Many moons ago, I had the good fortune of visiting my favorite works of art at our city MET. I was there for the Picasso exhibit but since I've already gushed at length about just how much I love Old Man Pablo, let me talk about a local artist that I love as well.
Felix Resurreccion Hidalgo is a renowned Filipino artist of the 19th century. He was born in Binondo, Manila and lived in Barcelona, Spain until 1913, the year he died. In history, he is more prominently known as an inspiration to the reformistas (Rizal, Ponce, del Pilar etc.) as is Juan Luna, when they both won the silver and gold medals respectively for the 1884 Exposición General de Bellas Artes in Madrid, Spain. Most sources site Hidalgo as a political activist and a propagandist, but in my brief reading of Hidalgo's role in history, he never really associated himself directly to the Philippine reform movement. Can someone help me out?
I was surprised to see two of his works in the Master's gallery, as La barca de Aqueronte or Charon's Boat was bought by the Government of Spain in the early 1890s. In my excitement, I wasn't able to read further and see if this painting (like the other one) was a copy. Looking back, it doesn't really matter, I guess. It is a neoclassical painting inspired by Hidalgo's reading of Dante's Inferno while he was in Italy. I especially like this painting, perhaps much more than its accompanying painting, La Laguna Estigia (The River Styx). While I cannot go on and on about the brush strokes or the painting's style (leave that to the experts, eh?), I can tell you that the painting is about Charon, who is the proverbial harvester of souls condemned to spend eternity in one of the circles of hell. The painting is dark and (because it's big) imposing but most importantly, it always, always draws you in. Big snaps to the people who decided wooden benches in front of the paintings are in order.
Mounted next to La barca is another Hidalgo masterpiece, one that has been in the Metro Manila Met for quite some time. It's called Las Virgenes Cristianas Expuestas al Populacho or The Christian Virgins Exposed to the Populace, an incredible painting considered to be a Philippine national treasure. It's sad that the original was destroyed in a fire at a university somewhere in Spain but I am glad that a copy is in the Philippines for all to see. Together with Juan Luna's Spolarium, Las Virgenes was presented to the jurors of the Madrid Exposition of Fine Arts as artworks about human spoilage and human spoils. Las Virgenes represented human spoils depicting the persecution of Christians in Ancient Rome, through two scantily clad Christian female slaves being mocked by Roman men. I especially love the underlying meaning of these women having been stripped of their garments, that in a way Hidalgo was able to expose not just a loss of garment but also of human dignity. I also like the way one of the virgins' head looks up to the high heavens, waiting for help that will ultimately not come. I think it's just a magnificent work of art.
It's a little hard to peddle the wonderful works of art by Felix Hidalgo. Come by the MET and see for yourself if you have the time, they're beautiful obra maestras.
Metropolitan Museum of Manila
Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas Complex, Roxas Boulevard,
Malate-Manila (1554), Philippines
