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SAVING THE WORLD THROUGH ART Norman Dreo's Vision of Hope Norman Dreo is inarguably one of the biggest names in Philippine art today, whose works are characterized by their compelling narratives and diligent attention to minute details. The work at hand, the monumental Behind the Shadows, follows in the footsteps of his works revolving around the masters of yore, such as the titanic My Little Museum (2019), presented at the 2019 Art Fair Philippines and the 2019 Art Central in Hong Kong. Behind the Shadows was Dreo’s centerpiece in his joint exhibition with fellow contemporary artist Juanito Torres titled Perspectives during the 2022 edition of Art Fair Philippines' 10 Days of Art. Created in 2021, when the pandemic was at its apex, Dreo's Behind the Shadows is an evocative and personal work encapsulating his struggles and triumphs in this age of distress and disturbance. During that period of bleakness and despondency when lockdowns were imposed and galleries and museums had been closed to help curb the spread of the virus, artists like Dreo had been engulfed by anxiety about the future of the art world and the seemingly downward trajectory of living and being, especially since their lives are intertwined with their art and its showcasing to the people for them to see, appreciate, and in a way, be roused and inspired. Behind the Shadows is Dreo's story within the confines of his studio amid the grim shadows of the global pandemic. Divided into five panels, the sweeping extent of Behind the Shadows takes the viewer on a breathtaking view of a miniature museum, effectively engendering a new way of seeing. Dreo's renditions of the paintings of Flemish artist Peter Paul Rubens (1577 – 1640) are interspersed across the canvas. Rubens, famous for his distinct take on Flemish Baroque, was among the foremost artists of his time. Churches commissioned him for their imposing altarpieces, and the nobility conferred him the honor of creating their portraits. The work serves as Dreo's fitting homage to the eminent Rubens, whose religious art inspired him to continue living and striving amid the personal and collective tribulations of the pandemic. Dreo's use of wooden panels as support evokes Rubens' old practice, of which the latter was one of the last major artists to do so. In Dreo's artist statement for the exhibition Perspectives, he writes: "Inspired by the works of Peter Paul Rubens, the most commissioned artist for altarpieces, I would like to show how faith played a big role in my life and how it gave me, a devout Catholic, hope to conquer my own shadows. His mastery of his craft reflects well in his detailed figures of the church and Christianity. His works filled my soul with the light it needed during these difficult times." The majestic work is in itself, an altar of prayer, where Dreo's pleas and invocation to Divine Providence resounds. The five panels, which resemble an altarpiece, depict some of the most famous of Rubens' works, which are now kept in the collections of prestigious museums and galleries in the Western Hemisphere. The first panel shows Henri IV Receiving the Portrait of Marie de' Medici (1622 – 1625), one of the 24 paintings commissioned in 1621 by Marie de' Medici, Queen of France and Henri IV of France's second wife, that immortalizes her life. The 24 paintings, which formerly adorned the walls of the Luxembourg Palace in Paris, now form part of the collection of the Louvre in a special section of the museum known as the Galerie Médicis. The second panel depicts three oil sketches/modelli created by Rubens for an altarpiece for St. Bavo's Cathedral, Ghent, which Bishop Karel Maes commissioned in 1611. From the left are the following: Three Female Witnesses, Saint Bavo Is Received by Saints Amand and Floribert, and Kings Clothar and Dagobert Dispute with a Herald, all of which depict scenes from the life of the cathedral's titular saint. The three modellis are now in London's The National Gallery. The top corner of the panel shows The Holy Family Surrounded by Saints (ca. 1630), now in the Museo Nacional del Prado in Madrid. A depiction of The Great Last Judgment (1614 – 1617) occupies the central panel. The original work, commissioned by the German prince Wolfgang William for the Jesuit church at Neuburg an der Donau in Bavaria, is now in the Alte Pinakothek Museum in Munich. The fourth panel depicts the Coronation of the Virgin (1609 – 1611), an oil sketch proposed for a side chapel in Antwerp Cathedral but was rejected. The work is now in the Hermitage Museum in Saint Petersburg, Russia. The fifth and final panel presents a rendition of The potheosis of Henri IV and the Proclamation of the Regency, another painting from the Marie de' Medici Cycle in the Louvre. Also depicted is the Miracle of Saint Ignatius of Loyola (1617/1618), now in the Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna. Some of Rubens' other significant works, such as Daniel in the Lion's Den (1614/1616, now in the collection of the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C.) and Ecce Homo (ca. 1612, now in the Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg), are rendered in old, dismantled canvases. Since this work represents how the pandemic affected the world, particularly the art industry, Dreo depicts a group of art experts and restorers dressed in PPEs and armed with the necessary equipment to conserve these irreplaceable treasures. Beyond being evoked as an altarpiece to show devotion to God and pay homage to Ruben's art, Dreo offers an immersive experience, demonstrating the unsung heroes who share the same commitment toward preserving art at a time when museums and galleries fell into dismal conditions when the pandemic struck. The restorers also represent bits and pieces of Dreo himself, how he managed to "restore" and "revitalize" himself in the face of the insanities of the pandemic through his art and faith in his Creator. Behind the shadows—represented by the old piles of canvases symbolizing the anguish ans affliction borne from the pandemic—is Dreo's Creator, who is his guiding light, and the glory of art itself, which is the artist's beacon of hope. One may ponder why The Great Last Judgement is at the very center of this work. With this pandemic, everyone has poignantly asked, "Is this the last judgment?" But artists still strived to create, not only as a form of catharsis but as a genuine commitment to rekindle hope in lost souls. All in all, this work sees a sublime convergence of art, spirituality, and an artist's social responsibility. Dreo says in his artist statement: "This pandemic cast a shadow and stretched it further to spread darkness, affecting every aspect of our lives. In a span of two years, all galleries and museums became empty and silent spaces; art exhibitions were brought to a halt. These piles of old canvasses reflect how we've become hopeless, uninspired, and lost. These symbolize all those feelings of emptiness and disarray, where our heads just seem to linger in the dark. "But I would like to believe that this is not a sad story. It is true that there may still be darkness lurking about, and we may still be immersed in our own shadows; but it gives me comfort believing that behind these shadows there is light, faith, and hope. "After all, Art is very much alive in our hearts. Art is here to stay, Art always stays. That is why despite difficulties, we, artists, keep creating. We make every day count. We keep on moving forward, challenging ourselves to be better humans, not only for us but for others as well. We keep stretching that blank roll of canvas, sand it, prime it, prepare it for our first strokes. We finish what we started. We dream, we take action, we inspire, and we help others. "Have faith. If there is darkness, there is light behind the shadows." (A.M.)