José Honorato Lozano (1821 - 1885)
Emilio Perez del Pulgar
signed (lower right)
ca 1840
watercolor on paper
26 1/4” x 27 1/4” (67 cm x 69 cm)
Private collection, Barcelona, Spain
This nostalgic work in watercolor by Jose Honorato Lozano from the 1840s shows long–forgotten panoramic views of Manila from the bay as one arrived by ship from abroad or the provinces, of Manila Bay as one viewed it from outside Intramuros, and of the prosperous Port of Cavite as one arrived by ship. These locations and views have basically remained the same today in 2021, but the infrastructure, buildings, houses, town and city planning, and cleanliness have been irretrievably reconfigured by time --- the 1863 and 1880 earthquakes, the 1872 Cavite Mutiny, Spanish decadence, the Philippine Revolution, the Philippine–American War, American modernization, World War II, pollution, and overall environmental degradation. The painting is composed of three horizontal panels: The top panel shows a panoramic view of “Manila” as it is approached by boat from Manila Bay fronted by “EMILIO PEREZ.” The middle panel shows the opposite view “La Vista de la Bahia de Manila” (A View of Manila Bay) Manila Bay from the shore outside Intramuros fronted by “DEL.” The bottom panel shows a view of the “Puerto de Cavite” (Port of Cavite) fronted by “PULGAR.” The first section of the top panel shows the wide view of Manila as one arrived by ship: Tondo, the Manila lighthouse, Rio Pasig, Intramuros, Bagumbayan, and in the distance, the small fishing villages of Ermita and Malate. In two decades, during the 1870s, European–inflected seaside villas surrounded by pretty gardens would be built by the Manila rich in the quiet Ermita village. Sea– bathing, regarded as salubrious, became a fashionable pastime for them. The initial letter E is composed of a “sabungero” with his fighting cock backed by two women with earrings (his wife and his daughter, or his wife and his mistress), an affluent student in his tertiary years, and a boy playing with his dog. The letter M is formed by a male vegetable vendor and two laborers carrying bamboo. Between M and I is an adobe stone wall. The letter I is composed of a woman/market vendor wearing a big “salakot.” The letter L is made up of six barrio men in a discussion with two cuddling children on the side. The letter I is composed of four barrio women in a discussion. The letter O is formed by an obviously rich Chinese mestizo businessman dressed in his Sunday best --- white bowler hat, black jacket, fine gossamer “nipis” shirt, white trousers, leather shoes, and what looks like an ivory walking stick/cane --- standing in front of a boat being pushed by four boatmen. One theory put forward by the scholar Ramon Villegas was that the owner of the piece would be featured in a cameo in these works, in this case, the rich Chinese mestizo businessman in the upper center. The letter P is made up of two “guardias civil” and three barrio men in a discussion, a “casco” (covered bamboo raft) behind them. The letter E is composed of a man carrying a newly–felled tree, talking to his companion. The letter R is formed by a woman wearing a salakot and a scapular stacking firewood and a man with an improvised turban on his head having his “siesta” under a tree. The letter E is made up of a woman and her young daughter hanging laundry, their earthenware water containers below them. The letter Z is composed of two young boys playing on a small staircase. Separating the top panel from the second/middle section is an idyllic view of mountains, trees, and lush vegetation which is the archetypal view of the Filipinas archipelago. The second/middle section is a panoramic view of the “Bahia de Manila” Manila Bay from outside Intramuros with many ships and boats. One can see the hills of Cavite on the left, Corregidor island on the right, and the Manila lighthouse at the mouth of the Rio Pasig. It is a beautiful, swimmable beach with fine sand, just like all the lovely beaches of “Las Islas Filipinas.” Tragically, the Americans would fill it with boulders, stones, and sand to make Dewey boulevard (now Roxas boulevard) during the early 1900s. There are charming vignettes on the beachfront. From the left, there is a couple of Sangleyes (Chinese) with long hair queues chatting and fanning themselves. There are two well–off indios with their sparring fighting cocks, the dark indio wears a woven “salakot” hat with silver appliquees, an indicator of political or social position. In the distance, a boatman ferries a female passenger. There is a well–dressed native gentleman before the letter D. The letter D is formed by a rich Spaniard in full riding gear with his horse. The letter E is made up of a fisherman with a hat at rest beside his three fish baskets, with his handheld net and big net, and a big fishing boat behind him. Between E and L is a pretty india with a floral “alampay” on her shoulder. Seeing the small earthenware jar she balances on her head and the bottle she is carrying, she seems to be a “lechera,” a seller of fresh milk. The letter L is composed of seven men in a discussion, with a rooster below. After L is a scampering dog who meets a farmer with his “kampit” knife on his carabao, towing a large woven rice thresher on a bamboo sled. The bottom panel shows an expansive view of the prosperous “Puerto de Cavite” (Port of Cavite, the de facto “Port of Manila,” hub of the Manila–Acapulco Galleon Trade 1565–1815) which shows three of the eight churches --- La Ermita de Nuestra Senora de la Soledad de Porta Vaga, San Pedro (“iglesia parroquial”), Santo Domingo (Dominicans), Hospital de San Jose (Franciscan), Convento de San Diego de Alcala, San Juan de Dios, Nuestra Senora de Loreto (Jesuits), Santa Monica (Augustinian Recollects); schools like Colegio de San Ildefonso (Jesuit); government buildings like Fort San Felipe, the Governor’s Palace; and the big houses of the “principalia” families --- Alonso, Antonio, Basa, Bautista, de Ocampo, Gonzalez, Javier, Osorio, Tria Tirona, et al. The letter P is formed by a Chinese mestiza and a male fruit vendor, with a “casco” at the back. The letter U is made up of a well–dressed boatman with a hat holding a small net up. Between U and L is an adobe stone wall. The letter L is composed of a woman at a “lusong” (large wooden mortar pounding rice, with 3 chickens at her feet. Between L and G is a Chinese mestiza threshing rice in a big woven thresher. The letter G is formed by an acrobatic “zacatero” (grass seller) and his young son. Between G and A is a horse behind a bamboo corral. The letter A is made up of a black–veiled “beata” holy woman by a bundle of bamboo and a spotted dog. The letter R is composed of an assembly of affluent “principalia” ladies and gentlemen in their Sunday best, behind them are wooden barrels (casks of wine?). Jose Honorato Lozano was one of several painters in Manila during the first half of the 1800s, along with the pioneering Damian Domingo, Juan Arceo, and the younger Antonio Malantic and Justiniano Asuncion (“Capitan Ting”). In the tradition of “miniaturismo” (highly detailed art) popular in those days, Lozano specialized in the quaint art of “letras y figuras,” in which a full name was exquisitely spelled out with letters formed by vignettes with all kinds of subjects seemingly inspired by the European Medieval “book of hours” --- people, animals, plants, musical instruments, conveyances, landscape views, etc. Lozano was regarded well by high Spanish government officials and several of them were vocal with their praises; no doubt several of them recommended Lozano to important visiting personages for mementoes of their visits to Filipinas. Lozano’s incredibly detailed works charmed the affluent locals who hung them in their reception rooms as well as the expatriate Spaniards and other Europeans who commissioned and brought them home as souvenirs of an exotic Asian sojourn. This nostalgic “Emilio Perez del Pulgar” letras y figuras from a private collection in Barcelona, Spain is a pleasant surprise arrival at the Leon Gallery and is certainly a star lot at the upcoming Spectacular Mid–Year Auction 2021. Owing to an increasing popularity among affluent collectors of Filipiniana, the appearance of a genuine and signed work by Jose Honorato Lozano is an eagerly anticipated event in the Manila auction scene.
