Rizal Cigar
signed and dated 2010 (lower left)
oil on canvas
24” x 18” (61 cm x 46 cm)

Provenance:
with Art Verité

Exhibited:
Art Verité, “Dimasalang,” Taguig, December 14, 2011 - January 2, 2012

2011 saw the commemoration of the sesquicentennial, the 150th year, of our National hero Jose Rizal. A series of events were mounted, including an exhibition by Joven Mansit entitled “Dimasalang” where the artist sought to “challenge the common representations of Rizal.” In “Rizal Cigar,” Mansit shows us Pepe with cigar in mouth, which perhaps is Mansit’s attempt to depict his more human side. (it is unclear if Rizal ever really smoked, although a photo supposedly exists of him with a cigarette).

Powered by extensive library research and an equally extensive attention to detail, the works of Mansit appear like aging sepia colored photographs — highly realistic down to brown splotches.