Art’s heroes and zeroes
In a year confounded by global terrors—from flash floods in Naga’s Nueva Caceres and namesake towns in Spain’s Valencia to international coups and electoral upsets—Filipino art and history still managed to supply 2024’s best feel-good moments. It combined the country’s heroes with the collecting public’s appetite for zeroes in the multimillions, guaranteeing blockbuster history.
It clothed dust-covered memory with the necessary glamour in an age obsessed with billionaires traveling the world in private jets and even landing a second time in the White House. It was all about having the fame of a Kim Kardashian and the fortune of someone on the Forbes Top Ten Richest List.
But there were also heartwarming touches of the everyday—with the rental fees paid for by the hundreds of Jollibee Chicken Joys sold at the Luneta footing the bill for Jose Rizal’s very own “Mona Lisa,” titled “Josephine Sleeping.”
The story of the year has to go to the National Museum’s landmark move “to exercise its right of first refusal and match the winning bid” for what’s now the most famous sculpture in the Philippines, if not the most expensive Rizaliana in the whole world, with a price-tag of P31.2 million set at the Leon Gallery Kingly Treasures Action last Nov. 30.
“I still get goosebumps when I see it,” declared National Museum chair Andoni Aboitiz, referring to the precious plaster of Paris work created by none other than the country’s national hero. “I’m not worried about what people are going to say about our buying it. I’m more worried about what they would have said if we didn’t. We now have the law behind us and we have the money. There’s no excuse not to acquire this for the Filipino people,” he said with obvious delight.
That law, by the way, is “The National Museum of the Philippines Act” and it allows the institution to participate in auctions to acquire unique and important works of art. “I strongly believe,” added director-general Jeremy Barns, “that the sculpture ‘Josephine Sleeping’ by Rizal is clearly the kind of object for which The National Museum was given certain special privileges under Republic Act No. 11333, including the ability to procure collections through direct negotiation or at auction—and such as full retention of its income.” The National Museum is the landlord of that Luneta Jollibee, busy drive-thru and all, and the new law also now allows them to keep the proceeds from its rental for its own Endowment Fund. It’s a happy intersection of events.
He emphasized, “In my view, no other object can match ‘Josephine Sleeping’ for embodying and evoking Rizal’s love for the woman who intimately shared his very last years. And as for Rizal’s near-final moments, The National Museum has and also displays the ‘Imitation of Christ,’ donated in 2016, that he dedicated, in English, ‘To my dear and unhappy wife Josephine’ and gave her on the morning of his execution. Together, these objects help tangibly preserve the story of their relationship forever, for the benefit of all Filipinos and future generations. As such, it is most likely one-of-a-kind even among the extremely limited number of artworks by Rizal that have survived to our time.”
Indeed, it was one of several Christmas gifts to the nation that the National Museum managed to scoop up in a first for Philippine art.
Speaking under the cover of anonymity, the owner—a descendant of Rizal’s older sister, Narcisa—shared: “‘Josephine Sleeping’ is a moving testament to José Rizal’s deep affection for his beloved Josephine Bracken. Through this intimate carving, Rizal immortalized their bond, capturing not only her likeness but also the profound tenderness of their relationship. This artistic expression is complemented by his written works, which further reveal his feelings for Josephine. Together, sculpture and Rizal’s own verses offer a poignant glimpse into his love and affection for Josephine Bracken, providing a window into the personal life of the national hero during his final years.”
The anonymous owner also donated a tantalizing image—a silver-nitrate etched sketch that is a mystery in itself—of Josephine. It was purportedly exhibited alongside the sculpture during Rizal’s Centennial celebrations in 1961, sharing the same typewritten label as the sculpture itself. It shows a wide-eyed and wavy-haired Josephine Leopoldine cupping her face in a millennial half-heart shape.
A second mystery woman appears in another photograph also acquired by the National Museum, using the same mechanism to match the winning bid for the sculpture. In it, Felix Resurreccion Hidalgo is captured painting another of the museum’s glories “The Assassination of Governor Bustamante.” Could this be the enigmatic Maria Yrritia, Hidalgo’s longtime muse and companion? She sits beside him in a happily domestic tableau, book in hand and a long stole draped around her neck. A tubby white dog sits equally patiently beside her. When one realizes it required several minutes of staying motionless to take this kind of photograph, it’s an important recording of another important art history moment.
History has been a constant theme in 2024: after the biggest Independence Day parade since the country’s own centennial in 1998, a fascinating copy of the “birth certificate of the nation”—our very own “Acta de Independencia”—surfaced at the Leon Gallery Magnificent September Auction. Owned by one of the original signatories, who for one reason or another had a professional scribe painstakingly copy its several pages, it roused patriotic fervor to set a world record for Philippine historical documents at P11.4 million.
Also in the news was the recovery of seven documents from the online auction platform eBay and their return to their proper home to the National Library of the Philippines. All are from the Philippine Insurrection Records that—alongside Rizal’s Noli and Fili—are the most important treasures of the Library and the Filipino nation. Their discovery was thanks to the eagle-eyed scholar of the Philippine Revolution, Dr. Jim Richardson, who reached out to me to report their presence online. National Library director Cesar Adriano quickly responded to the news and moved decisively to bring the documents home where they belong.
It is the first case of the surrender and recovery of these priceless papers since 1993. Unfortunately, they are just the tip of the iceberg, with thousands of documents possibly changing hands in the last four decades, with new collectors today unaware that they are stolen government property—and that they can be easily identified through tell-tale marks.
The recovered documents were presented to the historical and academic community at simple ceremonies recently. Adriano made an appeal to any collectors who may have any of these invaluable documents in their possession. “We guarantee that the handover will not cause you any kind of inconvenience and we will not hold you responsible,” Adriano said./p>
The Insurrection Records are the irreplaceable record of our country’s journey to freedom from 1897 to 1898—they include Bonifacio’s Trial and the June 12 Declaration of Independence, to name just two—but also the day-to-day running of the First Philippine Republic, both its civilian government and its army. It thus contains the heart and soul of the Philippine Revolution and the years of Asia’s first democratic republic and its war to remain independent until 1903.
With these important milestones achieved in 2024, one can only look forward to an even more historic new year ahead.
