Cesar Buenaventura Espinosa
Fishing Boats
1966

About the Item

This artwork "Fishing Boats" 1966 is an oil painting on canvas linen by noted Filipino artist Cesar Buenaventura Espinosa, 1919/22-1983. It is signed and dated at the lower left corner by the artist. The canvas size is 14 x 18 inches, framed size is 21.5 x 25.5 inches. Framed in a wooden black and gold frame. It is in excellent condition, the frame has a very minor restoration barely visible. About the artist: No one knows the exact scope or magnificence of the large body of work left behind by Filipino oil painter Cesar Buenaventura, perhaps not even himself, if he were still alive. Works were bought wet from the easel or whisked overseas. Jane Stangl Alvero in her book entitled Filipino Painter, Cesar Buenaventura: His Life and Works assembled together into a single portfolio his diverse, extensive and masterful collection. This is the first time that his works are brought to the public eye after his demise. Cesar Buenaventura's greatest achievement is that his paintings were known as unofficial "Ambassadors of Goodwill" for the country in the visual arts. Hundreds of living rooms abroad display his works. In the 1940s, 50s and 60s, Peace Corps volunteers, American Embassy employees, US servicemen and their wives, as well as tourists and several Hollywood actors picked out a Cesar Buenaventura nine times out of 10, including Frank Sinatra, Bob Hope and George Montgomery. They enjoy his paintings of glorious sunsets, grand fleshed-out cloud formations and three-colored skies. The most popular being a sallow monochrome that is hard to duplicate. His paintings had a mood, certain quietness that a Buenaventura collector can spot from a distance. Cesar Buenaventura was born on January 14, 1922. His parents, Teodoro Pascual Buenaventura and Agripina Espinosa, were from Paombong, Bulacan.???Unlike his father, who was a distinguished UP professor or his brother Teddy Junior who had taken formal studies in art at UP before the war, Cesar did not study art in school. This was because his father opposed the idea of having two sons competing in the same field. It was only at the old man's retirement when Cesar finally received formal instruction from his father. As it turned out, Cesar surpassed the skill and fame of both father and brother.??? Cesar surpassed the skill and fame of both father and brother. Situating himself on Mabini, his paintings became the crowning glory of the place, bringing to it excitement and vigor.??? The colony of artists on Mabini started with the old giants known for their classical mastery. Cesar was younger than these men, but he stole the thunder from them, so to speak. In the late 40s and 50s and all of the 1960s his works were very popular. Eventually, Cesar became a protégé of Fernando Amorsolo who had complete confidence in his talent. So, when he had large or important commissions, he would invite the latter to help him as an Amorsolo manchador, an apprentice who "stains" the silhouette of the master painter. Amorsolo was a classicist whose general "backlighting" was in fact a type of European light. Like Amorsolo, Cesar could create illusions of detail by the use of color. A single shade was made up of a great number of intermediate shades mixed by instinct. Jane Stangl stated in the book, "Let us not forget that beyond Mabini's mass productions, there was much good and original work coming out of there... Mabini collectors preferred to buy Mabini art because they could relate to it... Mabini was of course classified in general terms as traditional art."???It was an honor to be on Mabini. The studios of early graduates of the premier art schools in the country such as the University of the Philippines and the University of Santo Tomas were located here.

Creator:

Cesar Buenaventura Espinosa (1922 - 1983, Filipino)

Creation Year:

1966

Dimensions:

Height: 21.5 in (54.61 cm)Width: 25.5 in (64.77 cm)Depth: 2 in (5.08 cm)

Medium:

Oil

Movement & Style:

Impressionist

Period:

Mid-20th Century