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in their faith, to evangelize,” Renee says. “My lolo, he did wonderful work on the faces of each of the pieces unlike the ones you see today that are more commercial. You see there is proportion and realism.”
For those familiar with the Santo Niño de Praga in San Beda College, Mendiola and San Beda College Alabang, those are Maximo Vicente works of religious art. The main and side altar statues of Our Lady of Mount Carmel on Broadway Avenue, Quezon City are his as well. The St. Vincent de Paul church inside Adamson University is also home to a Maximo Vicente. The 10-meter giant crucifix in Trece Martires, the Virgen Milagrosa, the Sta. Luisa in San Marcelino Church, the Nuestra Señora de Candelaria in Iloilo, some statues in Assumption Convent in San Lorenzo Village, the Alfonso de Liguori Church in Magallanes, and the Minor Basilica of San Lorenzo Ruiz are all homes to a Maximo Vicente.
Renee’s father, an architect who managed the Talleres after his father’s death, even presented Pope
with a Santo Niño made by the Talleres on a papal visit. In the ‘70s, then first lady also commissioned a Santo Niño for her hometown of Tolosa, Leyte.
Through the years, owning a Maximo Vicente piece has been synonymous with craftsmanship of such caliber, similar to the artisans of Europe. Making religious art has never been easy as there has to be a delicate balance between beauty and authenticity of the pieces, explains Renee.
John Paul II Imelda Marcos
Later dubbed as the saintmaker or santero, Vicente has undoubtedly become the most successful commercial santero of his time. For the general public, they can now start owning a piece of history with a few plaster pieces that start at R20,000 while the life-size is in the million peso range, and rightly so.
Renee remarks that each piece can be customized as part of the package especially if a prospective owner would like to make the coloring lighter, refurbish something that is old looking, or conversely age yet another piece. Authentication will be provided per piece and while Renee won’t be on hand to explain the provenance of each piece, details will be provide in the sale exhibit. Renee, who used to help out in making the embroidered clothes, the carroza or carriage that would bear the manikin in Bacolod during processions, is glad that the Talleres pieces will be available to a wider public now. From Sacred Hearts to Santo Niños, Christ the Kings, and relief work of the Last Supper and Madonna and Child, the partnership with Rustan’s allows these Talleres religious images and art to now find new homes.