PROPERTY FROM THE EUGENIO M. LÓPEZ JR. COLLECTION

ABOUT THE WORK

Standing proud and unyielding, Future Champion by National Artist Guillermo Tolentino is a masterful rendition of a child’s human form. But this piece is made even more poignant because the subject is the artist’s own son. With a steady gaze and the look of victory, his tiny arms, bent to show what little muscles he has, portends a momentous event is this boy’s future. More importantly, the single hand of the father holding the boy’s feet in one hand, tells the story of an ever-supportive parent, strong in physique and stronger in resolve. A champion to the son as well. Guillermo Tolentino’s struggle to master the human figure in the round during his school years abroad is the stuff of legend. In 1919, Tolentino enrolled at the Ecole de Beaux Arts for advanced courses in sculpture with a substantial scholarship grant from Bernard Baruch, a prominent American financier, stock investor, philanthropist, and statesman of the era. In his monumental book TOLENTINO, critic Rod ParasPerez wrote: “Tolentino now plunged into his studies with a gusto tantamount to physical hunger: figures in clay—of men and women—assumed forms with frenzied speed under his tireless, kneading fingers . . . Figures in clay and sheet after sheet of drawings sprang from his hands. [. . .] Indeed for every series of drawings done around a model, there was almost always a similar sculpture.” While studying, he worked as messenger and assistant to American sculptor Gutzon Borglum, earning $11 a week. In 1921, he finished his course at the Ecole de Beaux Arts with monetary, medal, and diploma awards. That same year, he left for Europe. Tolentino stayed in London for a week, visiting museums and art galleries. He went on to Paris and stayed there for another week. Then, he moved to Rome where he spent the next three and a half years. There he entered the Regge Instituto Superiore di Belle Arti di Roma.