Isabelo L. Tampinco...” NINO DURMIENDO”

Isabelo L. Tampinco. [1850 – 1933].

 Title ...” NINO DURMIENDO”

plaster cast.

Sculpture :- 27cm high x 22.5cm wide x 12.5cm deep.

Base :- 4.5cm x 19cm wide x 12.5cm deep.

Signed :- “I L T”

Description.

This sculpture is the original plaster cast, painted with a gold metallic paint.

This is a beautiful sculpture of Nino Durmiendo of a little boy seated on a rock and asleep leaning upon a pillar of stones.

The Nino is wearing a round neck cassock, long sleeved and down to his toes. It has a belt/tie around the waist.

His hair is very curly, but short enough to expose his ear on the left side of his face.

His eyes are closed.

His head is leaning upon his right forearm and his right hand and fingers are resting upon the rock ledge.

His left hand is in his lap and he is holding onto a garland of what looks to be plated or entwined vines.

Half the foot of the left leg can be seen under the folds of the garment and the toes of the right foot can be seen coming out from under the garment but on their side, he is very relaxed.

Tampinco's signature is on the right side, back of the sculpture, above the base line. It is signed with his three initials “I L T”.

There is no date recorded on the sculpture, but it is thought to have been sculpted in the first decade of the 20^th Century or just before the end of the 19^th Century.

 Distinguishing marks.

Chip in the base beneath the left toes of the sculpture.

Considering its age over 100years old it is in remarkably good condition.

There are no other distinguishing marks, other than those of age

The gold paint is worn off the sculpture but it can be clearly seen in the deep recesses of the sculpture. There is remnants of gold paint in the signature.

This is a very beautiful, peaceful sculpture nicely executed, the face of the child is quite beautiful and is true to its name.

niño m ‎(plural niños, feminine niña) boy, child

Durmiendo, Spanish for:- sleep, be in a state of sleep, fall asleep, slumber; enter into or be in a state that resembles sleep.

Isabelo Tampinco is one of the true Filipino masters, his sculptures are exceptional in composition and skill, he was the first of a line of great Philippine Classical Sculptors.

Written by,

Mark E Shellshear.

Art Consultant.

Quote from, www.wikipilipinas.org

Isabelo Tampinco (19 November 1850 – 30 January 1933).

A Chinese mestizo and a direct descendant of Rajah Lakandula, he was born in Binondo, Manila on 19 November 1850. He was the son of Tampinco y delos Reyes and Maria Justa de Lacandola. He apprenticed in the carving shops of Binondo and Santa Cruz districts. At age 15, he enrolled at the Academia de Dibujo y Pintura, Manila’s art academy, and studied sculpture under Agustin Saez and Lorenzo Rocha. He was hailed as one of the most outstanding sculptors of his time and was admired by Jose Rizal, who was his classmate in a modeling class at the Ateneo Municipal de Manila.

He was able to start his career in his 20s. His works dated as early as 1870. When Tampinco began his art, even while he was trained in school with a classical foundation, there was a revival of the gothic style in Europe. These styles became very evident in his design of churches, such as that of the fallen San Ignacio Church.

At age 26, he was chosen as the representative of the Philippines at the 1876 Philadelphia Centennial Exposition in the United States.

Receiving the “diploma de honor” from the Exposicion General de las Islas Filipinas in Madrid, Spain in 1887 was said to be his most important recognition.

When the Spaniards left and the American colonisers came, Tampinco enjoyed the newfound freedom as he was able to complete majority of his nude sculptures. Most of his works were either plaster of Paris or concrete.