{"status":true,"msg":{"data":{"id":61676,"auction_id":209,"set_id":242,"lot_number":"98","artist":"Benedicto Cabrera (b. 1942)","title":"Geisha","starting_price":2000000,"signed_dated":"signed and dated 1988 (lower left)","medium":"acrylic and oil pastel on handmade paper","size":"30 3/4\" x 12 1/4\" (78 cm x 31 cm)","property":null,"coa":null,"provenance":"Private collection, Manila","exhibited":null,"literature":"Reyes, Cid and Krip Yuson. Bencab. Manila: Mantes Publishing, Inc., 2002. Full-color reproduction and painting description on page 200.","write_up":"A looming figure in the realm of Philippine modern art, Benedicto Cabrera, like many artists before him, consorts with many muses throughout his artistic career. From his enduring Sabel series, where he revisited the concepts of Filipinism and drapery, to his interest in the past and the present as shown in the Larawan series, Bencab, as he is widely known, is defined by his innovative fusion of Western and Eastern influences.<br/><br/> Another one of his lesser-known muses is the Japanese geishas in the 1980s. His appreciation of Japanese prints (also known as ukiyo-e) began, unsurprisingly, with his exposure to the London antique market. He had moved to London in 1969 with his British wife, journalist Caroline Kennedy, and the expatriate life brought on an immense homesickness that led Bencab on a quest to rediscover his own country. He scoured London’s flea markets for books, photographs, maps, and prints- anything Filipiniana he could get his hands on. The result of that quest is his Larawan series, a nostalgic blast from the past that carried with it strong sociopolitical commentary.<br/><br/> But it was not only Filipiniana works that Bencab found in the streets of London. As his interest in the Philippines grew, so did a budding fascination with Orientalia, so much so that he and Caroline had, for a time, a stall in Chelsea that dealt with pieces from the Orient. He began to read about the ukiyo-e, and in time collected prints from renowned ukiyo-e artists.<br/><br/> Bencab himself has a favorite artist: Katsushika Hokusai, who was perhaps best known for his print The Great Wave off Kanagawa. Bencab, however, found greater inspiration in Hokusai’s depictions of geishas and courtesans, as evidenced in this 1988 Geisha.<br/><br/> Like his Sabel series, the tantalizing appeal of his Geisha series comes from Bencab’s appreciation of form, gesture, and drapery. Clad in her iconic oshiroi, or white powder foundation, the focal point of this piece is her flowing kimono, her sleeve blending down to her skirt as the titular geisha concerns herself with her preparations. As per the tradition for geishas, the hems of their kimonos drag down the floors of the houses they entertain, a signifier of their grace and prestige.<br/><br/> Bencab’s geisha are rarely portrayed in one fixed position — as befits her role as an entertainer and an artist, she is portrayed halfway between two poses, in between motions. With this particular Geisha, the movement lies in her kimono: the fabric folds and hangs across her body, draping around her like a well-worn shield. The lavish attention poured into the kimono’s depiction inevitably brings to mind the equally complex garments of Sabel, though the geisha’s clothing is softer and rounder than Sabel’s plastic garments.<br/><br/> Intentionally, Geisha, like many works from the series, has an unfinished look to it, something that has always appealed to the artist. Visible wear and tear reminds the viewer of the ukiyo-e prints where the fascination all started, and the boldness of the lines and the contours juxtaposed with details wrought in the geisha’s costumes. Bencab’s masterful use of colors, lines, and form infuses the series with a sense of movement and life, with touches of modernity that render his geishas with the essences of the past and the present, making them just as recognizable to modern viewers as they are refreshing. (Hannah Andrea Valiente)","lot_group":"PAINTING","lot_details_html":null,"alias":null,"hp":2600000,"bp":0.2016,"isWithdrawn":0,"accounting_hp":2600000,"userBid":34,"isPaid":0,"userId":34,"lot_status":"SOLD","isDone":1,"bid_history_id":25243,"reserve_price":0,"hammer_price":3124160,"fav":0},"image":[{"id":68575,"img_url":"https://leongallery.sgp1.digitaloceanspaces.com/v2/auction/209/242/lot/98.jpg","isFeatured":1},{"id":68987,"img_url":"https://leongallery.sgp1.digitaloceanspaces.com/v2/auction/209/242/lot/98a.jpg","isFeatured":0},{"id":68827,"img_url":"https://leongallery.sgp1.digitaloceanspaces.com/v2/auction/209/242/lot/98b.jpg","isFeatured":0},{"id":68826,"img_url":"https://leongallery.sgp1.digitaloceanspaces.com/v2/auction/209/242/lot/98c.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":97,"next":99,"count_bid":0,"bid_history":[],"tokenExpired":1}