Provenance: Provenance: Private Collection, UK

ABOUT THE WORK

This costumed figure may be mistaken as the work of Damian Domingo, but it was painted by his prize pupil in the Academia de Dibujo, Justiniano Asuncion y Molo. In the middle of the 19th century, the indigenous fashions of various peoples in the Philippines and nearby countries were featured in such periodicals as the Manila- and Madrid-based newspaper El Oriente with the caption ”Tipos del Pais.” When Damian Domingo was too ill to paint, he passed down to the still adolescent Asuncion the work of painting Tipos del Pais for the travelers’ market. Asuncion’s flair for details in the art of miniaturism soon surpassed that of his teacher. In this style, the minutest details are painted as realistically as possible, even if the ground were as small as a thumbnail, as it is in the case of lockets.