{"status":true,"msg":{"data":{"id":1957,"auction_id":4,"set_id":5,"lot_number":"55","artist":"Marcel Antonio (b. 1965)","title":"The Citrus Tree","starting_price":200000,"signed_dated":"signed (lower right)<br /> dated 2002","medium":"alkyd and acrylic on canvas","size":"30\" x 24\" (76 cm x 61 cm)","property":null,"coa":"León Gallery wishes to thank the artist for confirming the authenticity of this lot","provenance":null,"exhibited":null,"literature":null,"write_up":"Most of the time, when observing a \nMarcel Antonio painting, one would find \nthemselves immersed in contemplation, \nmeticulously searching the canvas for \ndetails that could answer the simple \nquestion: what is happening?<br /><br />\nThe Citrus Tree is among the artist’s \noeuvres that can make a viewer scratch \ntheir head or stroke their chin. A lot is \ngoing on in the piece at hand, a woman \nis unclothed, she is in the middle of \nsomething that has to do with cards, a \ncat stares at her, and, if not for the title, \nwe might fail to notice that there is a \ncitrus tree outside the window.<br /><br />\nUnlike the muse in the nude, the playing \ncards, and her feline friend, the citrus \ntree does not seem to demand much \nattention. However, for it to be the main \nsubject of the painting, there must be \nsomething that the artist hopes for its \naudience to unravel.<br /><br />\nFor this, an old tale comes to mind. In the \nBible, there was a tree whose fruits bear \nthe knowledge of good and evil. God \nforbade Adam and Eve to consume the \nfruits of that tree, but Eve was deceived \nby the devil to take a bite, inviting Adam \nto do as well. The two gained knowledge, \nbut lost their innocence. As punishment, \nthey were exiled from Eden.<br /><br />\nThe tree and the fruit were never \nidentified in the biblical story, but other \nthan the apple being its most popular \ndepiction in art, some also believe it \nwas a citrus tree. Then, could this be the \nreason why the woman is staring at it? \nIs the female figure in this painting Eve?<br /><br /> \nHas she acquired the knowledge to be able \nto play cards? Is the cat there to emphasize \nthe contrast between animals and humans? \nAnd, if this is all true, how did the faint \npresence of a citrus tree affect her?<br /><br />\nAntonio is a painter as well as a storyteller, \nas deemed by his artworks’ audience, even \nthough he admits to not always lending his \npaintings a story to tell. “In hindsight, yes, \nmaybe,” he said in an article from Artes de \nlas Filipinas. (Isabella Romarate)","lot_group":"PAINTING","lot_details_html":null,"alias":null,"hp":380000,"bp":0.2016,"isWithdrawn":0,"accounting_hp":380000,"userBid":5926,"isPaid":0,"userId":22,"lot_status":"SOLD","isDone":1,"bid_history_id":null,"reserve_price":null,"hammer_price":456608,"fav":0},"image":[{"id":1988,"img_url":"https://leongallery.sgp1.digitaloceanspaces.com/v2/auction/4/5/lot/55.jpg","isFeatured":1}]},"increment":[220000,240000,260000,280000,300000,320000,340000,360000,380000,400000,450000,500000,550000,600000,650000,700000,750000,800000,900000,1000000,1100000,1200000,1300000,1400000,1500000,1600000,1700000,1800000,1900000,2000000,2200000,2400000,2600000,2800000,3000000,3200000,3400000,3600000,3800000,4000000,4200000,4400000,4600000,4800000,5000000,5500000,6000000,6500000,7000000,7500000,8000000,8500000,9000000,9500000,10000000,11000000,12000000,13000000,14000000,15000000,16000000,17000000,18000000,19000000,20000000],"prev":54,"next":56,"count_bid":0,"bid_history":[],"tokenExpired":1}