The upcoming auction has been garnering attention for two important historical pieces—the “Josephine Sleeping” sculpture by national hero Jose Rizal and “The Last Seal of the Katipunan” associated with Andres Bonifacio.
The deeply romantic sculpture created during Rizal’s exile in Dapitan reflects his loving relationship with Josephine Bracken before his execution. Meanwhile, Bonifacio’s seal, rediscovered after 127 years, acts as a physical symbol of the revolution, having been preserved in the collection of scholar Trinidad H. Pardo de Tavera.
León Gallery also showcases works with significant historical and political implications: Former president Corazon Aquino’s charming floral still lifes on canvas and wood alongside Jes Aznar’s photographs of former first lady Imelda Marcos announcing her family’s political comeback plan as well as her reaction to David Byrne’s musical “Here Lies Love,” which was inspired by her life as wife to former dictator Ferdinand Marcos Sr.
Among the many other storied artworks is a Nena Saguil piece, once part of the collection of Givenchy’s first Filipino muse, model Tetta Agustin, Botong Francisco’s grand “Tinikling 2,” a vibrant 10-foot-long portrayal of the dance, and possibly Anita Magsaysay-Ho’s earliest work from 1934, “Lavanderas by the Stream,” created during her time as a student at the UP School of Fine Arts that is now back in the Philippines from a US collection.
As León Gallery’s Kingly Treasures Auction features significant works, much of which carry mythic proportions, the auction proceeds will benefit the International School Manila’s Filipino scholars program.
READ: Last Katipunan seal, Rizal’s ‘ultimo amor’ sculpture emerge in León Gallery auction
Contemporary visionaries: Chabet, Javier, and Tapaya
Roberto Chabet’s influential avant-garde work
A striking work by Roberto Chabet, lauded as the “Father of Philippine Conceptual Art,” is featured in the early lots. The pair of works features fluid, amorphous forms with soft gradient washes that are framed by precise penciled outlines. This sense of movement within the fluid forms and outline creates contrast between constraint and freedom.
Dated in 1968, the works are representative of the artist’s pioneering work in the Philippines, as he pushed avant-garde experimentation as a mentor, teacher, and collaborator during the time.
Geraldine Javier’s subtly powerful mythology
Renowned Filipina artist Geraldine Javier is known for her distinct visual language that explores religious, ecological, political, and cultural themes. In recent years, she creates art collaboratively with the local community in Batangas, taking from the vernacular of the surrounding nature.
In this 2009 piece “The Healer,” Javier reimagines the mythic Greek character Medea, portraying the powerful priestess as she gazes dramatically out of the frame. The composition, anchored by a base of vibrant flowers, draws viewers deeper into the layers.
READ: Jose Rizal’s ‘Josephine Sleeping’ captures a moment of peace and love in his final years
Rodel Tapaya’s “Urban Sprawl”
Rodel Tapaya, one of the most celebrated Filipino painters of his generation, creates art that bridges Filipino cultural heritage and modern-day issues, often incorporating elements from folklore and pre-colonial myths. His 16-foot-long “Urban Sprawl” is a vivid, surreal landscape filled with symbolic figures like birds, an Igorot headdress, and a skeletal animal set against a dynamic background of pink polka dots.
Drawing from both Filipino traditions and contemporary environmental challenges, Tapaya’s work conveys allegorical narratives using folk aesthetics and vivid color to highlight the consequences of human actions on nature.
Bernardo Pacquing’s enigmatic abstractions
The work of Bernardo Pacquing blurs the line between painting and sculpture, often incorporating unconventional materials like cement. His piece “Tongues of Fire” features great textural layers with defined areas of layered paint and a stark straight line dividing the composition. Hints of ochre underpainting add a sense of depth as well as mystery to the hidden layers under the muted foreground.
A recipient of the Cultural Center of the Philippines’ Thirteen Artists Award, Pacquing continues to push boundaries with his innovative use of mixed materials and monochrome color palettes that still manage to have much depth.
Masters of modern art: Zobel, Legaspi, and more
National artist Cesar Legaspi’s strength in composition
Among the works of Cesar Legaspi at León Gallery’s Kingly Treasures Auction, “Three Horses” is a formidable piece that radiates a sense of power.
In the oil-on-wood painting, the National Artist and member of the Thirteen Moderns effectively translates the elements of cubism to capture the vigor of strong, virile stallions with dynamism and geometric precision. Despite being color-blind, Legaspi’s palette is exceptionally vivid, using tonal contrasts and fluid yet angular forms to bring the composition to life.
Onib Olmedo’s “Mother and Child”
There is always something magnetic about the warped figurations of Onib Olmedo, and this “Mother and Child” rendition is no exception. Described in the catalog as a new “Madonna of the Slums,” the painting reimagines the timeless subject of mother and child through the lens of stark poverty.
Disfigured heads, haunting eyes, stark nakedness, and the impression of desolate surroundings evoke a rawness while underscoring the harsh realities of the pair’s existence.
An extremely rare Fernando Zóbel
While the auction features many striking abstractions by Fernando Zóbel, this painting in blue is a true rarity. Titled “Azul sobre pardo (Saeta 258) / (Blue on Brown),” it belongs to a series inspired by Japanese sand gardens, characterized by meticulously raked lines. It is one of only nine in existence. The others are housed in prestigious institutions such as Singapore’s National Gallery, the CCP, the Ateneo Art Gallery, and select corporate or private collections.
This seminal piece was among Zóbel’s earliest works, featured in his first solo exhibition at Galería Biosca in Spain. Notably, Zóbel destroyed many of his pre-Saeta non-objective paintings as he refined his connection to non-objectivism. Records show the Spanish Filipino artist was influenced by the then-little-known Mark Rothko, writing in his diary, “I am surprised at the way those gigantic colored squares resist being forgotten,” after visiting his exhibit daily.
These same poetic sensibilities and pull of color seem to radiate from this early work of the artist, with the striking mass of cobalt blue accentuated by subtle brown lines and intentional scratches.
Collector favorites
An attractive trio of BenCab’s “Sabels”
Benedicto “Bencab” Cabrera’s highly sought-after Sabel series takes on a more playful tone in this rendition, featuring three vibrant figures brimming with color and movement. The women appear like dynamic splatters against bright, bold backgrounds.
“Subjugating his natural talent for human figuration, Bencab opted to depict amorphous bodies and probe into the urgency of their emotional states,” writes Krip Yuson in Bencab’s monograph.
Crossing worlds with Lao Lianben’s “Homage to Joya”
Lao Lianben’s “Homage to Joya” is a tribute to the Filipino pioneer of abstract expressionism, reflecting Lianben’s deep respect for the artist.
While their works diverge in many ways, both artists share an engagement with Orientalism. In this piece, Lianben merges his Buddhist-inspired themes with José Joya’s calligraphic sensibilities.
The vertical column, reminiscent of Joya’s abstractions, incorporates Lianben’s signature motif of the ensō, a circle drawn in one continuous stroke, symbolizing enlightenment and the Zen state of mindfulness and intentionality.
Justin “Tiny” Nuyda from the collection of Freddie and Beth Webb
Former senator, retired basketball coach, and player Freddie Webb, alongside his wife Beth, presents works from their collection. The catalog includes a striking painting of a basketball player in motion, commissioned by the couple from Cesar Legaspi.
Featured here is a piece by Justin Nuyda, showcasing his iconic mindscapes, where the renowned lepidopterist artist depicts earthy hills atop 3D blue blocks.
READ: The legacy and origin story of artist Justin Nuyda
Vibrant glassworks by Pacita Abad
Celebrated internationally for her vibrant work, the globetrotting Filipina artist Pacita Abad created a series of 80 hand-painted glass plates during her time in Lindshammar, Sweden.
These unique 13-inch plates are representative of the artist’s proclivity for bold and bright colors as well as openness to experimenting with various media, including glass.
Historical highlights
A relic by Félix Resurrección Hidalgo
From the collection of renowned professor and historian Ambeth Ocampo, this important relic was painted by classicist Filipino artist Félix Resurrección Hidalgo.
“Per Pacem et Libertatem” was commissioned in 1903 to represent American colonial rule and was completed in 1904 before being displayed at the St. Louis World’s Fair. The allegorical painting, which depicted a “wounded” Philippines submitting to peace, was lost in the Battle of Manila in 1945. However, a surviving head study from the piece, once part of Hidalgo’s nephew Don Felipe’s collection, remains a reminder of the original masterpiece.
A rare mesa altar
A rare “Batangas Uno” mesa altar originates from a prominent family in Iloilo, which showcases a prime example of Filipino craftsmanship. Made from rare balayong hardwood with intricate carvings of dragons, phoenixes, and other lucky Chinese animals, the altar dates back to the late 1800s and is part of a highly valued collection of Filipino antiques, once appreciated by the ilustrados of the 19th century. For this 2024 edition of León Gallery’s Kingly Treasures Auction, it remains a sought-after piece of antique furniture among collectors, particularly after the piece’s recognition by scholars like Ramon Villegas.
Fernando Amorolo inspires with light
León Gallery’s auction continues to feature numerous works by Fernando Amorsolo, with now more than a dozen paintings ranging from market scenes and seascapes to riverscapes, and even an enigmatic nude.
Among them, “Sunday Morning Going to Town” stands out, with a starting bid of P8,000,000. The work exemplifies Amorsolo’s breathless artistry in the decade of the 1960s as an exemplary sample of his serene mastery of light, depicting shaded trees, lush farming fields, and an idyllic backdrop of mountains under a clear sky.
The Kingly Treasures Auction 2024 will be held on Nov. 30, 2 p.m. at León Gallery, G/F Eurovilla I, Rufino cor. Legazpi Sts., Legazpi Village, Makati City. Visit www.león-gallery.com, email info@león-gallery.com, or call (02) 8856-2781 for more information.
View the entire catalog here.