This piece is accompanied by a certificate issued by the artist’s
estate confirming the authenticity of this lot

Provenance: Provenance:
Private collection, Manila

Exhibited: Literature:
Reyes, Cid. J. Elizalde Navarro. National Museum of the
Philippines. Manila. 2008. p. 197.

ABOUT THE WORK

Jerry Elizalde Navarro emancipated the nude from the limitations set by sobriety and diffidence. He enhanced and refined it, turned a blind eye to the conservative gauges of Philippine art, and intensified it with sensuality and hedonism. He may have been equaled in terms of draftsmanship by his contemporaries such as Manansala and Legaspi, but his fresh and unrestricted sultriness that is nonexistent in the works of others earned him a paramount distinction. Navarro had a superior understanding of anatomy, immersing himself in the indispensable dynamism of the human body and its sophistication. The Kimono from Ubud, Bali was a mural design in the private quarters of Navarro and his wife’s Parañaque residence. It presents two viewpoints: a silhouette of Navarro’s then-pregnant wife, Emma, with him facing her in full profile. He is portrayed standing like a kouros — the Greek nude male figure, which Cid Reyes likened to “an Apollo to Emma’s pregnant Venus.” This piece displays Navarro’s penchant for associating his life with his art. His nude pieces are exceptional due to their well-defined features, characterized by the proper application of light and shade which, according to the artist, “is very important in a nude painting.”