Provenance: Provenance: Acquired directly from the artist

ABOUT THE WORK

Many pictures, particularly contemporary ones, are painted with museum exhibitions in the mind of the painter. Each one is designed to compete for attention by its individuality. But bucolic genre themes by intent never have their appeal built exclusively out of novelty. Each one is painted to be seen on account of itself, as seen in nature. To the painters of the countryside genre, such as Romulo Galicano, nature is the only honest source of ideas. Galicano combines a French impressionist way of looking at the Philippine countryside, with a firm grip on observed reality. The painting has a fantasy angle yet there’s that everyday quality, for though they include recognizable, or relatable details such as the man with the crisp white shirt, they clearly aim to capture the universal essence of such scenes, rather than to depict specific topographical locations. These incidental details express Galicano’s desire to show the working life of the illimitable countryside, a landscape full of human associations.