Provenance: Private Collection, Manila

ABOUT THE WORK

Although Manuel Rodriguez, Sr. is now widely acclaimed as the “Father of Philippine Printmaking” and had been honored with a plethora of awards and showered with numerous acclaims, both in his motherland and abroad, throughout his lifetime, there exists a tragic side note to his prolific life and career—one that strikes through the core of the collective Filipino soul. In this monumental yet moving masterpiece, Rodriguez Sr. paints a ubiquitous subject: the mother and child. Although one may surmise the inherent tenderness that the subject of a mother carrying her child in her arms generally exudes, this was not the case for Rodriguez; his ‘mother and child’ is an image of unfortunate loss and intense longing for the protective embrace and enamoring and solicitous care of a mother. The significance of Rodriguez’s Mother and Child can be seen within the context of the artist’s mournful recollection as a young boy. An excerpt from the essay ‘Struggles and Triumphs of Manuel Rodriguez, Sr.’ written by Eva Florentino, a longtime family friend of the Rodriguezes, writes: “Manuel remembers seeing his mother [named Antonia Temario] for the first time when he was brought to her funeral. He and his sister had been separated from her to prevent them from getting infected with tuberculosis. He was three, and his sister was one year old when their mother died. In a ritual for the dead, a relative swung them, one at a time, over their mother’s bier. This experience is etched in his memory.” There exists an atmosphere of bereavement in this work due to its solemnity both in aspects of its technicality and unspoken declaration of human sentiments. The mother possesses a somber facial expression and pitiful eyes that exude a penetrating gaze—a likely allusion to the tragic desolation that Rodriguez’s mother had to endure to safeguard her children from the afflictions of a deadly disease. The child’s face is rendered blank, signifying the inescapable void and the insatiable longing of Rodriguez, who was left motherless at a very tender and vulnerable age. One can see Rodriguez’s early experimentation into his trademark technique he would eventually coin as “color vibrations” (he would formally introduce this technique in his 1993 exhibition titled ‘Through the Eye of the Needle’ at the Breskin, Pearl, and Rodriguez Gallery in Soho, New York), making this piece evidence of his foray into his unique style and dedication to forge a distinct path in the art scene as early as the 1960s. Color vibrations of jarring and muted hues radiate delicate visual lyricism and a balance between the sheer honesty and straightforwardness of the subject and the complex emotions it can stimulate. But perhaps the emotional gravitas of this piece lies in its pronouncement of the enduring loss of a son over his mother; he did not have the chance to experience the immaculateness of a mother’s unconditional love. One can imagine the gush of poignancy that Rodriguez felt as he immortalized on his canvas a memory he had never experienced. (Adrian Maranan)