{"status":true,"msg":{"data":{"id":59748,"auction_id":186,"set_id":220,"lot_number":"33","artist":"Fernando Amorsolo (1892 - 1972)","title":"Sabungero","starting_price":3000000,"signed_dated":"signed and dated Manila, 1937 (lower left)","medium":"oil on canvas","size":"13\" x 17 1/4\" (33 cm x 44 cm)","property":null,"coa":null,"provenance":"Private collection, USA","exhibited":null,"literature":null,"write_up":"Fernando Amorsolo’s Sabungero, created in 1937, belongs to what many consider his “Golden Period.” With the American occupation of the Philippines seeing the Philippines on the brink of rapid modernization, debates regarding Philippine independence were widespread, with one faction in favor of immediate independence and the other seeking more time through a plebiscite. \n\nTorn between staying true to the traditional Filipino and riding the wave of modernization, various art forms were born, each leading credence to their side. The balagtasan, for once, was an effort to revive the duplo. Some 8,000 people packed the Olympic Theatre to listen to Jose Corazon de Jesus extol the virtues of the traditional dalaga. At the same time, the first attempts of Philippine literature in English were published in this decade, with Jose Garcia Villa’s short stories, Zolio Galang’s ‘Child of Sorrow,’ and Paz Marquez Benitez’s ‘Dead Star,’ among others. \n\nAmorsolo’s Golden Period, which spanned the 1920s to the early 1940s, was a period of nostalgia. With the search for national identity prevalent, the pastoral life was romanticized, the dalaga glorified. Amorsolo’s works have captured that yearning for the past, cementing his place in Philippine art history. \n\nThe works created during this era are among those from Amorsolo’s creative peak, seeing him at his best and brightest. He was flexing his creative dexterity, laying down the foundation for the creative giant Amorsolo that he would become in the coming years. \n\nHere, Sabungero embodies what made Amorsolo a household name. Here, he focused on a specific rural pastime – cockfighting, or sabong. Cockfights are a major social function in the barrios of the Philippines, with records going back to the precolonial era when Antonio Pigafetta recorded it during Magellan’s 1521 expedition. The first wave of Filipinos arriving in Hawaii brought the sport into the foreign land, so beloved was this practice. \n\nCockfighting is emblematic of the quintessential Filipino traits. More than a social event, the sabungan or the cockpit may even be seen as a threshold between childhood and manhood. A son tasked with their family’s beloved rooster is a symbol of trust. \n\nThough it may be easy to depict the excitement of cockfighting in media res, Amorsolo instead depicts the moments between fights. Beneath the shade of a tree, a man checks on his rooster. With a cigarette pressed between his lips, Amorsolo portrays the quiet and loving relationship of the farmer and his fowl. \n\nInasmuch as cockfighting is an adrenaline-racing fight, it is also a treasured hobby. For many sabungeros, their roosters are part of the family, as beloved as their children and just as taken care of. \n\nThere is no denying Amorsolo’s longevity in Philippine art history. His works evoke the ordinary and daily life of the rural Philippines, suffused in his trademark light. His impact was cemented even further when he was posthumously conferred the National Artist Award in 1972, the distinction’s first awardee. (Hannah Valiente)","lot_group":"PAINTING","lot_details_html":null,"alias":null,"hp":4400000,"bp":0.15,"isWithdrawn":0,"accounting_hp":4400000,"userBid":34,"isPaid":0,"userId":22,"lot_status":"SOLD","isDone":1,"bid_history_id":14917,"reserve_price":0,"hammer_price":5060000,"fav":0},"image":[{"id":65243,"img_url":"https://leongallery.sgp1.digitaloceanspaces.com/v2/auction/186/220/lot/33.jpg","isFeatured":1},{"id":65434,"img_url":"https://leongallery.sgp1.digitaloceanspaces.com/v2/auction/186/220/lot/33c.jpg","isFeatured":0},{"id":65433,"img_url":"https://leongallery.sgp1.digitaloceanspaces.com/v2/auction/186/220/lot/33b.jpg","isFeatured":0},{"id":65432,"img_url":"https://leongallery.sgp1.digitaloceanspaces.com/v2/auction/186/220/lot/33a.jpg","isFeatured":0}]},"increment":[2200000,2400000,2600000,2800000,3000000,3200000,3400000,3600000,3800000,4000000,4200000,4400000,4600000,4800000,5000000,5500000,6000000,6500000,7000000,7500000,8000000,8500000,9000000,9500000,10000000,11000000,12000000,13000000,14000000,15000000,16000000,17000000,18000000,19000000,20000000],"prev":32,"next":34,"count_bid":0,"bid_history":[],"tokenExpired":1}