1829 / Oil on molave / 52.7 x 71.1 cm / Artist: Tomas Francisco / Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas Collection

The Francisco Pasion Altarpiece was named after the cleric who granted the indulgence obtained by the faithful who prayed before the painting. The date 11 Aug 1829 suggests that the piece was done later, but the banning of apocryphal scenes before the 1850s dates the painting prior to the said period.

The altarpiece is sectionalized vertically in contrast to the Olivar Pasion Altarpiece, which is divided horizontally. The left portion is occupied by the Last Supper while the right portion is further divided into two, with the Feast of the Passover occupying the upper fourth of the painting and the Washing of the Feet below it. All three sections are replete with inspirations.

Figures and objects are simplified, reduced to their essential shapes. Their sizes vary according to their positions in doctrinal hierarchy: largest are God the Father and Jesus Christ; second in size are the apostles; next are the archangels; and smallest are the angels and cherubs.

The Feast of the Passover is approached from an aerial perspective; Christ and his disciples extend their right arms over the table, forming an interesting rhythmic radial pattern. In the Washing of the Feet, the artist was fascinated by the cloak that Christ removed from his body before he performed the washing and which the painter depicted curled up in a sort of conical shape. All forms are almost reduced to flat patterns of color because of the lack of modeling.