{"status":true,"msg":{"data":{"id":1803,"auction_id":4,"set_id":5,"lot_number":"81","artist":"Manuel A. Rodriguez Sr. (1912 - 2017)","title":"Mother and Child","starting_price":1600000,"signed_dated":"signed and dated 1967 (lower left)","medium":"oil on canvas","size":"44 1/2\" x 24 1/2\" (113 cm x 61 cm)","property":null,"coa":null,"provenance":"Private Collection, Manila","exhibited":null,"literature":null,"write_up":"Although Manuel Rodriguez, Sr. is now widely \nacclaimed as the “Father of Philippine \nPrintmaking” and had been honored with \na plethora of awards and showered with numerous \nacclaims, both in his motherland and abroad, \nthroughout his lifetime, there exists a tragic side note \nto his prolific life and career—one that strikes through \nthe core of the collective Filipino soul.<br /><br /> \nIn this monumental yet moving masterpiece, Rodriguez \nSr. paints a ubiquitous subject: the mother and child. \nAlthough one may surmise the inherent tenderness that \nthe subject of a mother carrying her child in her arms \ngenerally exudes, this was not the case for Rodriguez; \nhis ‘mother and child’ is an image of unfortunate loss \nand intense longing for the protective embrace and \nenamoring and solicitous care of a mother. <br /><br />\nThe significance of Rodriguez’s Mother and Child can \nbe seen within the context of the artist’s mournful \nrecollection as a young boy. An excerpt from the essay \n‘Struggles and Triumphs of Manuel Rodriguez, Sr.’\nwritten by Eva Florentino, a longtime family friend of \nthe Rodriguezes, writes: “Manuel remembers seeing \nhis mother [named Antonia Temario] for the first time \nwhen he was brought to her funeral. He and his sister \nhad been separated from her to prevent them from \ngetting infected with tuberculosis. He was three, and \nhis sister was one year old when their mother died. In \na ritual for the dead, a relative swung them, one at a \ntime, over their mother’s bier. This experience is etched \nin his memory.”<br /><br />\nThere exists an atmosphere of bereavement in this work \ndue to its solemnity both in aspects of its technicality \nand unspoken declaration of human sentiments. The \nmother possesses a somber facial expression and pitiful \neyes that exude a penetrating gaze—a likely allusion to \nthe tragic desolation that Rodriguez’s mother had to \nendure to safeguard her children from the afflictions \nof a deadly disease. The child’s face is rendered blank, \nsignifying the inescapable void and the insatiable \nlonging of Rodriguez, who was left motherless at a very \ntender and vulnerable age. <br /><br />\nOne can see Rodriguez’s early experimentation into \nhis trademark technique he would eventually coin as \n“color vibrations” (he would formally introduce this \ntechnique in his 1993 exhibition titled ‘Through the \nEye of the Needle’ at the Breskin, Pearl, and Rodriguez \nGallery in Soho, New York), making this piece evidence \nof his foray into his unique style and dedication to forge \na distinct path in the art scene as early as the 1960s. <br /><br />\nColor vibrations of jarring and muted hues radiate \ndelicate visual lyricism and a balance between the \nsheer honesty and straightforwardness of the subject \nand the complex emotions it can stimulate. But \nperhaps the emotional gravitas of this piece lies in its \npronouncement of the enduring loss of a son over his \nmother; he did not have the chance to experience the \nimmaculateness of a mother’s unconditional love. One \ncan imagine the gush of poignancy that Rodriguez felt \nas he immortalized on his canvas a memory he had \nnever experienced. (Adrian Maranan)","lot_group":"PAINTING","lot_details_html":null,"alias":null,"hp":2400000,"bp":0.2016,"isWithdrawn":0,"accounting_hp":2400000,"userBid":5926,"isPaid":0,"userId":22,"lot_status":"SOLD","isDone":1,"bid_history_id":null,"reserve_price":null,"hammer_price":2883840,"fav":0},"image":[{"id":2018,"img_url":"https://leongallery.sgp1.digitaloceanspaces.com/v2/auction/4/5/lot/81.jpg","isFeatured":1}]},"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":80,"next":82,"count_bid":0,"bid_history":[],"tokenExpired":1}