ARTS

MAPEH GRADE 9
Sir Dave Jamoles
St. Benilde School
 Letras y Figuras
• is an original manifest of the great Filipino sense
of artistic design most especially during the
colonial days.
• is an art form in which the letters of the
alphabets are painted in such a way that their
contours are formed out of the shape of human
figures, plants, animals, and quotidian objects.
• One artwork of Letras Y Figuras usually presents
an individual's name (first name, surname
"apellido", or initials) usually that of the patron.
 History of Letras Y Figuras
The earliest example so far known of the letras y figuras dates
to
1845 and this might have been painted in Manila at the time of
the genre’s inception – if it weren’t the first one. The last extant
specimens were done in the last decade of the American period,
in the 1930s. By which time, there were letras y figuras painters
all over Luzon region as suggested by specimens found in
Bulacan, Pampanga, and Laguna – examples may still turn up in
the Visayas – which shows the art form had then rooted as an
artistic exercise, if not a genuine expression of The folk.
 History of Letras Y Figuras
The earliest known painter of this genre, perhaps its inventor, is
understandably also the most celebrated practitioner of the art
Jose Honorato Lozano. He lived from about 1821 to the 1880s.
He became one of the illustrators of the magazine, La
Illustracion
del Oriente. His albums of watercolors of Philippine scenes
became one of the most sought after items among the foreign
business community. In 1995, an album of Lozano watercolors
were auctioned at Christie’s London at the starting bid of
300,000 pounds.

Continuing this great legacy is one of the Best Filipino Painter -

Alvaro Jimenez of Pampanga.