1864 / Oil on canvas / 93 x 113 cm / Artist: Jose Honorato Lozano / Private Collection

Balvino Mauricio was a well-known Binondo merchant who was deported to Hong Kong for participating in antigovernment activities. This painting, on two levels, clearly shows the prosperity of Manila in the mid-19th century. The first level shows important views outside Intramuros: prominently at center, the statue of Isabela II, with Magellan's monument on the left and Teatro de España on the right; this wide landscape conveys a sense of capital depth and atmosphere. The second level shows the different parts of Mauricio's house: the courtyard and stable; the main gate with its ornamental ironwork; the lavishly furnished living room complete with piano, mirrors, and a chandelier - most of which were items imported into the country with the opening of international trade; the long corridor outside the bedrooms; and the dining room made to accommodate large numbers. The architectural style and furnishing show heavy European influence.

Balvino Mauricio is the most complete rendering of the interior of a 19th-century rich upper-class house. Before his exile to Hong Kong in 1872, Mauricio sold his mansion hurriedly to Telesforo Chuidian. It was perhaps this house of Chuidian that served as the model for Capitan Tiago's Binondo house in Rizal's Noli Me Tangere (Touch Me Not), 1887.