(The Assassination of Governor Fernando Bustamante and Son) aka La Tragedia de Gobernador Fernando Bustamante (The Tragedy of Governor Fernando Bustamante) or La Iglesia contra el Estado (Church versus State) / Late 19th century / Oil on canvas / 412 x 338 cm / Artist: Felix Resurreccion Hidalgo / National Museum of the Philippines collection

This large work by Resurreccion Hidalgo portrays a factual event: the assassination of Gov-Gen Fernando Bustamante y Bustillo in 1719 by a mob led by friars whose economic activities were threatened by his policies. The setting is the old Palacio del Gobernador in Intramuros. The scene shows the governor-general near the top center of a landing of the grand marble stairway being simultaneously attacked with spears and bolo by a group of Dominicans in black and white robes and Franciscans in their brown habiliments, while another group of the same friars pulls him down with a rope tied around his body. While the murder is being committed, other friars and sacristans hold aloft colorful religious banners and crucifixes from their procession after mass. Below left, members of the king’s guards threaten the monks with spears to no avail.

The strong diagonal lines of the dynamic movement is suggested by the flurry of spears and lances. There are accents of bright color in the governor-general’s rich costume and in the embroidered banners. There is likewise a lively play of light and dark tones in the reflections on the stairway and on the robes of the friars from the light coming from the large open window. A sequel to this event is the story of La Loba Negra (The Black She-Wolf), about the governor’s Mexican widow who carried out a bloody revenge for her husband’s assassination.

The painting was commissioned by Don Antonio Ma. Regidor (1845-1910), a nationalist known for his anticlerical sentiments. However, Regidor was unable to take hold of the painting, which remained with Hidalgo in Barcelona. In 1914, a year after the painter’s death, Hidalgo’s relatives were able to take the painting back to the Philippines. In 1965, the painting came to be in the possession of Manuel Lazatin Garcia, and subsequently became part of the Leandro V. Locsin collection. The painting was declared a National Cultural Treasure and was unveiled during the public exhibition in 1974 at the National Museum of the Philippines. On 29 Oct 2013, the painting was formally turned over to the National Museum.