{"status":true,"msg":{"data":{"id":58392,"auction_id":121,"set_id":155,"lot_number":"27","artist":"Carlos \"Botong\" V. Francisco (1912 - 1969)","title":"Bugan and Aliguyon","starting_price":7000000,"signed_dated":"signed (lower left)\nca. late 1930s-1940s","medium":"oil on canvas","size":"25\" x 19\" (64 cm x 48 cm)","property":null,"coa":null,"provenance":"Presented by the Artist to the Mr. Emilio de la Paz, (Congressman of Rizal from 1934 - 1938, re-elected in 1938 and 1949); from thence to Mr. Emilio de la Paz, Jr., 1951 - 1999; from thence Private Collection, 1999 - 2001; <br /><br />\nSotheby’s, Southeast Asian Paintings, Singapore, 30 September 2001, Lot 66<br /><br />\nLeón Gallery, The Kingly Treasures Auction 2017, Makati City, 02 December 2017, Lot 52","exhibited":null,"literature":null,"write_up":"Princess Bugan & the Noble Aliguyon Botong Francisco’s Northern Love Story by LISA GUERRERO NAKPIL <br /><br />For Carlos ‘Botong’ V. Francisco, the ultimate use of art was to build a Philippine iconography — of noble, heroic figures from the country’s pre-Spanish past, because Botong believed that these were the true Filipinos, unsullied by the colonial masters and uncontaminated by their foreign traditions. He thus became best known for such works as the “Filipino Struggles in History” mural in the Manila City Hall, his last major commission. <br /><br />He sought material for these powerful, symbolic figures from the tribes of the South, such as the Maranao; and from the tribes the North, such as the Ifugao of the Mountain Provinces. Neither of these groups had been successfully conquered by the Spanish and much later the Americans, and it is believed that Botong took pride in this fact. <br /><br />Francisco worked both as a lay-out artist in the Herald as well as the Manila Tribune, while also teaching at the University of Santo Tomas before the War. In 1948, he won the first prize for the work “Kaingin” at the annual Art Association of the Philippines exhibit at the National Museum. It was at this time that he ‘was officially acknowledged by the art establishment as one of the country’s foremost artists.’ <br /><br />Botong was an avid collector of Filipino ethnography, spears and shields as well as various headgear; and he used them in his paintings to create his renowned historically accurate details. He coveted these artifacts so much that Juban recalls that he would trade paintings for the rarities brought by his great friend Alejandro Roces. (“Wawa, Angono” is also said to have been painted as a gift to the bearer of rare Mindanao objects.) <br /><br />In a review of his work, titled “Carlos V. Francisco: The Grace of Untutored Ease”, Rafael Ma. Guerrero says, “(his) meticulous attention to detail was not without its own authoritative acumen, for Botong was steeped in the customs and folklore of the Philippines. Long before collecting antiques became fashionable, one of Botong’s consuming interests was to travel about the towns of Rizal and Laguna valley, poking like a curious child among the old churches.” <br /><br />His first paintings of the Ifugao, however, were more romantic — capturing the courtship rituals in various paintings of the “Nose Flute”; depicting the rhythms of ordinary life instead of the idealism of the larger-than-life. <br /><br />In “Bugan and Aliguyon”, a Filipino brave strides masterfully across a stream, wading through its almost knee-high waters, while carrying his beloved, lifting her above the stream to prevent her gracefully curvaceous limbs from becoming wet. It is the noble Aliguyon who sweeps the princess Bugan into his arms. It’s a gesture straight out of Walter Raleigh as he swept his cape on the mud to prevent Queen Elizabeth’s shoes from becoming dirty — almost reminiscent of one carrying one’s bride across the grassy threshold. <br /><br />Aliguyon carries her to a sacred tree where he swears his undying love. This warrior’s adventures comprise the Hudhud ni Aliguyon, an epic tale of the Ifugao. Guerrero further notes ‘in Manila’s sophisticated art circles, his works were frequently likened to that of Gauguin and the Mexican muralist Diego de Rivera, whose influences he unashamedly acknowledged.’ <br /><br />This Gauguin period was primarily in the late 1940s to early 1950s, as demonstrated by such works as an early “Bayanihan” dated from 1950. It is with this basis that “The Ifugao and His Bride” can be approximately dated. Whether painting monumental murals or these more intimate works, Carlos “Botong’ V. Francisco is truly a master artist of the Filipino soul. <br /><br /> He was named the country’s National Artist for the Visual Arts in 1973.","lot_group":"PAINTING","lot_details_html":null,"alias":null,"hp":9000000,"bp":0.2016,"isWithdrawn":0,"accounting_hp":9000000,"userBid":null,"isPaid":0,"userId":22,"lot_status":"SOLD","isDone":1,"bid_history_id":null,"reserve_price":0,"hammer_price":10814400,"fav":0},"image":[{"id":63647,"img_url":"https://leongallery.sgp1.digitaloceanspaces.com/v2/auction/121/155/lot/27.jpg","isFeatured":1},{"id":64115,"img_url":"https://leongallery.sgp1.digitaloceanspaces.com/v2/auction/121/155/lot/27a.jpg","isFeatured":0}]},"increment":[5500000,6000000,6500000,7000000,7500000,8000000,8500000,9000000,9500000,10000000,11000000,12000000,13000000,14000000,15000000,16000000,17000000,18000000,19000000,20000000],"prev":26,"next":28,"count_bid":0,"bid_history":[],"tokenExpired":1}