PROPERTY FROM A VERY DISTINGUISHED COLLECTOR Portrait of a Lady In a Traje De Mestiza From Santa Cruz, Manila ca. 1870 oil on canvas 36” x 28” (91 cm x 71 cm) PROVENANCE: Private collection, Makati WRITE UPPortrait of a Lady in a Traje De Mestiza from Santa Cruz, Manila by AUGUSTO MARCELINO REYES GONZALEZ III The magisterial Chinese mestiza lady in her forties from Santa Cruz, Manila has a straight gaze, away from the artist; from her dignified, almost steely expression, she is determined to express her high economic and social status and privileges. While the portrait is not painted by any of the major artists of the era, it is still meant to impress and takes on the formulaic “Miniaturismo” depictions of the master portraitists like Antonio Malantic y Arzeo, Justiniano Asuncion y Molo, and Simon Flores de la Rosa: the lady sitter dressed in her finest embroidered pina “nipis” and silk “traje de mestiza”; hair pulled up, the better to show her gold and silver “peineta” and gold “fantoche” en tremblant; wearing the requisite diamond–studded gold jewelry of upper class women --- “peineta” comb, “fantoche” hairpin, “aretes” earrings, “rosario” (“tamborin” necklace), an odd single “anillo” ring on her left hand, as it was the custom during important gatherings to don rings on all fingers except the thumbs; clutching an expensive Spanish prayer book, denoting education and literacy; holding a fancy French, Spanish, or Chinese ivory “abanico” fan as an expression of her feminine wiles and high status in society; right hand resting on a multigrooved marbletop table with a squash tripod base, the requisite center table of all rich Filipino families from the 1850s–90s; seated on an ornate “Luis Quince” (Louis XV Revival/Rococo Revival) single chair, probably by the master cabinetmaker Ah Tay of Calle Misericordia, Binondo; a rich background of silk damask curtains, passementerie, and lavishly papered walls. The fact that she is wearing a “saya de suelta” without the requisite “tapis” overskirt --- a style traditionally worn by unmarried young women and girls --- could mean that she is a spinster; that, or the silk fabric used for her skirt is terribly expensive and must show its worth. This seated portrait by an unknown Manila artist is similar to “Inocencia Francia” by Antonio Malantic y Arzeo, 1875, Pagsanjan, Laguna; “Miguela Yamson” (Sra de Paterno Molo de San Agustin) attributed to Severino Flavier Pablo, circa 1830, Santa Cruz, Manila; “Severina Ocampo de Arroyo” by Simon Flores de la Rosa, 1870, Candaba, Pampanga; “Quintina Castor de Sadie” by Simon Flores de la Rosa, 1870, Candaba, Pampanga; “Cornelia Sison de Hizon” by Simon Flores de la Rosa, 1870, Mexico/Masicu, Pampanga; “Sra de Castor” by Simon Flores de la Rosa, 1880, Candaba, Pampanga; “Ramona Linares y Reyes de Berenguer” by Simon Flores de la Rosa, 1880, Arayat, Pampanga; “Raymunda Soriano de Reyes” by Simon Flores de la Rosa, 1880, Arayat, Pampanga; “Soterrana Puzon y Quintos de Ventanilla” by Dionisio de Castro, 1890, Lingayen, Pangasinan. Overall, the composition of the subject is no different from those of the masters. The only differences are in the superior techniques and precise execution. According to Mr Gino Gonzales (top production designer, CCP educator, foremost scholar and researcher on Filipiniana dress, Fulbright scholar at the Tisch School–NYU, protégé of National Artist for Theater and Design Salvador Bernal), the style of the lady’s “traje de mestiza” is from the 1870s at the earliest and the 1880s at the latest. The two end points of the “panuelo” don’t meet in the 1860s, but they do by the 1870s. Also, by the 1890s, the shoulder line has dropped, but not yet here. She wears a “saya de suelta,” a skirt without the “tapis” overskirt, which is usually worn by younger unmarried women. The fabric for the “saya de suelta” was probably very expensive and that’s why she did away with the traditional “tapis” to show it off more effectively. Also, the embroidery of the “panuelo” and the “camisa” is already coordinated/ matching as “ternos bordados,” a new development by the 1870s. Furthermore, the European–style backdrop of drapery and tassels in this portrait is very similar to those in the 1870s photographs of ladies in “trajes de mestiza” at the Biblioteca Nacional de Espana. So one can say that that ensemble is from the 1870s, not earlier, not later. To get an idea of the life of an affluent lady from Santa Cruz, Manila in the late 1800s, we have to look for a woman who actually existed and lived that kind of life. One of the most interesting ladies to emerge from the arrabal of Santa Cruz, Manila in the late 1800s was Doña Rosenda Mendoza (ancestress of the society modernist architect Juan Antonio Gonzalez Mendoza and his sister the former fashion model Tessa Gonzalez Mendoza). She was a heiress and descended from a line of gobernadorcillos in Mariquina. She married Capitan Tomas Tanchangco of barrio Parian, Malolos, Bulacan and became the leading lady of the Malolos “principalia” and “ilustrados” in the 1890s. Her large “bahay na bato” by the waterway in Malolos was the grandest in town, entirely furnished in the European “Belle Epoque” style with chandeliers, upholstered furniture, rugs, paintings, and large vases. She had a special salon swathed in red silk velvet solely reserved for the Spanish Gobernador–General and the Arzobispo de Manila. She entertained the Manila and Central Luzon “principalia” and “ilustrados” frequently in “de numero” style --- formal multicourse sitdown dinners with multiple china, crystal, silver, and linen settings followed by “bailes” dancing to live orchestras. European wines flowed like water during her social gatherings. She had carriages with solid silver fittings. Doña Rosenda lived like a Queen, with an entourage to accompany her everywhere. One of the largest and most elegant pineapple silver “paliteras”/“palilleras” in existence, monogrammed “R M,” now in the nonpareil Paulino and Hetty Que Collection, once belonged to the legendary Doña Rosenda Mendoza de Tanchangco.
Antonio Malantic (1820 - 1885) Portrait of Doña Custodia Ibaviosa y Sevilla ca. 1880 oil on canvas 27” x 20” (68 cm x 50 cm) P 400,000 PROVENANCE Acquired directly from the Artist by Doña Custodia Ibaviosa y Sevilla and the nce by descent Doña Custodia Ibaviosa y Sevilla of Tambobong, Old Malabon was a dignified matriarch of the family. She was twice related to the Oretas, as the mother of the paternal grandmother of Antolin M. Oreta Sr., Doña Maria Salome Ivabiosa Oreta — as well as the grand-aunt of Canuto Senen Sevilla Oreta. (Canuto’s mother, Regina Sevilla Oreta was the sister of Custodia.) At the time Antolin Sr was born in 1909, it was already considered an old painting. When the old Oreta house was demolished, the painting was rolled and stored in a closet. Eventually, a family friend would recommend that the noted restorer Suzano “Jun” Gonzalez of the National Museum would clean it. He did not do anything to the face and dress except clean it and reveal its colors. Gonzalez also used an oval frame to highlight the dowager’s face. It was Gonzalez who said that it was quite possibly painted by the 19th-century master Antonio Malantic. This Filipino virtuoso belonged to the time period between Damian Domingo and Lorenzo Guerrero. It is believed that he had some early training in the first Academia or had had private lessons from teachers who ‘derived their inspiration from European painters of the previous century.’ This portrait has all the hallmarks of a Malantic, such as the flattened perspective said to be reminiscent of Chinese art and the honest depiction of an authentic Filipino face. Because there are so few portraits by this master, Gonzalez believed, this portrait “verged on history.”
A 19th century oil icon painting on wood depicting St. Barbara, attributed to 19th century FIlipino painter Antonio Malantic (1820 - 1885). With certification.
