Buen Retiro (Madrid, Spain)

Martino Abellana’s timely trip to Europe stands as one of the highlights of the Maestro’s career – immortalized in a series of artworks that would eventually be his last train of compositions, following his cancer diagnosis upon his return to the Philippines and his subsequent death in 1988. Spending a decade or so in the academe, Martino took a momentous trip to Europe in 1985, visiting the cities of Paris, Rome, and Madrid, and touring through Claude Monet and Van Gogh artworks in museums – influencing and sharpening his skills in painting.

Apart from enhancing his skills, Martino also took home the sceneries he encountered through his craft. As true to the teachings he taught his students, his European Trip artworks were ‘en plein air’ – a French practice of painting landscapes outdoors in ‘open air.’ This method allowed Martino to embrace his senses and visualize the environment directly onto his paper. Such is the case for Buen Retiro (Madrid, Spain), a 1985 watercolor artwork, measuring 28 by 38 cm, and depicting a sunny day at a park, clouded by the shades of trees around the area.

The painter situates himself in a shaded pathway towards a park in Buen Retiro, lush with tall trees painted varyingly in green and yellow. Two statues of a standing figure are erected upright in its middle: one is closer to the painter, while one appears to mirror its position from afar. There are other visitors in the park, painted vaguely in short strokes due to their smaller size in comparison to the towering elements in the composition. Each of the elements is painted through light and soft strokes, with the painter using his watercolor as the medium. While Martino had always painted landscapes, the transition to the earthen Europe from the deep blue Carcar seascapes reflects a difference in this series of artworks. Yet these two places continue to remain in the painter’s heart – one was a lifelong dream he wanted to fulfill, and one was his beloved hometown that was the recipient of his passion.