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Rizal, the artist, revealed in a new book
(The Philippine Star) – December 30, 2020 – 12:00 am
MANILA, Philippines – A valuable and unique addition to the country’s Rizaliana Library will be launched soon.
Unlike the others, this book about the country’s national hero is not only a historical account, but also a substantial artistic revelation about Rizal.
The book “José Rizal, Sculptor”, written by Celestino Palma III and edited by José Ma. Cariño, is a story of Rizal’s life through the prism of his 56 sculptural works.
It’s an unprecedented art, research, and history book rolled into one.
“José Rizal, Sculptor” begins with a study of Rizal’s objective person who defined his philosophy and artistic style.
The next three chapters present the sculptures / reliefs that he created during the three stages of his life, namely: 1) when he was a child and a student in Calamba and Manila;
2) when he lived in Europe and Hong Kong; and 3) when he was exiled in Dapitan and later in prison.
Confirming his true passion, these chapters point to Rizal’s constant and unifying activity throughout his life that, unknown to many, was sculpture.
The author (Ateneo College 1978), a century later co-student of Rizal (Ateneo Municipal 1877), seamlessly intertwined the places, people, times, situations, thoughts and feelings relevant to Rizal’s short life when he modeled or carved his sculptures and reliefs.
Foreign Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr., in his foreword, said: “The final chapter, with an impressive and captivating flourish, details the account of the search, find, and preservation of Rizal’s unfinished woodcarved self-portrait that did when he was only 18 years old. ancient, a true national treasure. “
When asked how a businessman and financier like him came to write this book on Rizal, Palma explained: “My interest in Rizal as a sculptor began when I saw and bought in an antique store in Santa Barbara, California, a set of two reliefs of wood that turned out to be the work of José Caancan de Paete, a student of Rizal in Dapitan. This treasure led me to Paete where I saw in his house a photo of old Caancan holding Rizal’s self-portrait. Later, in Rizal’s books and articles that he obtained, he found fragments of his sculptural works ”.
Hopefully, this contribution from Rizaliana will inspire more people to discover, recover, document and preserve artifacts that are part of our national heritage.
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