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'Boceto for Spoliarium': New evidence supporting authenticity found


Salcedo Auctions this week shared new evidence that supports the authenticity of the recently unveiled "Boceto for Spoliarium" by Juan Luna.

 


An email correspondence acquired by Salcedo Auctions regarding the sale of Juan Luna's "España y Filipinas" links to the boceto being part of an inherited collection.

"España y Filipinas" was first sold at the Balcis auction in Barcelona before it was acquired for the National Gallery of Singapore via Sotheby's Hong Kong.  

Sotheby's catalog provides further insight on both paintings:

"The painting was originally given by Luna as a gift to Pedro Paterno, who displayed it in his home in Madrid (called by many the “Museo Paterno”). Paterno, himself an important figure in Philippine history and the Prime Minister of the First Philippine Republic, was a patron of the Philippine expatriate community. It has been suggested that Paterno proposed the theme to Luna; Paterno was then a strong supporter of Spanish involvement in the Philippines. 'España y Filipinas' was soon acquired by a friend of Paterno’s wife, whose family retained the painting until last year."

Salcedo Auctions believes that the Vazquez Castiñeiras acquired both the boceto and the Felix Resurreccion Hidalgo's "La Pintura" through the exhibits held at Paterno's residence.

The paintings — the boceto, "La Pintura", and  "España y Filipinas" — was eventually passed down by Don Jose Vazquez Castiñeira's daughter-in-law Doña Maria Nuñez Rodriguez, who in turn passed it down to two branches of her family.

In a statement shared with the press, Salcedo Auctions director Ramon Lerma claimed that the "Paterno connection" further explains the baybayin script that accompanies Luna's signature. — LA, GMA News

The preview of the "Boceto for Spoliarium" will run until September 21 at The Gallery of The Peninsula Manila. It will be auctioned on Saturday, September 22, at the Rigodon Ballroom as part of the "Important Philippine Art" of "The Well-Appointed Life."

Tags: spolarium
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