Raymundo Francia: The Genius Behind the Enchanting Murals There are only seventeen (17) colonial parish churches in Bohol whose ceilings are still embellished with breath-taking murals depicting biblical scenes, doctrinal teachings and the lives of the saints. Anda is one of them. The rest include Alburquerque, Balilihan, Carmen, Cortes, Dauis, Dimiao, Inabanga, Jagna, Lila, Loay, Loboc, Loon, Maribojoc, Panglao, Sevilla, Tubigon, Valencia. Of these seventeen, only four (4) belong to the Diocese of Talibon, namely, Carmen, Inabanga, Jagna and Anda. But while other towns had initiated unguided “restoration” to these paintings, sometimes with unfortunately adverse effects, an authority from the Permanent Committee for the Cultural Heritage of the Church of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) said: Arguably, the best preserved Francia-Avila kisame paintings are those found in the Sto. Niño Parish Church, in Anda… This should be a source of a unique sense of pride for the Andahanons. But it also entails quite an amount of challenge for the preservation of this precious piece of church patrimony and cultural heritage. These paintings are drawn on thick galvanized iron sheets with colors that retain their original brilliance despite the passage of years. The genius behind this work of art is a man named Raymundo Francia, whose signature “Rey Francia” appears in a corner right above the choir loft. Rey Francia is considered Cebu’s Michaelangelo. His father, Marcos Francia, of Tagalog origin, sired a son by her mistress Clotilde Rubi. This son was Raymundo, who was born on December 30, 1888 in Parian District, Cebu where he spent his childhood with his parents. Rey was known to be good looking, considering his mestizo features. Rubi, his mother’s family name, is an old and respected name in Mactan, where the family is known for its musical talents. As a young boy, he taught himself how to draw, paint and sculpt. As a young man, Rey Francia started as a telon painter, preparing backdrop sceneries for the stage plays mounted by the nuns of the Colegio de la Inmaculada Concepcion (CIC) along Los Martires Street (now M.J. Cuenco Avenue). Due to his talents, the CIC religious sisters offered to finance his formal training in painting, but Rey refused. He “chose to carve a career on his own, independent of established rules and techniques, prefering to make his own discoveries, to develop his personal style, and learn from his errors.” Raymundo’s techniques in painting remained a secret which he carried to his grave. It was Monsignor Juan Gorordo, first Filipino bishop of Cebu (1910-1932) who discovered the talent of this artist and recommended him to his friend and parish priest of Dauis, Bohol, Father Natalio del Mar. The church of Dauis was consecrated in 1923, the first of Rey Francia’s Boholano masterpieces. From there, the tradition of painting church ceilings in Bohol spread like wildfire. Fr. Santiago Sanz (1923-1934) asked for the services of Rey Francia in 1923. The work was completed in time of the parochial 40th fiesta on January 19, 1925. Like Michaelangelo, Francia usually worked by lying on his back on a scaffold constructed several meters above the floor. Despite the lack of modern mechanical instruments, he managed to embellish church ceilings with his paintings with the precision and meticulous craftsmanship that was uniquely his own. One of his major commissions was the painting of the Baclayon church in Bohol. Unfortunately, none of his work there remains in existence today. Eighty percent (80%) of the church paintings in Bohol were done by him, including those of Anda. Basing on human standards, Rey Francia’s life would hardly resemble the sanctity reflected by his paintings. He sired several children by many women, none of whom he married. Some of his children were the late Mrs. Mercedes Francia Rivera, a former instructor at Cebu Normal College, (now Cebu Normal University), Jesusa and Clotilde who reside in Cebu, Felipe who is in Surigao, and Edilberto who is the source of much information about his father. The great painter Rey Francia died at the age of 87 in the company of a long-time partner, Victoria Palermo of Baybay, Leyte.
Posted on: Thu, 13 Jun 2013 01:34:01 +0000
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