Provenance: Provenance: Acquired directly from the artist by the model of this work

ABOUT THE WORK

Rod Paraz-Perez narrated in 1990: “[Manansala] saw the nude as a mass of interactive forms, of basic interpenetrating geometric masses to be stated with the simplest of means.” Vicente Manansala’s profound liberality and proficiency as a draughtsman is embodied in his carefully crafted exuberant nude in pastel. His attention to line, form, and volume reveals him to be a first observer of the human figure; no doubt his nude woman has become an embodiment of classical beauty and ideal form. In this work, the master cubist celebrates the charm of the naked dalaga—a woman, a warrior, who faces all the pressures of the world and overcomes them with grace. Hypocrites are the ones who expect her to be perfect, for there is no such thing. Shown in her very nature, there is a soft force in the nude woman’s physical presence that could not be avoided, even by the undiscerning viewer.