Provenance: Private Collection, Manila

ABOUT THE WORK

          Today considered the dean of Philippine Illustrators, Irineo Miranda learned his techniques from Fernando Amorsolo.  He produced  a considerable body of works both as a painter in oil and watercolor  and as an illustrator.
          In this work Miranda  developed a memorable style which combined succinctness, dash and a vitriolic bite, particularly in depicting the  travails of labor needed to raise a family.  
          Almost overlooked is his work as a scenographer.  The directional  indications are abundantly clear: the eye is inevitably pulled toward the various depictions of laborers which surround the couple and their baby like an early social realist halo (long before the phrase ‘social realism’  has gelled into a major theme in the 1970s).
          This work shows the artist as a superb representationalist, masterfully employing light and shadow to dramatize the dignity and beauty  of the subjects.  Miranda used the same approach in his illustrations, characterization and local color are always established.