Jaehwa Bernardo

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The world according to Jaime de Guzman: A hermit painter's last years in Mount Banahaw

<div><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dib" style="width:633px;display:block" width="633"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/1782707784448ARTWORK3.jpg" style="width:633px" class="fr-fic fr-dib" width="633"/><span class="fr-inner" style="text-align:left">An artwork by Jaime de Guzman</span></span></span></div><p>It was in the late &#x27;80’s when, for the very first time, a work of art stopped me in my tracks. It  was an imposing mural by Jaime de Guzman (1942-2023) at the Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP) -- a huge and emotionally-charged, dramatic and powerful creation. As I continued walking the halls, the image stayed in my head and always, every time I visited CCP, the mural always caught my attention.</p><p>National Artist for Architecture Leandro V. Locsin recognized de Guzman’s raw genius and purchased it directly from the artist which he immediately donated to the CCP. </p><p>De Guzman’s significant journey began in 1970 when he caught public attention for his CCP murals – four monumental canvases that showed the artist’s highly intense creative outbursts due the political unrest in Manila at that time. These were massive 7 × 14-foot, three-panel canvases called the Metamorphosis trilogy and the Gomburza which he all produced in just a single month. </p><p>When the Metamorphosis murals were publicly unveiled, then CCP curator Roberto Chabet selected him for the first Thirteen Artists Awards selection and exhibition. </p><p>That same year, de Guzman traveled to Europe and held a highly acclaimed solo exhibition at the Frankfurt International. His dark, apocalyptic surrealism resonated profoundly with German audiences, whose historical roots were tied to Expressionism.</p><div><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/1782707820428ARTWORK1.jpg" style="width:633px" class="fr-fic fr-dib"/></div><p>It was also in 1970 when the artist earned a prestigious grant from CCP and the National Historical Commission to travel to Mexico to study directly under the well-known Mexican social realist David Alfaro Siqueiros. Here, he learned to tone down his socio-political hysteria to more structured compositions. It had become an introspection that slowly gave way to the beginning of mystical thought  injected into his artworks where he began introducing local flora alongside cultural folklore and spiritual themes.</p><p>In 1985, de Guzman along with his wife, Anne Polkinghorn, a clay potter, retreated to the highlands of Sagada for some refuge away from the bustle of commercialized success and far away from the demands of Manila&#x27;s elite art circles. It was also at this point that a personal family tragedy further convinced them that they needed a complete spiritual and psychological reset in the peaceful northern highlands.</p><div><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/1782707834551ARTWORK2.jpg" style="width:633px" class="fr-fic fr-dib"/></div><p>Changes in the social and political climate, coupled with the increasing presence of military forces in the area, eventually prompted the family to leave Sagada. The family of seven children packed up and returned to the lowlands finally settling in Candelaria, Quezon where the artist’s final major phase of his life and artistic career ended.</p><p>They found a home at the foot of Mount Banahaw where the vibrant green landscapes and mystical folklore became life-affirming for de Guzman which eventually drew him to return heavily to drawing, pastels, and oil painting. </p><div><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/1782707849852ARTWORK4.jpg" style="width:633px" class="fr-fic fr-dib"/></div><p>On view until December 2026 at the third floor galleries of the Yuchengco Museum in Makati City is a private collection of 50 rarely seen paintings owned by art historian and lawyer Saul Hofileña Jr., who specialized in academic research that delved into Philippine folk mysticism, religious history, and colonial resistance. </p><p>His search naturally led him to Mount Banahaw, widely considered the absolute epicenter of folk religion and esoteric indigenous spirituality in the Philippines. Home to an estimated 130 to 150 distinct religious sects, cults, and mystic groups, the mountain functions as a unique, self-contained spiritual ecosystem where pre-colonial animism seamlessly blends with Roman Catholicism.</p><p>There he met the most famous artistic resident, Jaime de Guzman who lived as a hermit and was in his final phase of his legendary career.</p><p>A pioneer of Philippine expressionist art, de Guzman passed away from natural causes on February 25, 2023, at the age of 80.</p>

<p>A new exhibition at Yuchengco Museum is shedding light on the final creative chapter of pioneering Filipino expressionist Jaime de Guzman, bringing together 50 rarely seen works from the artist's years as a recluse at the foot of Mount Banahaw.</p>

A new exhibition at Yuchengco Museum is shedding light on the final creative chapter of pioneering Filipino expressionist Jaime de Guzman, bringing together 50 rarely seen works from the artist's years as a recluse at the foot of Mount Banahaw.

Exhibit offers glimpse into artist Jaime de Guzman's final years in Mount Banahaw

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Exhibit offers glimpse into artist Jaime de Guzman's final years in Mount Banahaw

Rachel Mayo

Published June 29, 2026 03:21 PM PHT

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Jaime de Guzman

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