The Life and art of Botong Francisco D.M. Reyes, Alice G. Guillermo, Roberto G. Paulino, Ino M. Manalo ; edited by Patrick D. Flores ; photography by David C. Fabros.

A veritable Folk hero in his hometown Angono and one of the most important Filipino artists, Botong Francisco devoted his life to art. After spending the 1930s immersed in graphic art and modernism, Botong embarked on large-scale mural painting for which he became renowned. This lavish art book contains the richest panoply of Botong's masterpieces, whether in large-or small scale formats. The vast selection of his most important paintings, sketches, and costume designs is beautifully supplemented by vintage photographs, documents, and film stills from over thirty public and private collections. The texts include an illustrated biography and essays by prominent art scholars offering interpretations of Botong's life art. One could not ask for a more comprehensive study of Botong's oeuvre; finally, forty years after Botong's death, his work is the subject of the sweeping retrospective it deserves. Botong Francisco's Angono roots are uncovered anew in scholarly discussions of his works in this publication. The essays delve deep into Botong's bonds to home, traditions, and history. We come to a new understanding of how much of Botong's local ties inform, influence, and inspire his compelling visual articulation of the native, the heroic, the nationalist, and the modernist in his works. Florentina Colayco Dean, College of Fine Arts, UP Diliman.