Fabian de la Rosa (1869 - 1937) - Old Spanish Bridge

Lot description

Old Spanish Bridge signed (lower left) oil on canvas 28” x 14” (71 cm x 36 cm) PROVENANCE: Alfonso T. Ongpin Collection WRITE UP The first third of the 20th-century Philippine art scene could arguably be called the “age of Fabian de la Rosa.” The best the Philippine art scene has to offer, de la Rosa breathed life into genre painting – it was he who Luciano P.R. Santiago singled out in his essay “Fabian de la Rosa, 20th Century Master” as the unwitting catalyst of this genre, championing the genre as he created works that are, to quote critic Emilio Aguilar Cruz, “nearer to the native soil.” A true Renaissance man, de la Rosa was, aside from painting, adept in Spanish, English, and Tagalog, with a notable handle of Italian and French during his academic sojourn abroad. Aside from that, he was an educator, an exceptional violinist, a historian, and a writer, with his essays being the first to provide an overview of the history of art in the Philippines. His works, just like his writings, exalt everything Filipino. His landscapes accurately depict the sights around him, with Aguilar Cruz noting that he followed not in the footsteps of the Europeanized Filipino artists but the local sceneries that moved him with far more gusto than any other sights. As he puts the Philippine landscapes in his background, it was to be championed by the foreign patrons eager to experience the invigorating Philippine countryside for themselves. With the lot in hand entitled Old Spanish Bridge, de la Rosa’s capabilities in the genre are fully experienced. Depicting a serene creek bubbling underneath a well-used stone bridge. The lyricism, realism, and romanticism of de la Rosa's oeuvre are evident as he portrays this scene washed in cool, almost muddy sunlight. One could almost feel the cool creak underneath their feet and bask in the silence that de la Rosa so intricately portrays. Old Spanish Bridge is best described as an image of the past, quite in brand for de la Rosa who lived through both the Spanish Philippines and the American Philippines and had to contend with the rapid changes. The result is an idyllic view of the past, serene in its contentment. There is a virality in his works as they straddle the line of nostalgia and longing. His cool and earthy color palette brings to life the bucolic Philippine countryside as they are pulled in two different directions. “In [Fabian de la Rosa], the autochthonous Philippine painting of the last century reached full flowering, and in his whole career is summed up all that is good in the past,” writes Emilio Aguilar Cruz. “De la Rosa’s greatness lies just where greatness does in any department of human activity, namely in rising above the leveling sentiments and prejudices of one’s time.” (Hannah Valiente)