Bust of Nicanor Reyes, Sr.

Graciano T. Nepomuceno’s forte seems to be character delineation. Among his works, the most remarkable ones in this regard are a miniature in bas-relief of President Quezon, a head of Christ, some characters from Rizal’s Noli Me Tangere in wood, and genre pieces. He has also done some very fine pieces in ivory.

In 1904, Nepomuceno took a year to carve the set of 38 figurines of Tipos del Pais. Typical of these are (among others): woman carrying a cloth bundle, woman peddling candles, woman with water jug, milkman, beggar, cockfighter, seamstress, tuba vendor, ditch digger, washerwoman, and Chinese cloth peddler. They were made of batikuling wood, a material often used for religious images.

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Cast or sculpted from a variety of media such as marble, bronze, or wood, a portrait bust is a representation or the likeness of an individual. Portrait heads from classical antiquity have
preserved for posterity the images of important personages of the time. In like manner, the bust of FEU founder Dr. Nicanor Reyes immortalizes the man for all ages to come.