Saulog's Filipino Madonna and Child in New York

I promised myself to write more about Simon Saulog, my mentor, as I bumped into proud owners of his works which are dispersed all over the world.

I recently met a New York-based collector via social network. Dr. Dennis Mauricio, the assistant residency program director of the Department of Gynecology-Obstetrics at the State University of New York at Buffalo, and his wife who is also a gynecologist, cherish a Saulog Madonna which was done in 1949. 

This masterpiece has a personal meaning to the Mauricio Family and it stands out among the other Philippine, European, and American pieces in their family art collection.

Acclaimed as the master of the Filipino Madonnas in the 50s, what sets Saulog apart among his contemporaries and various other artists is his Madonnas. The rendering maybe truly Amorsolo and De La Rosa school but the emotions conveyed by the subjects are from Saulog. I recall Saulog telling me when he was alive that a painting must speak. Specially if its about human subjects. With his Madonnas, Saulog usually enlisted the help of his relatives and barrio folks to seat or pose as his subjects. 


Here are three other Saulog Madonnas: