La Barca de Aqueronte

La Barca de Aqueronte

“Le Barca de Aqueronte” is one of the most significant paintings of Felix Resurreccion

Hidalgo. He introduced this painting in 1887 together with its companion entitled “Laguna

Estigia” when he was 34 years old. He received a gold medal because of these paintings and

these were shown in different exhibits and he also won a silver medal, diploma de honor, and

another gold medal. The painting La Barca de Aqueronte became Felix Hidalgo’s most awarded

work of art.

As observed in the painting, it used a neoclassic style wherein the use of dark and light

colors are combined. The painting materials were oil and canvas. In terms of the meaning of the

painting it depicts, the painting Le Barca de Aqueronte means “The Boat of Charon”. Charon is

one of the characters in Greek Mythology and he is known as the one who guides the souls in

hell through letting them ride on his boat and bringing them where they should be. Charon is like

a grim reaper who guides the souls of the dead to the path they will go in the afterlife.

In this painting, the Charon of Greek Mythology is portrayed by the figure wearing a

black cloak but it is almost unrecognizable. He is rowing the boat as seen in the painting. The

part where the Charon is placed was painted using dark colors. Going to the other side of the

painting, the naked bodies are the ones who are portrayed as the souls of the dead who are trying

to free from the boat of Charon. That side of the painting was painted using light colors contrast

to the side of Charon.

 If I am going to interpret the painting, the souls of the dead were trying to escape from the

boat maybe because they knew that they will go to the path of hell full of punishments and

torment. They were afraid of where they would be brought. Meanwhile, Charon wore his deadly

expression, even it cannot be seen in his figure but the use of dark colors can already convey that

the characteristic of Charon is horrifying. This makes the viewers see that the expression of

Charon is kind of angry or any negative emotion that may bring impact to them. But I think, the

painting is more than just Greek mythology, but it conveys a deeper meaning that the viewers

needed to think critically before it can be seen.

Observing the painting in a much deeper sense, it can be seen that the theme of helpless

and struggle that is featured in La Barca de Aqueronte also shows the struggles and the painful

hardships that the Filipinos had experienced during the Spanish regime. If interpreting this

painting compared to the sufferings of the Filipinos before, it can say that the dead souls are the

Filipino people and Charon symbolizes the Spanish government. However, this painting can still

be applied to the context of the Philippines in the current generation. Suffering that can be seen

in the painting is something that symbolizes the experiences of the Filipinos until today: poverty,

wherein those poor people seem to be deprived of opportunities to improve their quality of life;

OFWs, who sometimes experience abuse and human rights violations; and even the ordinary

Filipinos, who experience the threats in their lives because of the continuously increasing crime

rate in the Philippines.

 Even in the current generation, where the Philippine society claims that they already

attained their freedom but still cannot be freed completely by western powers, and where the

very government seems to wage war on its constituents, La Barca de Aqueronte is still very

timely. To remind the Filipinos that the journey through hell may not necessarily mean death, but

rather as something that is still present in the everyday lives of other Filipinos.

Even up to this day, the fact that the final version of La Barca Aqueronte still resides in

the Museo Nacional de Pinturas de Madrid, and not in the Philippines where it should be

rightfully placed, raises the question of why have the Philippines never tried to reclaim its

masterpieces? Repetitively, it can be observed how many of the treasures of the Philippines

belong to the other countries, not to the Filipinos. After many years of being conquered and freed

from foreign countries, why the Philippines cannot still claim what should they own? Are the

Filipinos free or are they just in the same situation with the painting of La Barca Aqueronte?