Provenance: Private Collection, Manila

ABOUT THE WORK

Almost all the 19th century Filipina women in Bencab’s oeuvre belong to the Indio class. Cid Reyes wrote in 1998: “Lying at the heart of this artistic decision is the painful scorn and derision suffered by these indias, a factual record of which is distinctly etched in the travel narratives of 19th century chroniclers and visitors. Succeeding travelers took their turn heaping insult on the person of the poor Filipina.” Thus with jaundiced eyes did the 19th century foreigners regard the Filipina. But in the eyes of an ardent nationalist like Bencab, a reversal in outlook was gallantly forthcoming, in a grand celebration on the canvas, the artist conceives the Filipina as an India Brava, a portrait in grace and civility, rising boldly from the grief of her poverty and ignorance, through sheer endurance and industry, even as she attends to the duties of motherhood and domestic tedium. Larawan, the Filipino term for photograph, carries emotional and pictorial reverberations in the art of Bencab. Once, when asked to explain his concern with the depiction of “The Filipino”, Bencab replied:”I am interested in the investigation of the various and differing social and cultural aspects of the Filipino personality. I can’t think of any other reason. This ‘investigation’ however, is clearly not just an exploration of what is widely perceived as a form of national neurosis. This long haired ‘India’ has a more contemporary feel to it, with her direct stare and smiling demeanor immediately engaging the audience, an aura which is a far cry from the heavy-handed circumstances of Bencab’s Larawan series.