Provenance: Private Collection, USA

ABOUT THE WORK

Teodoro Buenaventura’s Arcadian images provide nostalgic preserves of a preindustrial world. He sought an art that was rooted in honest observation of the countryside rather than in the visual mannerisms and choice of subjects of the painters of the recent past era of his time, the nineteenth century. According to the book “Art Philippines”, “...painters working with genre for the first quarter of the century were Emilio Alvero, Teodoro Buenaventura, and Jose Peralta. Each was a friend of Alfonso Ongpin and their paintings here bear inscriptions to their friend and patron. Ongpin acted as ‘godfather’ to just about every artist working in the 1920s and 30s. He believed with J.B. Newman that ‘it would be worthwhile to support all the artists so as not to risk overlooking the one genius the nation might offer.” Buenaventura is one of the early masters of classical realism in the Philippines. In 1895 he entered three oils, Despues del bano (After the bath), Cabeza del Estudio (Head Study) and Estudio de Natural (study from life) at the Exposicion Regional de Filipinas — one of the three obtained a bronze medal. In 1899 he opened a portrait shop in San Jose, Trozo. In many issues of Chispazos in July 1908, his Academia de Dibujo y pintura was advertised with No. 35, San Jose, Trozo as the address. A contemporary, Dominador Castaneda, reports that the school of Buenaventura was surrounded by young gentlemen of leisure who sketched and painted for the sheer dilettantish pleasure of it. The likes of Malang, from as early as the age of 10, have studied drawing under Teodoro Buenaventura. In 1908, his “Ya Vienen” (They Are here) won one of the silver medals at the art exhibition sponsored by the Asosacion Internacional de Artistas.