Gomburza Martyrs

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Jaime de Guzman executed this large-scale work in oil on canvas. The painterly strokes are extremely broad and long; and the artist may be visualized in the full physicality of his technique. Working at this scale would have meant the body gesturality of Abstract Expressionism at its true level of ambition for the paradoxical mix of spontaneity and monumentality. De Guzman also deployed a strong palette to further that ambition to absorb the “Gomburza” martyrdom—a pivotal moment in 19th and 20th century Philippines—into the global Expressionist landscape. The reference is to the execution by garrote, by the Spanish colonial administration, of the priests, Fathers Jose Burgos, Jacinto Zamora, and Mariano Gomez for accusations of subversion. The event is recognized as the early detonation of anti-colonial sentiment that would lead to the Philippine Revolution against Spain in 1896.

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