All eyes are on Paris as the 33rd Olympiad opens, 100 years since the city last hosted the Summer Olympics in 1924. It’s a good time to glance back at its historical roots and its surprising connections to art, which can be traced to a French aristocrat, the educator and historian, Charles Pierre de Frédy, Baron de Coubertin – the founder of the modern Olympics Movement and co-founder of the International Olympic Committee.
The baron spearheaded the revival of the ancient Greek competitions around the same time as the emergence of modern art in the late 1800s. Perhaps that environment, plus his own exposure as the son and heir to the Coubertin title of Charles Louis de Frédy, a decorated painter, influenced the younger de Frédy who envisioned the combination of arts and sports in the modern Olympics.
Thus, art and sports competitions were held simultaneously in the Olympics from 1912 to 1948 – the year our very own National Artist H.R.Ocampo submitted an entry. Today, non-competitive art exhibitions and festivals are staged at the discretion of the host country, like the Paris Olympics’ Cultural Olympiad which will run up to September 8 this year.
The baron also came up with the idea for the Olympics’ motto – Citius, Altius, Fortius (Faster, Higher, Stronger) – originally coined by his friend, a Dominican priest named Henri Didon. It became official in 1924 and was revised during the pandemic to its present version: Faster, Higher, Stronger – Together.
Salcedo Auctions celebrates the Olympics and its art-loving founder with a triumphant parade of Filipino artists who’ve visited or lived in the City of Lights at one time or another. All the works chosen in this tribute resonate with the Olympic’s motto as well, having sold faster, higher or stronger in past auctions.
Juan Luna in his Paris studio
Juan Luna moved to Paris in 1884, the start of a vibrant phase in his practice marked by a brighter palette. The following year he would complete “¿A Do…Va la Nave?”, his intriguing oil on canvas that sold at auction for PHP46,720,000.
“¿A Do…Va la Nave?,” Juan Luna’s oil on canvas, sold for PHP 46,720,000
Just like Juan Luna, Felix Resurreccio Hidalgo relocated to Paris in 1884 where he also established his own studio. He fell in love with the city and stayed there for most of his life, a period of great productivity. He completed one of his most iconic works, “La Pintura,”in the 1890s, a tender depiction of a young female that sold at auction for PH 72,256,000, one of the highest amount paid for a painting by the artist.
Felix Resurreccion Hidalgo’s “La Pintura,” ca 1890s sold for PHP 72,256,000
National Artist Vicente Manansala traveled to France in 1950 to study at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts in Paris as a scholar of the French government. It was a pivotal time, having been mentored by the French artist Fernand Leger who advised Manansala to simplify his forms. Manansala would continue to develop his own style marked by the transparent layering of his colors as seen in an untitled oil on canvas from 1978 which sold for PHP 17,520,000.
Vicente Manansala’s untitled oil on canvas from 1978, sold for PHP 17,520,000
The artist’s untitled charcoal on paper nude, completed in 1950 ( the time he was studying at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts, Paris), sold for PHP 513,920
Paris is especially memorable for National Artist BenCab, who was the Philippine representative to the VI Paris Biennale in 1969. His painting from a later period – which sold for PHP 25,696,000 – conveys grace, strength and determination – the ideals of an Olympian woman.
An untitled oil on canvas by National Artist BenCab, from 1995, sold for PHP 25,696,000
Inspired by the Paris Olympics, Salcedo Auctions recently launched ‘Philippine Art Triumphs’ on its social media channel invoking the promise of higher sale results for consignors and stronger bidding power for buyers at its upcoming ‘The Well Appointed Life’ auction on Saturday, 14 September. Consignments are now accepted. Email info@salcedoauctions.com or phone +63 917 107 5581 | +63 917 572 3990 | +63 917 825 7449
