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Lot Essay
A rare example of a sheer size work by Vicente Silva Manansala, Tiangge (Market Scene) epitomises the artist’s most celebrated transparent cubism, his adept attention to realist details and his virtuoso balance between representation and elemental structure. Manasala's brand of cubism, inspired by the rural life around him, integrated many aspects of ordinary life to great advantage. Created in the 1980, Tiangge (Market Scene) fluently captures the breadth of Manansala’s four-decade career. By inserting multiple smaller tableaux within an expansive mise-en-scène, the artist perfectly demonstrates the aesthetic principle of ‘beauty as fullness’, one of the cornerstones of the Filipino aesthetics. As elaborated by Rodolfo Paras-Perez, ‘[d]uring town fiestas or other feastings, the sense of abundance and fullness gets displayed in all its dimensions.’ (R. Paras-Perez, Manansala, PLC Publications, Manila, 1980, p.196)
Women in the domestic setting remains one of Manansala’s favoured subjects. The artist honours them as keepers of traditional values who bear a firm spirit of resilience emanating silent strength and presence. Tiangge (Market Scene) is an exemplar of this combination. A tableaux of twelve women take centre stage in the painting, their stance, gestures and facial expressions are intentionally curated with individuality. To the left, three ladies engage in conversation, while in the foreground a group barter and select their wares, and on the right two ladies are carrying their produce observing their surroundings. Multi-dimensional geometric configurations spontaneously dematerialise into transparency, constantly overlapping and shifting in a relationship of forms that nevertheless complete the composition seamlessly. The contrasting tones resemble stained-glass reflecting, refracting and absorbing light at various degrees. Fine intersecting planes obscure and reveal spatial depth in a way that liberates the artist from reality. Colour plays a leading role in emphasising the vibrancy of the lively market with a myriad of vermilion, cobalt and viridian fragments interlocked harmoniously. In this visually arresting work, Manansala’s use of colour recalls painting by Fauvists Matisse and Derain, while simultaneously galvanising the aesthetic of ‘abundance and fullness’—an integral aspect of Filipino culture and their way of life.
Born in 1910, Manansala is a seminal Filipino Modern artist who was honoured with a title ‘National Artist’ in the Philippines for his significant contributions to Philippine art in 1981. Since the 1940s, Manansala has won more than dozen awards and actively participated in numerous exhibitions both locally and overseas. A prolific member of the pre-war thirteen Moderns and the post- war Neo-Realists that included Botong Francisco, Anita Magsaysay- Ho, Cesar Legaspi, Manansala was a gifted painter and muralist who spent decades meticulously cultivating his oeuvre.
Manansala’s earliest encounter with Cubism can be traced back to his time at École des Beaux-Arts in Banff and Montreal (1949) and École des Beaux-Arts in Paris (1950) under the tutelage of Joseph Plaskett (1918-2014) and Fernand Léger (1881-1955) respectively. The artist cleverly immersed himself in Cubism without becoming engulfed in it. An epiphany led him to employ a strict manner towards the subjects and objects by retaining basic forms and shapes with minor alterations to realistic details. Market Vendors painted in 1974 is an apt example of this. He challenged the nearly abstract and fragmented visual vernacular championed by Picasso and Braque where form and structure prevail.
Apart from creating the present work, 1980 was a momentous year for the then seventies artist . He started building a new studio in the adjoining lot next to his home, prepared for another solo exhibition. One of the reasons Manansala's works have enthralled and inspired so many people over the years is his ability to soulfully express the Philippine spirit. When Manansala was still alive and residing in Binangonan, the artist would give away a painting to the first guest on his birthday. Admirers would gather at his home at midnight to strive for his works. At some point, some of them brought together by their shared passion for his work, and they began a weekly social gathering and built a close and solid connection with Manansala and his wife that continued for several years. Manansala's art is still highly sought after today, and is valued as family treasures passed down from generation to generation. As the artist’s biographical book Manansala by Rodolfo Paras-Perez indicates, Manansala’s works are in prominent private collections, treasured as family heirlooms and hence are rarely seen on the market. His infectious vigour and artistic endeavours have therefore inspired and captivated many throughout the years.
Women in the domestic setting remains one of Manansala’s favoured subjects. The artist honours them as keepers of traditional values who bear a firm spirit of resilience emanating silent strength and presence. Tiangge (Market Scene) is an exemplar of this combination. A tableaux of twelve women take centre stage in the painting, their stance, gestures and facial expressions are intentionally curated with individuality. To the left, three ladies engage in conversation, while in the foreground a group barter and select their wares, and on the right two ladies are carrying their produce observing their surroundings. Multi-dimensional geometric configurations spontaneously dematerialise into transparency, constantly overlapping and shifting in a relationship of forms that nevertheless complete the composition seamlessly. The contrasting tones resemble stained-glass reflecting, refracting and absorbing light at various degrees. Fine intersecting planes obscure and reveal spatial depth in a way that liberates the artist from reality. Colour plays a leading role in emphasising the vibrancy of the lively market with a myriad of vermilion, cobalt and viridian fragments interlocked harmoniously. In this visually arresting work, Manansala’s use of colour recalls painting by Fauvists Matisse and Derain, while simultaneously galvanising the aesthetic of ‘abundance and fullness’—an integral aspect of Filipino culture and their way of life.
Born in 1910, Manansala is a seminal Filipino Modern artist who was honoured with a title ‘National Artist’ in the Philippines for his significant contributions to Philippine art in 1981. Since the 1940s, Manansala has won more than dozen awards and actively participated in numerous exhibitions both locally and overseas. A prolific member of the pre-war thirteen Moderns and the post- war Neo-Realists that included Botong Francisco, Anita Magsaysay- Ho, Cesar Legaspi, Manansala was a gifted painter and muralist who spent decades meticulously cultivating his oeuvre.
Manansala’s earliest encounter with Cubism can be traced back to his time at École des Beaux-Arts in Banff and Montreal (1949) and École des Beaux-Arts in Paris (1950) under the tutelage of Joseph Plaskett (1918-2014) and Fernand Léger (1881-1955) respectively. The artist cleverly immersed himself in Cubism without becoming engulfed in it. An epiphany led him to employ a strict manner towards the subjects and objects by retaining basic forms and shapes with minor alterations to realistic details. Market Vendors painted in 1974 is an apt example of this. He challenged the nearly abstract and fragmented visual vernacular championed by Picasso and Braque where form and structure prevail.
Apart from creating the present work, 1980 was a momentous year for the then seventies artist . He started building a new studio in the adjoining lot next to his home, prepared for another solo exhibition. One of the reasons Manansala's works have enthralled and inspired so many people over the years is his ability to soulfully express the Philippine spirit. When Manansala was still alive and residing in Binangonan, the artist would give away a painting to the first guest on his birthday. Admirers would gather at his home at midnight to strive for his works. At some point, some of them brought together by their shared passion for his work, and they began a weekly social gathering and built a close and solid connection with Manansala and his wife that continued for several years. Manansala's art is still highly sought after today, and is valued as family treasures passed down from generation to generation. As the artist’s biographical book Manansala by Rodolfo Paras-Perez indicates, Manansala’s works are in prominent private collections, treasured as family heirlooms and hence are rarely seen on the market. His infectious vigour and artistic endeavours have therefore inspired and captivated many throughout the years.