Felix Resurrección Hidalgo

FÉLIX RESURRECCIÓN HIDALGO Y PADILLA (Philippines, 1855 - Spain, 1913).
"The water-carrier".
Oil on canvas.
Signed in the lower left corner.
With label of the Kunst Konserveringen Danske Museers Center For Beraving Af Kunst on the back.
Provenance: Diego de los Rios and heirs, Madrid. Christie's London, December 2017. Danish private collection.
Measurements: 67 x 49.5 cm; 107 x 90 cm (frame).

Compare the present work with other works by Félix Resurrección Hidalgo such as "La vendedora de lanzones" of 1875 (Museo del Prado, Madrid), or the young women in "Las Vírgenes Cristianas expuestas al populacho" (which earned him a Silver Medal at the General Exhibition of Fine Arts in Madrid in 1884; the painting is now in the National Gallery of Singapore), or the drawings and sketches in the Philippines Heritage Library, among others.

An idealized landscape background sets the scene in a wild environment by not presenting any construction. Mountains close the horizon, leaving a large portion of sky and ample space for the wide river in the center and the trees on either side of it. On the bank of this watercourse stands a young woman, dressed simply in a short, brightly colored skirt. Her fair skin has been framed with long black curly hair that falls down behind her back, highlighting the beautifully drawn female nude. Over her shoulder she carries a pitcher which, presumably, she has filled with water in the river. This theme, apparently inconsequential, reveals a background, very common at the time, of past times or less civilized environments than the European environment of the time, recalling works such as those Italian works that alluded to the idealized Arcadia by means of shepherds, for example.
Likewise, it is undeniable the exoticism that, with a surprising economy of elements, the painter lets us glimpse in this work. This "theme" is very frequent in Europe at the time, taking as inspiration idealized Arabian landscapes, with figures in the style of "The Thousand and One Nights", or looking somewhat more towards the East. Likewise, it is necessary to insist on the quality of the drawing of the work, centered on the figure, and clearly belonging to the Academicist tradition, usual at the time.

One of the most outstanding Filipino artists of the late 19th century, Felix Resurreccion Hidalgo was trained at the School of Drawing and Painting. Following his debut in 1876, the year of his presentation at the Circo de Bilibid Theater, Hidalgo showed his work in the Philippines as well as in the United States and Spain, the latter country where he traveled as a guest of the Manila City Council. Already installed in Spain, he participated in the most important Spanish official exhibitions, being awarded on several occasions, and was also awarded in the Universal Exposition of Paris in 1889. He is currently represented in the Lopez de Pasig Museum (Philippines) and the Metropolitan of Manila, among other public and private collections.