Jose Rizal's 'Josephine Sleeping' sold for over P31 million, sets new record for hero's works

Jose Rizal's sculpture of his Josephine Bracken, "Josephine Sleeping," was sold for over P31 million at Leon Gallery's Kingly Treasures Auction 2024, setting a new record for the national hero's works.

According to Lisa Nakpil of Leon Gallery, the piece had a starting price of P7 million and was sold for P31,241,600 inclusive of buyer's premium. 

The artwork surpassed the previous record of Rizal's "The Filipino" sculpture which was sold for P17,520,000 in Leon Gallery in 2018.

"If Da Vinci had his Mona Lisa, then this is Rizal's own mysterious beauty. Josephine Bracken has always been an enigma in Philippine history," Leon Gallery founder and art director Jaime Ponce de Leon said in reaction to the record-breaking bid for the piece.

The sculpture depicts Josephine with her breast part covered only by her crossed arms and lower half covered by a blanket while sleeping on what appeared like a classical Roman couch.

The sculpture was created during Rizal's exile in Dapitan and was personally signed by the hero.

Rizal met Josephine through the latter's adoptive father, George Taufer, who had come to Dapitan to seek Rizal's help to cure his blindness.

Born Marie Josephine Leopoldine Bracken, the Hong Kong-born Irish woman was Rizal's common-law wife during his exile until his execution in 1896.

Apart from Rizal's sculpture, a bust of Andres Bonifacio and the last seal of the Katipunan were among the 157 items that were auctioned at Leon Gallery's Kingly Treasures Auction 2024.