I had been searching everywhere for this painting after seeing it reproduced in a magazine, and at one point I even wondered whether it had been generated by AI. While browsing a catalogue at the Museo Nacional Thyssen-Bornemisza in Madrid, I discovered that it does indeed exist. It offers a remarkable view of Manila and is one of the relatively few surviving mid-nineteenth-century paintings of the city and the Pasig River. It is also a rare example of a foreign view of Manila rendered through the conventions of Academic Romanticism and costumbrismo. While the painting participates in the visual language of Orientalism, its incorporation of the locally developed mode of representation, together with its attention to the city’s urban fabric and social diversity, complicates a straightforward Orientalist reading.

The foreground shows people engaged in everyday activities such as haircutting and ear cleaning, smoking tobacco, carrying goods, and conversing. Such images may remind Manileños of the locally developed tradition of tipos del país. A cargo casco, the characteristic freight vessel of the Pasig River, occupies the center of the composition.

Among the landmarks that can be clearly identified are the Puente de España, Manila Cathedral, Sta. Cruz Church, and the Fuerza de Santiago.