SUBADE , Iyarra Sheine T.

A24

Art Critique
on
The Oblation

by Guillermo Tolentino
I. The Oblation is created in 1973 by the national artist Guillermo Tolentino.
It is a concrete statue, which serves as the emblematic symbol of the
University of the Philippines. It depicts a man facing upward with
outstretched arms, symbolizing the selfless offering of himself to his union.
The notion of the oblation was first conceived during Rafael Palma's
presidency, which ordered the sculpture to Tolentino. Palma called for the
statue to draw on the second verse of Mi Ultimo Adios of Rizal. The
sculpture is 3,5 meters in height, representing the 333 years of Spanish
rule in the Philippines. It is full of references to selfless devotion and
service to the country, and Tolentino himself describes it as bronze.

The perception of Tolentino in Rizal’s stanza is the completed naked figure

of a young man with his outstretched arms and open hands, tilt head,
closed eyes and divided lips murmuring a prayer .

II.