LOT 29
ALFREDO BUENAVENTURA
B. Philippines, 1942 – 1982
Bounty from the Sea, 1970’s
Oil on canvas
60 x 90 cm
Private Collection, Canada
Signed “Buenaventura” on lower left
RM 2,500 – 5,000
Alfredo Buenaventura was born into a distinguished family of artists in Bulacan, a province north of Manila, Philippines. After studying art for a short period at the University of Santo Tomás, Alfredo was placed under the tutelage of his uncle, the painter Cesar Buenaventura, who was at the peak of his artistic career as a painter, mainly of Impressionist landscapes. Alfredo used a spatula to create the expressionist fillings that characterise his works and contrasted this technique with the subtle impressionism he learned from his uncle. Alfredo died of a heart disease, shortly before his fortieth birthday. Known for his vibrantly colourful and thickly painted depictions of landscapes and people of the Philippines, Alfredo often depicted farmers ploughing fields or fisherman coming back from the sea, focusing on quiet scenes of everyday domestic and agrarian life. This painting, entitled ‘Bounty from the Sea’ is evidence of Alfredo’s hallmark in portraying fishermen handing over their bounty to the women at shore, ready with big wicker baskets to collect and sell them.