Provenance: Provenance: Private Collection, Manila

ABOUT THE WORK

One correct title for this nude would be “Arrangement in Gray and Black”. And its real subject is a mood, a mood compounded of repose, reflection, sensuality, and physical abandon. The special aura of his work is an intimacy that arouses sensual curiosity but in the end frustrates it. Manansala’s attention to line, form, and volume reveals him to be a first rate observer of the human figure. The soft force of her physical presence and quality of execution could not be avoided, even for the undiscerning viewer. The viewer senses a hidden erotic appeal in all of this, but Manansala did not create a carnal vision of female flesh. The figurative work deals as much with the accurate depiction of a woman as with capturing the essential intangible qualities she portrays. The image of the naked woman has sculptural qualities still. Modeled by the interplay of these several lights, the figure stands out in sculptural roundness. Hard edges and flat passages gave way to a rounder modeling, there was more envelopment by atmosphere; his color, while often dark, added a wide variety of grays, and a new depth and body. The note of sentiment was clearer but still reserved, implicit rather than explicit: an appropriation of feminine grace but no emotional situations.