Provenance: Provenance: Acquired directly from the Artist

Literature: Literature: Paras-Perez, Rodolfo. Manansala. PLC Publications, Manila, 1980, p. 153.

ABOUT THE WORK

National Artist Vicente Manansala received a Smith-Mundt Specialist Grant from the United States in 1960 to study stained-glass techniques in New York. During this period, he would make a limited number of stained-glass pieces. For this particularly rare piece in a light box, Self-Portrait, Manansala recounted: “I had this vision while I was riding the cable-car in L.A. At that time I was studying stained-glass at Greenland Studio. I saw a stained glass on top of a table with lights under it. The vibration and scintillating color fascinated me. Sabi ko puwedeng gawin sa painting ito.” Here, evident are the push and pull between forms and colors and the relationship between the subject and setting characterized by striking tonalities with hinted depth. The subject is situated in a well - remembered scene, depicted as a vision set free through the power of memory.