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PROPERTY FROM THE DON EUGENIO “GENY” LOPEZ JR. COLLECTION Women in Ecstasy signed and dated 1978 (lower right) oil on marine plywood 32" x 48" (81 cm x 122 cm) PROVENANCE: Galleria Duemila WRITE UP: 1978 stands out as one of the most important years for Cesar Legaspi. In celebration of his four-decade-long career, he held Forty Years of Legaspi, a Retrospective Exhibition at the Museum of Philippine Art. In the same year, he served as the head of the Saturday Group of Artists, a post he held for 16 years until his death in 1994. Women in Ecstasy, created during this hallmark year, is emblematic of the creative trajectory Legaspi’s career took on. The Neo-Realistic element of distortion and fragmentation takes center stage. Objective reality no longer became the golden standard with which the artist must achieve – instead, it is only an undertone Legaspi imbues the piece with. The decade prior saw Legaspi’s swerve to abstraction and his realization of the style was met in the 1970s, coinciding with his 40th artistic anniversary. Women in Ecstasy showcases his masterful deconstruction of human anatomy. Though he depicted multiple nude women, sensuality and eroticism were barely touched upon. Instead, the earthy palette and composition imply collective support and resistance. These women, bare and naked, lean on each other in vulnerability. Legaspi has harnessed the ability to break down objective reality into a subjective world based on the artist’s inner visions. Under his masterful brush, Legaspi manages to transform his subjects (often of the toiling masses and the collective community) into a fragmented masterpiece akin to that of a church’s stained glass windows, evoking a deep contemplation for his Cubist pieces. (Hannah Valiente)