Provenance: Provenance: Private Collection, Manila

ABOUT THE WORK

Regarded as a prime mover of action painting and extension of the Cubist style in Philippine art, Angelito Antonio had developed his very own color schemes of acidic yellow, cerulean blue, and black and white. As a student of the University of Santo Tomas in the 1960s, Angelito Antonio was invariably influenced by the modernist masters who were his teachers, chiefly the National Artist Victorio Edades. This influence is largely visible in his treatment of colors in which tonalities are employed not to describe the world but to evoke a certain mood and atmosphere in the scenery of his paintings. Despite this influence, Antonio has remained steadfast in capturing the lives of ordinary Filipinos. In this piece, Angelito utilizes his signature style that combines his energetic and unorthodox use of shape, color, and form depicting traditional local scenes. Antonio’s mother and child, a common subject amongst artists, is given a significantly different treatment compared to those done by the other modernists. Here, his subjects are not intricately posed, but captured amidst their daily activities. This gives the work a familiar and grounded approach that is most welcome amongst the works of Filipino Modernism. Already an immense figure in the history of Philippine visual art, Antonio is one of the pillars of Philippine art to adhere to Modernism’s core tenet of dynamic expression.