Provenance: Acquired directly from the artist by Aurelio AG Gomez Palileo, thence by descent United Asian Auctioneers, Modern and Contemporary Art, Hong Kong, 19 May 2012, Lot 40 Private Collection, Asia

ABOUT THE WORK

Almost a mural-size work, the ‘Nose Flute’ measures an astounding 4 feet by 6 feet, making the painting most possibly, the last Botong Francisco of such epic proportions to go to auction. The work is painted on a double canvas, joined at the seams. This was a practice that Botong’s last assistant Salvador “Badong” Juban said was necessary to accommodate the scale of Botong’s works. These canvases were ordered specially from Gandara Street, in Manila’s Chinatown, since canvases of that size were not readily available. Botong is widely regarded as Asia’s Diego Rivera, because of his powerful yet lyrical murals depicting a pantheon of heroes as well as the heroic everyman. He carefully selected the avatars in creating a unique iconography, preferring pre-Spanish Filipinos, or those that stayed true to their cultural identities unsubjugated, by colonial powers. He preferred both the proud Northern Tribes of the Ifugao and Ibaloy as well as the tribesmen of Muslim Mindanao. Mrs. Carmen Francisco Whalen, Botong’s eldest daughter, writing from the United States in 2012, stated, “I can tell that it is my father’s style — the color, the composition and the subject matter. It is so good to hear that there is still great enthusiasm in reviving and carrying on the legacy of my father. He was a great man, as a human being, as a father, and as an artist who remained true to what he was called to do and deliver — the gift of talent that was given to him by his Creator.” Last assistant, Salvador “Badong” Juban, said that based on the anatomy, shape of the figures and hands, the piece was a fine example of Botong at his best. Juban said that Botong collected a lot of Cordillera and Muslim indigenous art to aid in his research and would do an immense amount of reading before embarking on any project; and the smallest details, such as the fine etchings on the nose flute in the work, reflected this. He also said that Botong was a very gentle, humble man, who would never say anything to discourage another artist. One day, one artist showed him a painting depicting Igorots. Botong later told ‘Mang’ Badong privately that he “could not smell a single whiff of an Igorot” in the work. ‘Mang’ Badong said that in the case of the ‘Nose Flute’, he “could smell very well the Igorots in it." While Botong created various studies for this final work, ‘Mang’ Badong also said one must be careful to note that the study and the final work should not be exactly the same. He said that this expressed the reality of what would go on in Botong’s mind between study and final execution. — Lisa Guerrero Nakpil