ABOUT THE WORK

An Extraordinary Original Copper Plate of Luna’s Legaspi Portrait Engraving has been an important part of European art and culure since the time of the master Albert Durer, It would become the most accurate way to depict the world well into the 19th century until the advent of photography. In the Philippines, it would stand as importantly as painting and sculpture as expressed in the Manila Academy’s Escuela which also taught the fine art of engraving and would see Filipinos sent to Spain in pursuit of this calling. Copper plates utilized in these endeavors are quite rare since many of the plates would be re-purposed to make other engravings or simply melted down for their metal. To find one with the engraving of a Luna masterpiece is doubly extraordinary. (Lisa Guerrero Nakpil) La Ilustracion Artistica, a publication owned by Montaner y Simón in Barcelona continues the enticing genre of an “illustrated magazine.” It started in 1882 and during its early years gave priority to grabados (engraving). For illustrations, it featured interesting graphic material from the artists of the time. Our very own Juan Luna and his works appeared several times in this magazine. Art historians identified the following works of Luna that were featured in La Ilustracion Artistica: Mujeres Romanas (1884), Spoliarium (1884), Miguel Lopez de Legaspi, Primer Gobernador Español de las Islas Filipinas (1886), La Belleza Feliz y La Esclava Ciega (1887), El Babieca (1888), La Mestiza (1888), Ensueños de Amor (1888), and El Trapero (1896). It is interesting to note that in the October 1884 number it features Don Juan Luna y Novicio, Autor del Spoliarium recognizing him as an accomplished artist. In May of that year Luna gained recognition for his ambitious obra with the scene at the dungeon of the Roman colosseum after a gladiatorial fight as subject at the National Exposition of Fine Arts in Madrid. The items at hand are led by a bound copy of Volume 5 of La Ilustracion Artistica printed in 1886. Of foremost significance among the issues included here is Number 259 where Luna’s painting Miguel Lopez de Legaspi, Primer Gobernador Español de las Islas Filipinas is on the cover with an accompanying historical note about the subject on Page 342. National Artist for Historical Literature Carlos Quirino narrates the context of Luna’s paintings with historical events about the Philippines as subject: “The government in Manila was paying Luna 600 pesos a year in exchange for one painting a year. The amount was increased to 1,000 pesos, provided he paints a historical piece about the Philippines. In 1886 Luna finished the painting “El Pacto de Sangre” (The Blood Compact) and sent it to his homeland...The second painting he sent to Manila was a portrait of Legaspi as the founder of the City of Manila.” El Pacto de Sangre is currently displayed in Malacañan Palace. Unfortunately, the original of Miguel Lopez de Legaspi, Primer Gobernador Español de las Islas Filipinas was burned during the Philippine-Spanish war. The bound volume includes engravings of both “España y Filipinas” (described as “Alegoria a España e Islas Filipinas”) as well as “El Pacto de Sangre” on Pages 348 and 345, respectively. A loose copy of the cover of the conquistador Miguel Lopez de Legazpi as well as a metal printing plate of the same cover are part of this lot. Additional Note: In this bound volume of La Ilustracion Artistica, another interesting feature about the Philippines (number 232, et seq.) is a long, serialized feature across several issues, with grabados based on the travels of Dr. Joseph Montano. It carries the title “Viaje a Filipinas por el doctor J. Montano” narrating the Frenchman’s observation regarding various features of the places he visited in Luzon (Manila, Bataan, Albay, Palawan), Mindanao (Zamboanga, Basilan, Sulu, Davao, Surigao), and Malacca and Sandakan. That same year (1886) Librairie Hachette in Paris printed the French version Voyage aux Philippines et en Malaisie. (Lars Raymund Ubaldo, Ph.D.)