{"status":true,"msg":{"data":{"id":50139,"auction_id":99,"set_id":131,"lot_number":"51","artist":"Tam Austria (b. 1943)","title":"Maria Makiling","starting_price":400000,"signed_dated":"signed and dated 1982 (upper left)","medium":"oil on canvas","size":"36\" x 48\" (91 cm x 122 cm)","property":null,"coa":"León Gallery wishes to thank the artist for \nconfirming the authenticity of this lot","provenance":null,"exhibited":null,"literature":null,"write_up":"Tam Austria is an undisputed master of the folk genre. Much like his mentor and luminary, the revered Carlos ‘Botong’ Francisco, Austria draws from a wide variety of native influences. One subject that has recurrently appeared in Austria’s oeuvre is the lovely image of the diwata (mythical muse). Such is the case with this piece, in which Austria immortalizes the most famous diwata in Philippine folklore, Maria Makiling, the guardian spirit of Mount Makiling. Austria’s depiction of Maria stays faithful to the native narrative; a breathtakingly beautiful, enchanted woman with long, black hair, possessing a light brown skin tone or kayumangging kaligatan in the Tagalog lexicon, having a slender body frame, and always bearing a solemn facial expression. Here, the native enchantress delicately flaunts her divine and graceful femininity emphasized by her sublime countenance and elegant bearing.
The idyllic native setting, populated with lush flora and dynamic fauna, evokes a storied past. Here, Maria, the protector of Mount Makiling and its surrounding environs, harmoniously communes with nature. Without a doubt, Austria’s works embody the quintessential native spirit, capturing a time in our collective history when man held nature in high regard, exalting it as the primary sustainer of life. Austria’s works are marked by his constant fiddling with maximalism and meticulousness to minute details. The artist’s employment of maximalism reflects what retired art professor and former NCCA chairman Felipe M. de Leon Jr. writes as “a manifestation of the Filipinos’ highly sensitive and expressive nature that is rooted in our communal existence.” Coupled with his painstaking creative process, Austria confers his works with an appealing richness and dynamism in composition.
This piece—and Austria’s works in general—exudes a mystical quality that encapsulates our collective longing for the former glory of a bygone era. The artist says of this attribute in his art: “I think my work reflects a number of basic truths, perhaps, too, nostalgia for the good things slipping away. Then there are the earth, the fields, the sky, the quiet corner people long for. Perhaps people are drawn to my painting by common feelings that go beyond art.” (A.M.)","lot_group":"PAINTING","lot_details_html":"
Tam Austria (b. 1943) Maria Makiling signed and dated 1982 (upper left) oil on canvas 36\" x 48\" (91 cm x 122 cm)