PROPERTY FROM THE PROFESSOR AMBETH R. OCAMPO COLLECTION

Provenance: Acquired from the collection of the widow of Guillermo Tolentino, Paz Reymundo.

Exhibited: Museo ng Malacañang, Tolentino: Iskultor ng mga Bayani (Organized by the Museo ng Malacañang Foundation in Celebration of the 'Decade of Nationalism, 1988 - 1998'), Manila, 28 September - October 1988 Metropolitan Museum of Manila, 1997

Literature: Tolentino: Iskultor ng mga Bayani. Published in conjunction with the exhibition of the same title at the Museo ng Malacañang. Manila: Museo ng Malacañang Foundation, 1988. Listed as "ANDRES BONIFACIO, Founder of the Katipunan" in the section "Exhibition Checklist."

ABOUT THE WORK

A Treasure From a Historian's Vault Ambeth Ocampo Reveals an Important Bonifacio Bust by LISA GUERRERO NAKPIL - Arelentless author of 35 books and over 3,500 essays and an equally tireless newspaper columnist for the widely-read ‘Looking Back’, a globe-trotting, sought- after lecturer and the universally adored Hermenegildo B. Reyes Professor of History at the Ateneo de Manila University, public servant and patriot (as chair of the National Historical Commission and National Commission for Culture and the Arts, he never drew a salary), Ambeth R. Ocampo and his nine lives would never run out of accomplishments and accolades. There is one facet that is little-known : He is a serious collector of Philippine art and antiques with a taste for the delicious details that make each work completely special and that only he could hunt, find, savor— and of course, share with his thousands of readers and fans. León Gallery is privileged to present four of the important artworks from his collection, revealed for the first time to the public---two of them of extraordinary historical import. Professor Ocampo has written often about National Artist Guillermo E. Tolentino, the genius who created the towering Bonifacio monument in Caloocan, considered the most beautiful in the country. The secret of its power — the maestro once confided in a pre-war interview unearthed by Ambeth—comes from its remarkably lifelike expression and accuracy in detail. Tolentino, a spiritist, said he got details right from seances held in his home in Retiro street, as well as the bone structure of his surviving sister, Espiridiona. The second work is an equally delightful morsel of both historical and artistic importance : a relic of the legendary ‘Per Pacem et Libertatem’ masterpiece by Felix Resurreccion Hidalgo, that was obliterated in the dark days of the 1945 Battle for Manila. It depicts the battle-weary ‘Filipinas’ as she gazes beseechingly up at the unseen American goddess, Columbia. Celebrating Guillermo Tolentino, The First National Artist for Sculpture - If there's one Filipino artist who will be forever be remembered for his "heroic" contributions to Philippine art, Guillermo Tolentino is inarguably a surefire answer. And by heroic, one need not look further than his monumental accomplishment of being the most illustrious "creator" of Filipino heroes—a sculptor par excellence for his unsurpassed ability to capture the image and likeness of our forefathers. Andres Bonifacio is the centerpiece of Guillermo Tolentino's oeuvre, immortalized in his towering bronze piece de resistance Bonifacio Monument (colloquially known as "Monumento"), which was inaugurated in 1933 to honor the memory of the "Father of the Philippine Revolution" and the historic "Cry of Pugad Lawin" that ignited the flames of armed struggle against Madre España. Tolentino's depiction of Bonifacio was borne out of the sculptor's extensive research on the hero—including reading books and primary sources and interviewing the hero's surviving younger sister, Espiridiona Bonifacio, for "more personal and first-hand enlightenment." Tolentino himself also conducted seances to obtain a greater accuracy in details. The bust of Bonifacio at hand is one of a number of plaster casts from the original sculpture. For his classic work on the Bonifacio monument, Tolentino based the hero's likeness on the bone structure of Espiridiona and the only extant photograph of the revolutionary father dated 1896, in which he wears a coat and tie, instead of the wildly popularized white camisa de chino and screaming red kundiman pants. This iconography is clearly depicted in this plaster bust, so different from the unauthorized posthumous reproductions in cold-cast resin floating in the market today. Tolentino's interpretation of Bonifacio veered from the prevailing notion of the "Great Plebeian: that had been hyped by Ramon Martinez's life-size, reinforced concrete sculpture titled Monument to the Heroes of 1896 (Homenaje Del Pueblo Filipino a Los Heroes Del' 96) that depicts a katipunero donned in the camisa de chino and kundiman pants rolled up above the knees and armed with a bolo on his right hand. The eminent art critic Rodolfo Paras-Perez succinctly wrote about this deviation from the widespread yet faulty notions in his 1976 monograph on Tolentino. "The primacy of the idea or concept as the directing force is underlined in Tolentino's treatment of Bonifacio's clothing. Bonifacio wears a barong Tagalog. This, in itself, is not unusual. (The barong Tagalog was a common costume during Bonifacio's time). But what makes it stand out in Bonifacio is its fine detailing, as in the treatment of the embroidery. This is further carried in the holster of the gun and in the sheath of the bolo. Thus, Bonifacio is costumed not as the plebeian going to battle but, in a manner befitting a leader. Not as the reality of the situation demands but what the hierarchy of the concept dictates." Professor Ocampo acquired this work from Tolentino's widow, Paz Raymundo, in the 1980s. This bust was exhibited in late 1988 at the Museo ng Malacañang, in a show titled Tolentino: Iskultor ng mga Bayani, organized by the Museo ng Malacañang Foundation in a decade-long lead-up to the centennial celebrations of Philippine independence, then officially declared as the “Decade of Nationalism, 1988 - 1998.” It was also featured in a 1997 exhibition at the Metropolitan Museum of Manila. (Adrian Maranan)