José Honorato Lozano: Albun de M L -- Vista con casco
José Honorato Lozano
Albun de M L
1850 - 51
Vista con casco
1851
20.2 x 29.7 cm (8 x 11 ½ in)
A lot of 12 watercolors
Estimate: PHP 5,500,000 - 7,000,000
Lot 143 of the Salcedo Auctions auction on 17-18 September 2016. Please see <a href="http://www.salcedoauctions.com"
The painter José Honorato Lozano (1821-1885) is known today as the visual chronicler and ethnographic painter par excellence of life in the Philippines in the second and third quarters of the 19th Century. He is also renowned as the father of the art form known as Letras y Figuras - literally ‘Letters and Figures.’ Mostly watercolors on Manila paper, these artworks depict views of quotidian Philippine life in the 19th century, wherein the artist ingeniously and meticulously painted what on close scrutiny appear as human figures and their environs (houses, flora, fauna, work tools, produce, etc.), but when seen from a distance spell out names or words (e.g. Edward A. Westley, Views of Manila).
In his book José Honorato Lozano, Filipinas 1847, art historian Ambassador Jose María A. Cariño states “The origins of Lozano’s Letras y Figuras can be traced to the Middle Ages in Europe when calligraphers embellished the first letter of each chapter (Capitulares) of the Bible or Psalm or Prayer Book. . . Lozano may have seen copies of these and considered adapting this style and Filipinizing it through over-decorating and illuminating not just the first letter but every letter in the word. Thus, letras y figuras was born”.
It was only in the last twenty years - after several albums painted by Lozano were sold at auctions in London, Madrid, Singapore and Hong Kong - that Filipinos realized the important role of José Honorato Lozano in Philippine art history. His meticulous depiction of Tipos Filipinos (Philippine Types), costumes, customs, traditions, flora, fauna, buildings, houses, fruits, shells, tribes, uniforms (military, school, religious orders, militia), weapons, reptiles, sheet music, views, modes of land transportation, marine vessels, etc. are a treasure trove of visual information about the Philippines in the 19th century.
One of the most famous albums limned by Lozano is the Ayala Karuth Album. Since the watercolors contained therein were unsigned, for many years the works were mistakenly attributed to Carl Johann Karuth, a German employee of Jacobo Zóbel Hinsch (Botica Zóbel), as Karuth’s name was engraved in the leather cover of the album.
The Philippine art market went wild when the Nyssens Flebus Album containing twenty-five watercolors measuring approximately 13 ½ by 9 ¾ inches was auctioned at Christie’s London on in July 1995, with the hammer price reaching GBP 265,000. Emile Nyssens who commissioned the album was a Belgian tobacco trader.
Two other famous albums by Lozano were commissioned by Spanish military officials, namely: 1) The Gervasio Gironella Album; and 2) The José de la Gándara Album. Gervasio Gironella was the Superintendente y Intendente del Ejercito y de la Hacienda (Superintendent of the Armed Forces and Quarter Master General of the Treasury), making him the second most important official in the Philippines during the Spanish period. On the other hand, José de la Gándara y Navarro was Governor General of the Philippines from 1866 to 1867. He also served as Governor General in Cuba. Due to his achievements during his stint in the Philippines including beautification projects and the construction of new roads and the widening of narrow streets in Manila, Gándara Street was named after him. The Gándara Album contains twenty-seven spectacular watercolors.
THE ML ALBUM
The ML Album is the first album by José Honorato Lozano to be auctioned in the artist’s country of birth. All the recently discovered albums by the artist were either bought privately or sold at auctions in Singapore and Hong Kong, and in Europe.
More importantly, the ML Album’s provenance can be traced to one of the Grandees of Spain. ML was an important businessman based in Andalucia who traded in sugar and textiles. Due to his business successes and charitable works, ML was conferred the title of marquis by Queen Isabella II in the 1860’s. The family was also involved in railways, financing and in the olive oil and soap industries. One of the descendants made a fortune in the liquor industry. Today, the descendants of the family are gentlemen farmers dabbling in the fruit and real estate businesses. ML never set foot in the Philippines and therefore did not commission the album. It was a gift from a Philippine sugar producer and business partner. The marquis died during a business trip in France in 1873.
The heir who inherited the album informed Salcedo Auctions that the paintings were never bound into an album and were never framed or displayed as the family had so many Spanish artworks that there was no space in the marquis’ palace to hang them. Throughout its existence, the twelve watercolors of the album were stashed away and all but forgotten in an antique chest containing other gifts and exotic artworks that were gifted to the marquis. As the watercolors were never displayed, today the colors are vibrant and there are no signs of water damage or foxing. This is one of the best preserved albums by Lozano.
For Philippine collectors, one of the important features of this album is the existence of an ‘ML’ letras y figuras as the first page of the album, featuring fishermen holding a fish net forming the letter ‘M’ and two Igorrotes conversing beside a cooking pot forming the letter ‘L’. The Puente Colgante de Manila serves as a backdrop, and on top an angel carries the flag of Spain. The old Spanish word ‘Albun’ identifies this as the frontispiece of a set of pictures – an ‘album’ as it is now known owing to the influence of the English language.
Another interesting feature of the album is that, with the exception of one sheet, all the works are either signed or signed and dated. The signature of the last watercolor appears to have been torn off accidentally, and was not restored. Four of the works feature Tipos Filipinos in their colorful attire while another four are typical views of the Philippines. Two of the most outstanding paintings in the set are the Carruaje de Alquiler (Carriage for Hire) and the Entierro de un Parbulo (Funeral for a School Child), where a band in colorful attire is featured playing lively music while the child is dressed like a bishop or a saint and paraded on the way to the cemetery. This particular scene is borne out of the idea that when a child passes, he goes straight to heaven, thus a cause for celebration rather than sadness.
The return of the ML Album to the Philippines is a cause for joy, especially since there are very few surviving mid 19th century Philippine art works in the country and even less works by this artist whom Rafael Díaz Arenas praised in his book Memorias Históricas y Estadísticas de Filipinas (published in Manila in 1850): “There is a landscape painter using distemper, who is also a watercolorist without rival in the country… I speak of Lozano.” The recent discovery of three oil on canvas paintings by Lozano, namely Vista de la Casa de Campo de Malacañan and two studies of Philippine fruits, flowers and vegetables also confirm Rafael Diaz Arena’s words that “Lozano was a virtuoso in oil and watercolor.”
The provenance of the album and the identity of ML will be provided to the buyer.
José Honorato Lozano: Albun de M L -- Vista con casco
José Honorato Lozano
Albun de M L
1850 - 51
Vista con casco
1851
20.2 x 29.7 cm (8 x 11 ½ in)
A lot of 12 watercolors
Estimate: PHP 5,500,000 - 7,000,000
Lot 143 of the Salcedo Auctions auction on 17-18 September 2016. Please see <a href="http://www.salcedoauctions.com"
The painter José Honorato Lozano (1821-1885) is known today as the visual chronicler and ethnographic painter par excellence of life in the Philippines in the second and third quarters of the 19th Century. He is also renowned as the father of the art form known as Letras y Figuras - literally ‘Letters and Figures.’ Mostly watercolors on Manila paper, these artworks depict views of quotidian Philippine life in the 19th century, wherein the artist ingeniously and meticulously painted what on close scrutiny appear as human figures and their environs (houses, flora, fauna, work tools, produce, etc.), but when seen from a distance spell out names or words (e.g. Edward A. Westley, Views of Manila).
In his book José Honorato Lozano, Filipinas 1847, art historian Ambassador Jose María A. Cariño states “The origins of Lozano’s Letras y Figuras can be traced to the Middle Ages in Europe when calligraphers embellished the first letter of each chapter (Capitulares) of the Bible or Psalm or Prayer Book. . . Lozano may have seen copies of these and considered adapting this style and Filipinizing it through over-decorating and illuminating not just the first letter but every letter in the word. Thus, letras y figuras was born”.
It was only in the last twenty years - after several albums painted by Lozano were sold at auctions in London, Madrid, Singapore and Hong Kong - that Filipinos realized the important role of José Honorato Lozano in Philippine art history. His meticulous depiction of Tipos Filipinos (Philippine Types), costumes, customs, traditions, flora, fauna, buildings, houses, fruits, shells, tribes, uniforms (military, school, religious orders, militia), weapons, reptiles, sheet music, views, modes of land transportation, marine vessels, etc. are a treasure trove of visual information about the Philippines in the 19th century.
One of the most famous albums limned by Lozano is the Ayala Karuth Album. Since the watercolors contained therein were unsigned, for many years the works were mistakenly attributed to Carl Johann Karuth, a German employee of Jacobo Zóbel Hinsch (Botica Zóbel), as Karuth’s name was engraved in the leather cover of the album.
The Philippine art market went wild when the Nyssens Flebus Album containing twenty-five watercolors measuring approximately 13 ½ by 9 ¾ inches was auctioned at Christie’s London on in July 1995, with the hammer price reaching GBP 265,000. Emile Nyssens who commissioned the album was a Belgian tobacco trader.
Two other famous albums by Lozano were commissioned by Spanish military officials, namely: 1) The Gervasio Gironella Album; and 2) The José de la Gándara Album. Gervasio Gironella was the Superintendente y Intendente del Ejercito y de la Hacienda (Superintendent of the Armed Forces and Quarter Master General of the Treasury), making him the second most important official in the Philippines during the Spanish period. On the other hand, José de la Gándara y Navarro was Governor General of the Philippines from 1866 to 1867. He also served as Governor General in Cuba. Due to his achievements during his stint in the Philippines including beautification projects and the construction of new roads and the widening of narrow streets in Manila, Gándara Street was named after him. The Gándara Album contains twenty-seven spectacular watercolors.
THE ML ALBUM
The ML Album is the first album by José Honorato Lozano to be auctioned in the artist’s country of birth. All the recently discovered albums by the artist were either bought privately or sold at auctions in Singapore and Hong Kong, and in Europe.
More importantly, the ML Album’s provenance can be traced to one of the Grandees of Spain. ML was an important businessman based in Andalucia who traded in sugar and textiles. Due to his business successes and charitable works, ML was conferred the title of marquis by Queen Isabella II in the 1860’s. The family was also involved in railways, financing and in the olive oil and soap industries. One of the descendants made a fortune in the liquor industry. Today, the descendants of the family are gentlemen farmers dabbling in the fruit and real estate businesses. ML never set foot in the Philippines and therefore did not commission the album. It was a gift from a Philippine sugar producer and business partner. The marquis died during a business trip in France in 1873.
The heir who inherited the album informed Salcedo Auctions that the paintings were never bound into an album and were never framed or displayed as the family had so many Spanish artworks that there was no space in the marquis’ palace to hang them. Throughout its existence, the twelve watercolors of the album were stashed away and all but forgotten in an antique chest containing other gifts and exotic artworks that were gifted to the marquis. As the watercolors were never displayed, today the colors are vibrant and there are no signs of water damage or foxing. This is one of the best preserved albums by Lozano.
For Philippine collectors, one of the important features of this album is the existence of an ‘ML’ letras y figuras as the first page of the album, featuring fishermen holding a fish net forming the letter ‘M’ and two Igorrotes conversing beside a cooking pot forming the letter ‘L’. The Puente Colgante de Manila serves as a backdrop, and on top an angel carries the flag of Spain. The old Spanish word ‘Albun’ identifies this as the frontispiece of a set of pictures – an ‘album’ as it is now known owing to the influence of the English language.
Another interesting feature of the album is that, with the exception of one sheet, all the works are either signed or signed and dated. The signature of the last watercolor appears to have been torn off accidentally, and was not restored. Four of the works feature Tipos Filipinos in their colorful attire while another four are typical views of the Philippines. Two of the most outstanding paintings in the set are the Carruaje de Alquiler (Carriage for Hire) and the Entierro de un Parbulo (Funeral for a School Child), where a band in colorful attire is featured playing lively music while the child is dressed like a bishop or a saint and paraded on the way to the cemetery. This particular scene is borne out of the idea that when a child passes, he goes straight to heaven, thus a cause for celebration rather than sadness.
The return of the ML Album to the Philippines is a cause for joy, especially since there are very few surviving mid 19th century Philippine art works in the country and even less works by this artist whom Rafael Díaz Arenas praised in his book Memorias Históricas y Estadísticas de Filipinas (published in Manila in 1850): “There is a landscape painter using distemper, who is also a watercolorist without rival in the country… I speak of Lozano.” The recent discovery of three oil on canvas paintings by Lozano, namely Vista de la Casa de Campo de Malacañan and two studies of Philippine fruits, flowers and vegetables also confirm Rafael Diaz Arena’s words that “Lozano was a virtuoso in oil and watercolor.”
The provenance of the album and the identity of ML will be provided to the buyer.