Norma Belleza (b. 1939)
Portrait
signed and dated 1963 (upper right and verso);
Philippine Art Gallery (PAG) label attached verso
oil on wood
38" x 34" (97 cm x 86 cm

PROVENANCE
Philippine Art Gallery, Manila

EXHIBITED
Philippine Art Gallery, 1963

In 1963, Norma Belleza held her debut solo exhibition
at the storied Philippine Art Gallery, where she was
also an artist-in-residence with her husband, Angelito
Antonio. Prior to that landmark event in her life, Belleza
was a fresh graduate and an emergent artist, having just
received her Bachelor of Arts degree from the University
of Santo Tomas in 1962. She would also bag awards at
the Art Association of the Philippines (AAP) Annual, where
she was named third honorable mention in 1962 and
awarded third prize in 1963.
The work at hand, simply titled Portrait, was among the
works featured in Belleza’s career-defining exhibition.
Back in its heyday, the Philippine Art Gallery (PAG) was
the benchmark for Philippine modernism, where the best
of the country’s modern art was showcased and accorded
deserved recognition. Writes Purita Kalaw-Ledesma in
the book The Biggest Little Room, the PAG “was a good
venue for the struggling young Modern artist.” Exhibiting
at the PAG was a badge of honor for the budding artist,
such as Norma Belleza in her youth.
Portrait is also a quintessential representation of Belleza’s
early style. There was this phase in Belleza’s career
wherein her paintings did not resemble the brightly
colored and highly exuberant themes that would catapult
her to prominence. Depressing and somber themes
characterized Belleza’s paintings during her early phase,
often depicting religious subjects and, sometimes, those that implicitly speak of the anguish experienced by the
human soul.
In Portrait, Belleza depicts a solitary man, with his
face explicitly expressing personal torment. Belleza’s
spontaneous brushstrokes and impassioned employment
of somber colors exude an intense brand of expressionism.
A heightened charge of emotions is palpably discerned, a
quality that only comes from an artist so natural in her
ability to capture the many facets of human existence.
Even in her early phase, Belleza’s signature distortion of
her figures is already apparent. (A.M.)