작품 상세

PROPERTY FROM THE HEIRS OF MAXIMO VIOLA Untitled (Angel Writing in a Book) signed alabaster H: 11 3/4" (30 cm) L: 4 3/4" (12 cm) W: 5 1/2" (14 cm) By combining academic European technique with humanistic content, Isabelo Tampinco's magnificent piece reflects his mastery of classical realism and delivers Filipino sensitivity. Providing a subtle statement about the value of learning and inner life. Depicting a young child seated on a platform while intently reading or inscribing on a tablet. Fully focused and relaxed, as the child's posture includes their shoulders positioned slightly rounded and limbs softly bent. In terms of his technique, Tampinco's carving is both delicate and precise—featuring a smooth surface, rounded anatomy, and gentle forms that highlight the subjects' innocence and youth. This charming alabaster sculpture of a cherub writing in a book may have been commissioned by Viola — wholly appropriate as the financier or “ angel” of Rizal’s Noli Me Tangere. Resembling European sculptures depicting Greco-Roman putti or cherubs, the artist transformed sculpture into an image that stripped away any mythological symbols, instead posing it with a simple, grounded act of reading or learning. Aligning with the themes of quiet intellectual awakening as the child absorbs a tablet suggests education, introspection, and the formation of the mind. The solitude itself reinforces themes of innocence, curiosity, and inner growth. (Mark John Castañeda)