Maria Clara
signed and dated 1974 (lower left)
pastel on paper
23” x 18” (58 cm x 46 cm)

This piece is accompanied by a certificate issued by Mrs. Josefa Joya-Baldovino confirming the authenticity of this lot

This work recalls the early phase of his art, wherein Jose Joya reflected the period of transition from academic conservatism to modernism. Academically trained like his famous contemporaries Magsaysay Ho, Juvenal Sanso and Manuel Rodriguez Sr., he was among the most audacious young artists that the time produced. Joya’s career, however did not begin with a spectacular display of fireworks. It began quite conventionally with his studies at the University of the Philippines School of Fine Arts.