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Lot Essay
In the newly published book on the artist, Bencab by Krip Yuson and Cid Reyes the Larawan series are discussed in the Timeline as "1971 - A turning point in his work is his discovery of rare Filipiniana prints and photographs in London's antiquarian bookshops which inspire him to start Larawan, a series of sepia-toned acrylic paintings based on colonial iconography which portray a visual conceptualisation of the past in relation to present issues." (Bencab, Krip Yuson & Cid Reyes, Mantes Publishing, Inc., Manila, 2002, p. 279).
The importance of the first Larawan exhibition is explained well in the same book "1972 - After various exhibitions in London and other European cities, exhibits Larawan at the Luz Gallery, a homecoming exhibition which wins him critical acclaim and becomes a milestone in modern Philippine painting. It also establishes the young artist as a major influence among his peers." (Ibid).
The importance of the Larawan lies very much in the fact that it defines the artist for many years. The phrase 'Album of Sorrows' (Ibid, p. 107) was coined by Cid Reyes in the discussion of Larawan. The success of this album of sad and forlorn images and expressions was very much due to the fact that they touched the sensibilities of its audience. The images of the series are not necessarily the blatant form of exploitation as portrayed by Brown Brothers' Burden, but could be the quiet and gentle beauty of A Typical Mestiza. The sitter, a lady apparently of a higher social standing than an india, is meticulously dressed and holding a parasol, a posture not unlike the European portraitures of the 19th century. In a quiet demeanor A Typical Mestiza is conveying the same message as Brown Brothers' Burden, the quiet beauty is conscious of the servitude that was and still is imposed on the Philippines.
In 1998, Bencab revisited the theme in the exhibition Larawan III: The Filipina Ca. 1898 as his personal tribute to the Philippines Centennial celebration. The artist did have some reservations about continuing the appropriation of turn-of-the century images. Some of the critics saw it as non-progressive as observed by Krip Yuson and Cid Reyes "Ironically, where once nostalgia for the Philippines past and the fascination for Filipiniana were a vitalizing instrument in the search for a people's identity, nostalgia was now regarded as a deterrent in the exploration of more contemporary issues." (Ibid, p. 169.)
Nevertheless, the artist holds true to what is closest to his heart. "In truth, Bencab did confront this paralyzing dilemma. In the end, it was the realization that an artist's essential obligation is to confront aesthetic - not social, political or economic - issues that released him from the guilt of sustaining the colonial images. Thus, the works in Larawan III were exorcised of all political resonance. Instead, an arresting lyricism evoked a bygone lifestyle of simplicity and gentility." (Ibid).
Bencab painted 20 works for Larawan III, mostly full length and in upright posture. Each one is imbued with intense emotion. The garments of these women, mostly loose and voluminous, complimented the emotions of the protagonists, and seemingly giving the pictorial compositions a lyrical sense of movement and rhythm. These are images evoked from the 19th century photographs, taken in cold, detached and documentary fashion but with the touch of Bencab, they reveal "(a) transparency of feeling, as sheer as the gauze-like whiteness of her attire, the Filipina in Carrying a Banga is portrait of haunting exhaustion, revealed through her blank stare and her limp, waist-length black hair." (Ibid).
The importance of the first Larawan exhibition is explained well in the same book "1972 - After various exhibitions in London and other European cities, exhibits Larawan at the Luz Gallery, a homecoming exhibition which wins him critical acclaim and becomes a milestone in modern Philippine painting. It also establishes the young artist as a major influence among his peers." (Ibid).
The importance of the Larawan lies very much in the fact that it defines the artist for many years. The phrase 'Album of Sorrows' (Ibid, p. 107) was coined by Cid Reyes in the discussion of Larawan. The success of this album of sad and forlorn images and expressions was very much due to the fact that they touched the sensibilities of its audience. The images of the series are not necessarily the blatant form of exploitation as portrayed by Brown Brothers' Burden, but could be the quiet and gentle beauty of A Typical Mestiza. The sitter, a lady apparently of a higher social standing than an india, is meticulously dressed and holding a parasol, a posture not unlike the European portraitures of the 19th century. In a quiet demeanor A Typical Mestiza is conveying the same message as Brown Brothers' Burden, the quiet beauty is conscious of the servitude that was and still is imposed on the Philippines.
In 1998, Bencab revisited the theme in the exhibition Larawan III: The Filipina Ca. 1898 as his personal tribute to the Philippines Centennial celebration. The artist did have some reservations about continuing the appropriation of turn-of-the century images. Some of the critics saw it as non-progressive as observed by Krip Yuson and Cid Reyes "Ironically, where once nostalgia for the Philippines past and the fascination for Filipiniana were a vitalizing instrument in the search for a people's identity, nostalgia was now regarded as a deterrent in the exploration of more contemporary issues." (Ibid, p. 169.)
Nevertheless, the artist holds true to what is closest to his heart. "In truth, Bencab did confront this paralyzing dilemma. In the end, it was the realization that an artist's essential obligation is to confront aesthetic - not social, political or economic - issues that released him from the guilt of sustaining the colonial images. Thus, the works in Larawan III were exorcised of all political resonance. Instead, an arresting lyricism evoked a bygone lifestyle of simplicity and gentility." (Ibid).
Bencab painted 20 works for Larawan III, mostly full length and in upright posture. Each one is imbued with intense emotion. The garments of these women, mostly loose and voluminous, complimented the emotions of the protagonists, and seemingly giving the pictorial compositions a lyrical sense of movement and rhythm. These are images evoked from the 19th century photographs, taken in cold, detached and documentary fashion but with the touch of Bencab, they reveal "(a) transparency of feeling, as sheer as the gauze-like whiteness of her attire, the Filipina in Carrying a Banga is portrait of haunting exhaustion, revealed through her blank stare and her limp, waist-length black hair." (Ibid).