The life and martyrdom of San Juan Nepomuceno are unfamiliar to many, unless you are one of his devotees. Known as the “Martyr of the Secret of Confession,” he met his death when, as confessor to the Queen of Bohemia, he refused to reveal the details of her confession, despite the King’s demands. For his silence, he was tortured, chained and thrown off the Charles Bridge in Prague. San Juan Nepomuceno was canonized in 1729 by Pope Benedict XIII.
Around 1740, an oil-on-canvas painting of the saint — measuring about 28x20 inches — was brought from Manila to the Basilica of Sto. Niño de Cebu by Bishop Protacio Cavezas. Most likely the work of Nicolas de la Cruz Bagay, the painting was placed in the bishop’s receiving room. Bagay (1701-1771), a prominent Filipino engraver and painter, signed his works as Yndio Filipino. In 1734, he famously engraved Pedro Murillo Velarde’s “Mapa de Filipinas,” the first detailed map of the Philippines. As the official printer of the Jesuit press, Bagay was trusted by friars to produce religious works and other tasks.
The inscription at the bottom of the painting, when translated from Spanish to English, suggests that when the bishop was too busy to receive guests in person, the faithful could instead pray the “Our Father” before the painting, touch it as a sign of reverence, and receive 40 days of indulgence. After Bishop Cavezas died in 1753, the fate of the painting became a mystery.
In 2002, a Filipino diplomat and art collector discovered the painting in an auction catalog in Madrid. How it survived all these years remains a wonder. It had journeyed across land and sea, endured natural calamities, and witnessed the fall of the Spanish Empire and the chaos that followed. Miraculously, it remained intact, thanks to the care it received from one generation to the next. This work of art, now over three centuries old, may be the oldest oil-on-canvas painting created by a Filipino artist.
The auction catalog featured two Philippine paintings, the other being a signature farm scene by Fernando Amorsolo. By a stroke of luck — or perhaps Divine Providence — the only other Filipino bidder in the room was focused on the Amorsolo piece, leaving the painting of San Juan Nepomuceno unchallenged. The collector, who happened to be married to a Cebuana, felt it was destiny.
In 2018, two years before the pandemic that shook the world, this priceless piece of art returned to Cebu City, brought back by the collector who had won it at auction. It now resides in a museum where it will soon be available for public viewing.
It took 278 years and one man’s passion for art to bring it home. Cebu is eternally grateful to him.