CHAPTER

PHILIPPINE ART
4
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Learning Outcome:
At the end of the chapter, the students shall be able to:
 Demonstrate knowledge and appreciation of Filipino art through the ages
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Artistic paintings were introduced to the Filipinos in the 16th century when the Spaniards arrived
in the Philippines. During this time, the Spaniards used paintings as religious propaganda to spread
Catholicism throughout the Philippines. These paintings, appearing mostly on church walls, featured
religious figures appearing in Catholic teachings. Due to the Church's supervision of Filipino art and
Spanish occupation of the Philippines, the purpose of most paintings from the 16th-19th century were
to aid the Catholic Church

Philippine Art refers to the work of art that developed since the beginning of civilization in the
Philippines up to the present era. It reflects to the society with wide range of diverse cultural
influences and how it honed the culture and the arts of the country. Philippine Art can be referred to
visual arts, performing arts, sculptures and textiles.

This chapter covers the evolution and development of Philippine art. Topics included in this
chapter are the following:
1. Pre-colonial art
2. Colonial art
3. Indigenous arts traditions
4. Modernism
5. The National Artists

LESSON

1 PRE-COLONIAL ART
 The Pre-Colonial Period is when our indigenous ancestors inhabited the Philippines and the
time before the coming of our first colonizers. Arts in this time were for ritual purposes or everyday
use only. As local communities were established, art starts to go beyond mere craft, i.e., stone
weapons or jewelry but starts to have decorative elements, meaning, and context.

LITERATURE - It can be in written and oral form. Cave drawings and writings are the earliest forms
of written literature, and rituals, chants, and storytelling are the earliest forms of oral literature.

Angono Petroglyphs are believed to be the oldest known artworks in the Philippines.
 VISUAL ARTS - Sculpture, paintings, and pottery were
the widely known forms of visual arts in the Pre-Colonial
Period, such as the tattoos from the pintados in Panay, the
Bulul that is a wooden sculpture of the rice God of Ifugaos,
and the Manunggul burial jar that was found in Palawan.

Manunggul jar

ARCHITECTURE - Earliest Filipinos are known to be dwelling in caves.

SCULPTURE- The ancient Filipinos had attained a high artistic level through pottery, jewelry, and
wood carving.

Wooden Dolls called Anitos

MUSIC - The Ancient Filipinos had music practically for all occasions, for every phase of life,
from birth to death.
Each community has their own sets of musical instruments.
In the account of Pigafetta, the official historian of Magellan Expedition, four young
women from Cebu were harmoniously playing the native cymbals called platiles.

Bamboo Zither (Kolitong)

DANCE - They imitate the movements of animals and nature.

 LESSON

2 COLONIAL ART

A. Spanish Colonial Period (1521-1898)

When the Spaniards arrived in the Philippines in 1521, the colonizers used art as a tool to
propagate the Catholic faith through beautiful images. With communication as problem, the friars used
images to explain the concepts behind Catholicism, and to tell the stories of Christ’s life and passion.
Images of the Holy Family and the saints were introduced to the Filipino psyche through carved
santos, the via crucis (Stations of the Cross), engravings on estampas and estampitas, and through
paintings on church walls.
Though the ethnic art forms such as pottery, weaving and metalwork were retained, the
Spanish friars and the Chinese, the colony’s primary trading partner, were slowly introducing newer
art forms. Icons brought by the friars were used as models for sculpture. Filipino artisans were taught
the Chinese brushwork technique in painting. Engraving was also introduced.
The concept of patronage emerged. Artisans were commissioned and paid to carve, engrave,
and paint. They replaced the arts that were once done in a communal spirit and community setting for
rituals. The church, particularly the friars, became the new patron of the arts.
Since most art produced during the first two centuries of Spanish occupation were for the
church, the friars enforced strict supervision over their production. Until the 19 th century, art was only
for the church and religious use.
Early in the 19th century, with the opening of the Suez canal in 1869 and the development of
the agricultural export economy, native indios acquired economic wealth and became what was to be
called the “ilustrados,”meaning enlightened and educated. These developments paved the way for
Filipinos ilustrados to send their children to universities in Europe. The rise of the “ilustrado” (Filipinos
with money and education) class was inevitable. The ilustrados became the new patron of the arts.
These events paved the way for the secularization of art in the 19 th century.

A. PAINTING
The Spanish friars introduced Western painting in the Philippines to artisans who learned to
copy on two-dimensional form from the religious icons that the friars brought from Spain,. For the first
centuries of Spanish colonization, painting was limited to religious icons. Portraits of saints and of the
Holy Family became a familiar sight in churches. Other subject matters include the passion of Christ,
the Via Crucis, the crucifixion, portrayal of heaven, purgatory and hell.
 Painters from the Visayas island of Bohol were noted for their skillful manipulation of the
technique. Their paintings of saints and religious scenes show figures in frontal and static positions.
For the Boholano painters, the more important persons would be depicted bigger than the rest of the
figures. Christ normally dwarfs the Roman soldiers in these paintings. Unfortunately, they did not sign
their names on their works and no record of their names exists.
In the church in Paete, Laguna are two works by Josef Luciano Dans (1805- ca. 1870),
probably one of the earliest recorded painters in Philippine art history. Langit, Lupa at Impierno ca.
1850 (Heaven, Earth and Hell), a three-level painting which shows the Holy Trinity, Mary the Mother
of Christ, saints, the Seven Blessed Sacraments and a macabre depiction of Hell. The second
painting is entitled Purgatorio (Purgatory) which shows the eight forms of punishment the soul
passes through for cleansing before reaching Heaven.
During the early part of the Spanish occupation, painting was exclusively for the churches and
for religious purposes. Occasionally, it was also used for propaganda. Esteban Villanueva of Vigan,
Ilocos Sur depicted the Ilocos revolt against the basi monopoly in a 1821. The Spanish government
commissioned the work. The fourteen panels show the series of events that led to the crushing of the
Ilocano basi workers revolt by Spanish forces. It also showed the appearance of Halley’s comet in the
Philippines during that time.
Tagalog painters Jose Loden, Tomas Nazario and Miguel de los Reyes, did the first still life
paintings in the country. They were commissioned in 1786 by a Spanish botanist to paint the flora and
fauna found in the country.
The earliest known historical paintings in the Philippines was a mural at the Palacio Real
(Royal Palace) in Intramuros entitled The Conquest of the Batanes done in 1783. Unfortunately, it was
destroyed during the 1863 earthquake.
Secular subject matter in painting only increased during the 19 th century. With more tourists,
ilustrados and foreigners demanding souvenirs and decorations from the country, tipos del pais
developed in painting. These watercolor paintings show the different types of inhabitants in the
Philippines in their different native costumes that show their social status and occupation. It also
became an album of different native costumes. Damian Domingo y Gabor (ca. 1790-1832) was the
most popular artist who worked in this style.
In the early 19th century, the rise of the ilustrados saw a rise in the art of portraiture. The need
to adorn their newly constructed bahay-na-bato and the want to document their new found wealth and
social status, the ilustrados commissioned painters to make portraits of themselves. The works of
painters like Simon Flores,Antonio Malantic and Justiniano Ascunsion captured the intricately
designed jewelry and fashion accessories, the minuet details of the embroidered clothes, and ornately
designed domestic furniture of the patrons. The painstaking attention to minuet details characterized
miniaturismo.
Governor General Narciso Claveria in 1849 issued a decree that all Philippine natives should
assume Spanish names. Letras Y Figuras, (letters and figures), a style developed by Jose Honorato
Lozano, combines both tipos del pais and genre paintings by forming the letters of the patron’s name
from figures of people in local costumes doing everyday activities. It also utilized landscape scenes as
background.
In 1821, Damian Domingo opened the first formal fine arts school in the country in his house,
the Academia de Dibujo. Perhaps realizing his importance to Philippine art history, Damian Domingo
is known for having made the first self-portrait in the country. In 1823, the Real Sociedad Economica
Filipina de Amigos del Pais (Royal Economic Society of the Friends of the Colony) opened their own
art school. In 1826, the society offered Domingo to be the professor in their school, in effect merging
the two art schools. In 1828, Domingo was promoted to school director. Domingo must have taught
miniaturismo to his students, but a publication by the academy entitled Elementos de Perspectiva
(Elements of Perspective) suggests that he must have also taught the classical ideals of the European
academies. Due to lack of funds and probably due to Domingo’s death in 1832, the school eventually
closed in1834.
In 1850, under the Junta de Commercio, a new art school, the Academia de Dibujo y Pintura,
was opened with 70 enrollees. Enrique Nieto y Zamora, a new employee at the Post Office and a
graduate of the Academia de San Fernando in Madrid, was appointed as acting director of the
academy. Paintings by Spanish master were brought in to serve as models for the students,
propagating the European academic style of painting – using grand subject matter from classical
Greek and Roman mythologies, depicting historical scenes, and the use of chiaroscuro.
The academy was renamed Escuela de Dibujo, Pintura y Grabado in 1889. It was later
incorporated with theEscuela de Artes y Oficios in 1891. In 1893, the school of arts and trades was
separated from the academy. The academy was later elevated to the Escuela Superior de Pintura,
Escultura y Grabado.
Other subject matter became increasingly popular such as genre, landscapes (paisajes), and
bodegones (still life) with artists like Simon Flores, Lorenzo Guerrero, Felix Martinez, Paz Paterno
and her half sisterAdelaida Paterno. Flores’ two extant works, Primeras Letras and Feeding the
Chicken show the close bond between mother and child.
The academic style was still favored by the church and government and was used for
religious icons. The miniaturist style, though, was favored by ilustrado patrons and continued to
prosper.
Several Filipino painters had the chance to study and work abroad. Among them were Juan
Novicio Luna and Felix Resureccion Hidalgo who became the first international Filipino artists
when they won the gold and silver medals in the 1884 Madrid Exposition.
Luna’s academic painting Spoliarium won gold medal. It showed the dead and dying Roman
Gladiators being dragged into the basement of the Coliseum. It is often interpreted as an allusion to
Imperial Spain’s oppression of the natives. Though winning the gold medal, Luna was not awarded
the Medal of Excellence, the top award for the competition, because he was a Filipino. The King of
Spain, to assuage Luna’s feelings, commissioned him to paint The Battle at Lepanto. Hidalgo won
the silver medal for Virgenes christianas expuestas al populacho or Christian Virgins Exposed to
the Public. The feat of Luna and Hidalgo caught the attention of Dr. Jose Rizal, the Philippine’s
National Hero, that in a gathering of Filipinos in Madrid, he gave a speech praising Luna and Hidalgo
for their mastery and nationalism
In the 1892, Columbus Quadricentennial Art Contest competition sponsored by La Illustracion
Filipina, a Filipino weekly publication, a 16-year-old girl named Carmen Zaragosa won first prize for
her painting “Dos Intelligencias.” In the 1895 Esposicion Regional de Filipinas in Manila, Zaragosa
won a Cooper medal for her painting. Fourteen other women artists participated. Five of them won
Cooper medals and four won honorable mentions.

B. Sculpture
Of all the new art forms introduced, the natives took to sculpture instantly. The carving of
anito was transformed into sculpture of the saints. These santos were used primarily for the church
altars and retablos. It also replaced the anitos in the altars of the natives’ homes.
Carvings for churches include altarpieces called retablos (usually with niches for the icons),
the central point of any Catholic church. The retablo houses the tabernacle and the image of the
town’s patron saint. Usually referred to as a “cabinet of saints”, one would see a hierarchy of saints
depending on their importance to the townspeople. The patron saint would be in the middle; less
important saints would be in the periphery. The most elaborate retablos can be seen in the San
Agustin Church in Intramuros.
 Other parts of the church that may have carvings are church doors, pulpits, and carrozas
(floats that carry the saints for processions). The façade of churches may be carved from adobe, coral
stone, and volcanic rock, among others. It may have carved images of saints, floral decorations or leaf
decors. In the case of the Miag-ao Church in Iloilo, the façade is decorated with a carved image of St.
Christopher carrying the Christ Child on his shoulders under a coconut tree.
Relleves (carved images in relief) usually depict the Via Crucis. It may also show holy images
in religious scenes.
The earliest known sculptor in the Philippines is the 17 th century sacristan, sculptor and
silversmith Juan de los Santos (ca. 1590 – ca. 1660) of San Pablo, Laguna. A few of his extant
works may be found at the San Agustin Convent museum.
Except for de los Santos, carvers were anonymous artisans before the 19 th century. But in the
mid-19thcentury, with the rise of the ilustrados and the opening of the country to international trade,
higher artistic standards were demanded from the carvers/sculptors. A number of Filipinos found fame
in sculpture such asCrispulo Hocson, Romualdo de Jesus, Leoncio Asuncion and Isabelo
Tampinco.
The second half of the 19th century, as travel in and around the country considerably
improved, saw a marked increase in the demand for non-religious souvenirs. Tipos del pais (human
types of the country) sculptures, showing ordinary people doing everyday activities and wearing their
local costumes, became the favorite. They also depicted the heads of the various ethnic groups.
The inclusion of sculpture in the Academia de Pintura, Escultura y Grabado de Manila’s
curriculum in 1879 formalized training in sculpture. Known sculptors during this time were Bonifacio
Arevalo, Graciano Nepomuceno, Marcelo Nepomuceno, and Anselmo Espiritu. Philippine National
Hero Jose P. Rizal was a sculptor. He took up woodcarving lessons from Romualdo de Jesus and
Paete master carver Jose Caancan.
Paete, a small woodcarving town in Laguna, Southern Luzon, produced the finest santo
carvers during this period. The most prominent name is Mariano Madriñan who won a gold medal in
the 1883 Amsterdam Exposition for his Mater Dolorosa (Sorrowful Mother).
In 1889, the first woman student, Pelagia Mendoza y Gotianquin, was accepted in the
Academia de Dibujo Y Pintura by then Director Lorenzo Rocha. In 1892, Pelagia Mendoza won in
the 1892 Columbus Quadricentennial Art Contest with a bust of Christopher Columbus.

C. GRAPHIC ARTS
Engraving was introduced in the 1590’s by the Spanish colonizers. In 1593, the Dominicans
published the La Doctrina Christiana en la Lengua Española y Tagala (The Christian Doctrine in the
Spanish and Tagalog Language), first book printed in the country. On it was a woodcut engraving of
St. Dominic by Juan de Veyra, a Chinese convert.
The religious orders owned printing presses and printed mostly prayer books and estampas.
The estampas(prints of miraculous images) usually featured portraits of saints and religious scenes.
Estampas andestampitas (smaller version of estampas) were distributed during town fiestas to the
natives.
In the 18th century, copper etching became more popular. Filipino engravers like Francisco
Suarez, Nicolas de la Cruz Bagay, Laureano Atlas, and Felipe Sevilla were the first Filipino artists to
sign their works. And with words like “Indios Tagalo” or “Indio Filipino”, affixed their social status on
their works.
Francisco Suarez (ca. 1690 – ca. 1762) and Nicolas de la Cruz Bagay (1702 – ca. 1765)
collaborated to depict landscapes, genre scenes and flora and fauna on the borders of maps
commissioned by Fr. Murillo Velarde in 1733. These were probably the first secular images done in
the country. The two also illustrated the pasyon written by Gaspar Aquino de Belen entitled Mahal na
Passion ni Jesu Christong Panginoon Natin Na Tola (The Holy Passion of Our Lord Jesus Christ in
Verse), possibly the first pasyon written in the country.
Laureano Atlas made religious scenes and images. He did one of the earliest known portrait
engraved on copper, a portrait of Archbishop Juan Angel Rodriguez in 1743. Phelipe Sevilla depicted
scenes from the life of Christ.
Filipino engravers were the first to depict and reproduce brown madonnas. The Nuestra
Senora de Guia was made in 1711, the oldest Marian image. The natives worship this icon like an
anito.
Copperplate engraving remained popular until the introduction of a new printing medium.
Lithography was introduced and this facilitated the printing of newspapers and periodicals in the
country. It also enabled the printing of the local edition of Fr. Manuel Blanco’s Flora de Filipinas in
1878.
One of the popular newspapers during the 19 th century was La Illustracion Filipina published
by Don Jose Zaragosa. It had more than 100 issues from November 1891 to February 1895. It usually
featured lithograph prints of people, landscapes and genre scenes. Since most of the family members
know how to draw (including Carmen Zaragosa mentioned earlier), some of their works must have
been published here.

B. American Colonial Period (1898 – 1940)

From one colonizer to another – after more than three centuries of Spanish rule, the
Americans came. They set out to conquer the Filipinos through education and governance – the
public school system and a system of government.
With the establishment of public schools, there was an increase in demand for illustrations
and cartoons for books and publications. With the influx of new corporations, advertising and
commercial design were in demand and were incorporated in the curriculum of fine arts schools.
 With the arrival of the new colonial power came a shift in art patronage – from the native
ilustrados to the Americans. The new patrons, including the tourists and foreign investors, favored
landscapes, still life, and genre themes that show the beauty of the land and its people. Portraits were
still favored by the public officials, usually depicting them in dignified poses.
Everything changed with the advent of World War II in Asia with the Japanese bombing of
Pearl Harbor on December 8, 1941. It was the Japanese colonizers’ goal to place the country under
the autonomous Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere under their leadership. For the four years of
the Japanese occupation, from 1941 to 1945, the colonizers, as a means of propaganda, used the
visual arts. They produced posters, leaflets, flyers, comics, and illustrations that were dropped from
passing airplanes. These included colored drawings, watercolor, photographs, photomontages, or
calendar illustrations. They came with accompanying verses or propaganda slogans that conveyed
messages that suggested the following: cooperation between the Philippines and Japan; rejection of
Anglo- American influences; dissemination of Niponggo; appeal to the youth; and, the might of the
Japanese military.
After the devastation of World War II came the period for rebuilding. A new Republic was in
place. Different art forms emerged and became popular like printmaking. The conflict between the
conservative Amorsolo School and the Modernists continued.
 The sixties and the seventies became a period of experimentation and exploration of new
media, techniques, styles, forms of expression, and concepts in art. It also marked the increased
consciousness of visual artists to bring their art closer to the people through forms like murals, prints,
and cartoons.

A.  Painting

Classicism:

       Fabian dela Rosa (1869 – 1937) was the first painter of note for the 20th century. He was noted
for his realistic portraits, genre, and landscapes in subdued colors. He was enrolled at the Escuela de
Bellas Artes y Dibujo and took lessons from Lorenzo Guerrero.
       But it would be his nephew, Fernando Amorsolo y Cueto (1892 – 1972), who would capture the
attention of the public and the buyers. His paintings, bursting with yellow-orange and golden sunlight,
captured the Philippine landscape in all its glory. If de la Rosa’s work were of subdued, cool colors,
then Amorsolo’s landscapes are bathe in the glorious Philippine sunlight. He is the first and among
the few Filipino painters who have captured the different striking colors and character of the country’s
magnificent sunlight. Besides his landscapes, Amorsolo also idealized the rural life of the working
men and women. He depicted farmers and fisherfolks doing their work without much effort, seemingly
enjoying themselves in their arduous tasks. His depiction of the ever-smiling dalagang bukid is
another trademark. Amorsolo was able to show the ideal beauty of the Philippine landscape, the
Philippine rural life and the Filipinas.
       Painters during that time also dabbled into advertising and book design, new forms brought by
the Americans. Amorsolo made several book and magazine cover designs. He also designed for
commercial products, the most famous of which is the “Markang Demonyo” for Ginebra San Miguel, a
local alcoholic drink.
       The Americans established the University of the Philippines, the country’s State University, in
1908. The School of Fine Arts was established in 1909 with Fabian dela Rosa as its first Dean. It
would function as the local academy for art. Amorsolo, being a faculty member and subsequently as
the Dean of the U.P. School of Fine Arts from 1952 to 1955,  it was inevitable for students to emulate
the works and style of Amorsolo. Hence, the “Amorsolo School”, was born. Followers included Jorge
Pineda, Ireneo Miranda, and Toribio Herrera.
 Amorsolo had a long artistic career. Spanning for more than half a century, his influence is
still evident in some of today’s painters. He was named as the country’s first National Artist in 1972.

Modernism:
       Modernism would have its seeds planted in the 1890’s with Miguel Zaragosa’s two pointillist
works. Emilio Alvero later produced several Impressionist still life paintings. But it would take an
architect to give modernism its needed boost in the country. Juan Arellano would be known as an
architect but his Impressionist landscapes are as impressive as his buildings.
       In the 1920’s, several young painters were starting to question the Amorsolo school style that
became the standard for painting. Wanting to veer away from the aesthetic standards, they strove to
develop new idioms in expressing themselves.
       In 1928, Victorio C. Edades (1895 – 1985), fresh from a trip to the United States opened a show
at the Philippine Columbian Club in Ermita, Manila. Edades would be influenced by the 1913 Armory
Show, an exhibition of modern art at the United States. Included in this exhibition was Marcel
Duchamp’s Nude Descending the Staircase, which created quite a stir in the U.S. The Ash Can
School, a modernist group in the U.S., who chose to depict people covered with sweat and grime,
would also influence him. Edades’ work, The Builders, caused quite a controversy in 1928. Instead of
the smiling farmers and fisherfolks of Amorsolo, it depicted distorted, naked working men covered in
sweat and grime. With obvious disregard for linear perspective, the painting will be known as the first
ever Modernist painting in the country. Contrary to Amorsolo’s ever-smiling dalagang Pilipina, Edades
showed the hardship of life for the working class.
       In 1934, Edades recruited two young dropouts of the U.P. School of Fine Arts, Carlos “Botong”
V. Francisco and Galo B. Ocampo, to help him execute a mural. Together, they formed the
Triumvirate of Modern Art in the country. They produced several collaborative murals such as
Interaction. In 1938, Edades, Ocampo, and foreign-trained Diosdado Lorenzo established the Atelier
of Modern Art in Malate, Manila.
       In 1935, modernist Diosdado Lorenzo (1906 – 1984), had an exhibition of works with “moderate
distortions” at the Philippine Columbian Club. His choice of subject matter was conservative –
landscapes, nipa huts, and women. But Lorenzo discarded the idealized style of Amorsolo.
Surprisingly, some of his works were sold. The public now was slowly starting to accept modernism.
Lorenzo, a graduate of the U.P. School of Fine Arts, would continue to paint traditional subjects done
in the modernist style of strong, vigorous brushstrokes, using bright oranges and greens.
       Galo B. Ocampo (1913 – 1985), with his Brown Madonna, Filipinized Western canonical
iconography with his Brown Madonna done in 1938. The painting has a distinctly Philippine landscape
with a bahay kubo in the background, an earth colored skin Madonna wearing a patadyong, with
anahaw leaves as a halo, and a brown-skinned child – a reinterpretation of the typical European-
Western looking mother and child portrayals. His Flagellants series depict scenes of Lent, juxtaposing
images of war and penitence. Ocampo studied at the U.P. School of Fine Arts. He commissioned to
design the coat-of-arms of the Republic of the Philippines. He also served as Director of the National
Museum.
       Carlos “Botong” Francisco, (1913 – 1969), Angono-based painter, depicted Philippine history
in his “History of Manila” mural at the Manila City Hall. His trademark fluid lines and brilliant colors
filled up the entire pictorial space of the mural, defying the rules of linear perspective set by the local
academy. He is known for his depiction of important Philippine historical events such as the First
Mass at Limasawa and for his depiction of local activities such as Fiesta and Bayanihan. Francisco
studied at the U.P. School of Fine Arts but opted to teach at the UST School of Architecture and Fine
Arts together with Edades. In 1952, his mural for the First International Trade Fair held in Manila
entitled 500 Years of Philippine History was greeted with international acclaim. It was even featured in
TIME magazine. Unfortunately, it was cut up into small pieces and none remain to this day. Botong
was proclaimed as National Artist for Painting in 1973.
       Public debates were sparked by these new developments. Edades, appointed as Director of the
newly opened University of Santo Tomas Fine Arts School in 1935, would be a staunch proponent of
modernism in art, proposing that art should not only show the beautiful and ideal but also the ugly and
the real. Guillermo Tolentino, sculptor and faculty member of the U.P. School of Fine Arts, wrote that
distortion in painting is a cardinal sin. He also alluded that the works of the modernists were “ugly.”
The two parties, staunchly defending their aesthetic beliefs, exchanged strongly worded letters and
essays through the local newspapers. These provided for a lively art scene in the 1930’s and 1940’s.
       World War II halted all these developments. In response to the Japanese propaganda, according
to Dr. Alice G. Guillermo, Filipino painters reacted by producing the following works:
 paintings that may be implicitly supportive of the Japanese occupation such as Vicente
Alvarez Dizon’s A Day Begins done in 1942
 genre scenes that seem neutral such as Crispin V. Lopez’s Baguio Market made in 1943
showing Japanese soldiers interacting with women vegetable vendors
 paintings that bring out national identity such as Emilio G. Santiago’s Christmas Eve made
in 1942 which shows a traditional Filipino scene that evokes nostalgia
 paintings alluding to the social conditions of the time such as Pilar M. Santiago’s Evacuees
made in 1941,Irineo Miranda’s Home from Work made in 1944, and Simon Saulog’s
Conspiracy made in 1943 which shows a group of men in an evening meeting which suggests
to the underground anti-Japanese movement
 Amorsolo’s sketches of war scenes and his famous planting rice scenes which do not depict
any of the atrocities happening during those days
 Paintings depicting war atrocities like Demetrio Diego’s Capas, Diosdado Lorenzo’s
Atrocities in Paco andExecution at the Cemetery, and Dominador Castañeda’s Doomed
Family. All these paintings were done after the war

       After the war, the debate between the Modernists and the Conservatives, with Edades and
Tolentino as main protagonists, continued.
       The Triumvirate of Edades, Ocampo, and Francisco became the core of a group of artists
informally known as the Thirteen Moderns. The other Moderns (according to Edades’ list) were
Diosdado Lorenzo, Vicente S. Manansala, Hernando R. Ocampo, Cesar T. Legaspi, Demetrio
Diego, UST faculty members Bonifacio Cristobal (1911) and architect Jose Pardo (1916) , Arsenio
Capili (1914 – 1945) who died during the war, two student-assistants – Ricarte Purugganan (1912 –
1998 ), and Anita Magsaysay-Ho (1914), the only woman in the group.
       The Thirteen Moderns were reacting to the academic style of Luna and Hidalgo and to the sweet
style of Amorsolo. Not a formal grouping, they worked in different styles and used different media and
techniques.
       Edades, as Director of the UST Fine Arts, recruited artists like Lorenzo, Ocampo, Francisco, and
Manansala as faculty members. UST was the bastion of modern art in the country until the early
1970’s. Meanwhile, the UP School of Fine Arts continued to be conservative, with no less than
Amorsolo as its Dean in the 1950’s.
       The formation of the Art Association of the Philippines (AAP) in 1948 and the Philippine Art
Gallery (PAG) ensured the continued rise of modernism in the country. Headed by two women, Purita
Kalaw-Ledesma andLydia Arguilla, these two institutions gave modern art its much needed boost
during the post-war years.
       The AAP held annual and semiannual art competitions and exhibitions with the modernists
usually winning the top prizes. This spurred more conflict between the Modernists and the
Conservatives. To appease the two camps, the AAP decided to create two categories: one for
Conservatives and one for Modernists.
       The PAG gave the modernists a home and a venue. It eventually became a center for visual
artists and literary luminaries of the time. Writer-critic-painter Lydia Arguilla (1913-69) facilitated the
first exposure of Filipino modernists in the international art scene by organizing an exhibition of
paintings and sculptures of twenty-one Filipino artists in New York City and Washington, D.C.
       Vicente Manansala (1910 – 1981) is considered as the major proponent of Cubism in the
country. Some of his famous works include Jeepneys and Madonna of the Slums. Filling up the entire
pictorial space, Jeepneyssuccessfully conveyed the feeling of heat, pollution, noise and
claustrophobia caused by the city’s menace – traffic. Like Ocampo’s Brown Madonna, Manansala’s
Madonna of the Slum is a Filipinized mother and child. He not only indigenized the European icon, but
also placed them in the urban poor setting – the slum area. The painting shows poverty after World
War II and the uncertainty and fear felt by the mother and child. They hold each other protectively.
Manansala’s style is characterized as transparent cubism – rarely breaking down the human figures
into geometric shapes, showing different aspects of the figures through transparent planes.
       Hernando R. Ocampo (1911-1978) is a self-taught painter and a writer. His works are probably
the first purely non-representational art produced in the country. His abstract paintings are
characterized by the use of geometric and biomorphic shapes using brilliant colors of red, yellow,
green, and orange. Even the titles of his works became non-descriptive, using only numbers and
letters to indicate the year it was made. His most famous work, Genesis, depicts colored planes
forming various figures. It serves as the theater curtain for the Main Theater of the Cultural Center of
the Philippines.
       Cesar Legaspi (1917 – 1994) will be remembered for his depiction of the masses. His famous
Gadgetsshows half-naked factory workers interspersing with machine parts. Different hues of red and
orange were used to simulate the feeling of heat in factories. The workers look stoic and emaciated,
all of them going about their work in a machine-like expression. Indeed, here in Legaspi’s work, the
workers have become the gadgets.
       Demetrio Diego (1909 – 1988), an illustrator by profession, made Capas in 1948, a heart-
wrenching depiction of Filipino and American soldiers imprisoned by the Japanese at the infamous
holding site for prisoners during World War II.
       Manansala, Legaspi, and Ocampo became the Big Three in the modernist movement after the
war. Together with another modernist, Romeo Tabuena, and Anita Magsaysay-Ho, they formed the
Neo-realist group based at the PAG. Other stalwarts soon joined them such as Manuel Rodriguez
Sr., Arturo Luz, Nena Saguil, Cenon Rivera, Jose Joya, J. Elizalde Navarro, Lee Aguinaldo and
David Cortez Medalla.
       Anita Magsaysay-Ho’s works are characterized by sharply outlined figures of bandanna wearing
peasant women going about in their daily chores – running after chicken, planting, harvesting. The
women are thin, with long necks, slant eyes, and flat noses. They are definitely Filipinas. Magsaysay-
Ho is probably the first Filipina artist to gain national and international recognition.
       The works of Romeo Tabuena are characterized by simplified figures of rural landscapes,
carabaos and farmers.
       Fernando Zobel (1924-84) was an artist, critic and educator. A member of a prominent business
family, he helped numerous young and struggling artists by collecting their works when nobody else
were acquiring. His collection of modern art is now housed at the Ateneo Art Gallery, the country’s
first museum of Philippine modern art. His works include Carroza, an almost abstract depiction of a
carriage carrying the Virgin Mary, a typical scene in Philippine fiestas.
       Nena Saguil (1914-1994) moved to Paris and would continue to produce her signature works of
cellular-looking objects. Her works are filled with orbs, spheres, circles, mandalas, cells, and moons
all floating around the canvas, her very own interpretation of the cosmos.
       Jose T. Joya (1931-1995) would become the country’s foremost exponent of Abstract
Expressionism, in the tradition of the American Jackson Pollock. His exposure at the Cranbrook
Academy of Art in Michigan inspired him to create purely abstract works through the drip-painting
method popularized by Pollock but with tropical colors producing a work with Filipino sensibilities. He
also did genre and mother and child works on ceramics.
1955 was an eventful year for Philippine visual arts. The AAP Semiannual Competition and
Exhibition at the Northern Motors Showroom was marred by “The Walkout” of conservative artists.
After the opening of the exhibition, they took their entries and put up their own exhibition across the
street. It was their sign of protest for what they perceive as a bias for Modernist works in the awarding
of the Rotary Club’s Golden Anniversary Awards, all of which went to Modernists Galo B. Ocampo,
Manuel Rodriguez Sr., and Vicente Manansala. In 1959, the AAP decided to stop its practice of
awarding for two categories, perhaps realizing that there is just one standard for judging art and not
two.
       In the sixties and seventies, several young artists were now on the rise such as Bencab, Antonio
Austria, Manuel “Boy” Rodriguez Jr., Roberto Chabet, Norma Belleza, Jaime de Guzman,
Danilo Dalena, Imelda Cajipe-Endaya, Justin Nuyda, and Angelito Antonio among others. These
new generation ensured that Modernism, in particular, and Philippine painting, in general, will remain
alive and well into the next decades.

B. Sculpture
       If Amorsolo dominated Philippine painting for the first decades of the 20th century, in sculpture it
wasGuillermo Tolentino (1890-1976). Trained in the classical style in Rome, Tolentino’s
masterpieces include theOblation in the University of the Philippines and the Bonifacio Monument in
Caloocan. His Bonifacio monument is classical in execution but romantic in content. Bonifacio, holding
a bolo and a pistol, stands quietly, dignified, resolute, but defiant. He is surrounded by dynamic
figures of oppression, struggle and revolution. Here, in Tolentino’s work, Andres Bonifacio remains
strong amidst the turbulent storm of the Revolution.
       His Oblation, the symbol of the country’s premiere State University, reflects the classical ideals –
discipline, order, symmetry, and restraint. It stands naked – resolute and proud, with arms wide open
to accept knowledge and change.
       In 1973, Tolentino was named as a National Artist for Sculpture. Several sculptors followed the
standards set by Tolentino, such as Anastacio Caedo and his son Florentino.
        But it would be Tolentino’s student, Napoleon Abueva (b. 1930), who would go against the
standards, set by his teacher. Working with a variety of materials and techniques, Abueva integrated
the sculptural and functional qualities in his works. He produced highly stylized, simplified, and
eventually abstract works under the influence of Moore and Brancusi. His works sometimes contain
elements of eroticism, fun, wit, and playfulness. His Kaganapan shows a woman in the height of her
pregnancy. He did away with the traditional, idealized, voluptuous muse of classicism and replaced it
with the beauty of a woman bearing a child.
        In the sixties and seventies, several sculptors followed the modernist road set by Abueva such
asSolomon Saprid, J. Eizalde Navarro, Lamberto Hechanova, Edgar Doctor, Arturo Luz,
Eduardo Castrillo, Jerry Araos, Virginia Ty-Navarro, and Francisco Verano. Their exploration and
experimentation of different materials, techniques, styles, subject matter, and concept ensured a lively
atmosphere for sculpture in the country.
C.  Printmaking
        During the first half of the century, Filipino artists did not seem to be interested in the art of
printmaking. It was only in the early 1960’s that interest in printmaking seemed to develop in the
country. Two people were responsible for this: Manuel Rodriguez Sr. and Rodolfo Paras-Perez.
        Manuel Rodriguez Sr. (b. 1915) was given a grant by the Rockefeller Foundation to study
printmaking in New York. In 1962, he came back and decided to teach and spread the art of
printmaking to his fellow painters and students. He single-handedly taught an entire new generation of
young printmakers. He devoted so much time to teaching printmaking that he almost neglected
painting. He believed that this relatively new form could help bring art closer to the masses. He
opened Contemporary Arts Gallery in Manila, a gallery cum workshop in Manila specializing in prints.
He specialized in etching but could teach all the different techniques of printmaking. For his enormous
influence in the reemergence of printmaking in the country, he is known as the Father of Philippine
Printmaking. Some of his notable works include The Traveller and Nipa-Hut Madonna.
        Rodolfo Paras-Perez’s (b.1934) return to the Philippines in 1962 from art studies in the United
States proved to be an important boost to printmaking in the country. Unlike Rodriguez who favored
etching, Paras-Perez specialized in colored woodcut. One of his notable works is The Kiss which
shows two figures locked in a torrid embrace. Paras-Perez is also one of the country’s leading art
critic and writer having penned books on several artists like Dominador Castañeda, Galo B. Ocampo,
Vicente Manansala and Fernando Zobel. His influence on other young and aspiring printmakers was
more indirect than Rodriguez, not through workshops but through several exhibitions he had during
the sixties.
        In the late 60’s, several art schools offered printmaking. Manuel Rodriguez Sr. taught at the
Philippine Women’s University, which eventually became the unofficial center of printmaking in the
country. He was also instrumental in the formation of the Philippine Association of Printmakers. Most
of the young printmakers in the sixties were Rodriguez’s students in PWU or in his workshops. These
include Virgilio Aviado, Lucio Martinez, Lamberto Hechanova, Restituto Embuscado, Mario
Parial, Adiel Arevalo, Petite Calaguas, Emet Valente,Brenda Fajardo, Nelfa Querubin, Ivi
Avellana-Cosio, Nonon Padilla and his sons Manuel Jr., Marcelino and Ray Rodriguez.
These printmakers ensured that printmaking as an art form will not be relegated to the
sidelines of the Philippine visual arts scene

C. Japanese Colonial Period (1942 – 1945)

The arrival of the Japanese caused tremendous fear, hardships, and suffering among the
Filipinos. The Filipino way of life was greatly affected during the Japanese period. The Filipinos lost
their freedom of speech and expression. The development of art was also stopped resulting in being
the dark period of Philippine history. It is also during this period where modern art slowly penetrating
the art world. Most of the artworks depict the sentiments of artists during the war. Modern
artists emerged, such as Victorio Edades together with Carlos "Botong" Francisco and Galo
Hernandes who were considered as the "'Triumvirates" that pioneered modern arts in the country.

LESSON
INDIGENOUS ARTS
3
TRADITION
 Ethnic arts in Philippines are labors of
love and patience. The intricate carvings on
wood, metal, stone or glass are products of
skillful hands and imaginative minds.

Indigenous musical instruments like

the flute, drums, rainsticks, native guitars and
bells are made of bamboo, twigs, pebbles,
animal skin, seeds and seashells. The careful
manipulation of these materials magically
produces sounds and unique instruments
used in tribal dances and ceremonies.

The tumpong (also inci by the Maranao) is a type of Philippine bamboo flute used by the
Maguindanaon, half the size of the largest bamboo flute, the palendag.)

(Sulibaw - a hollow Igorot drum, topped with

pig skin or lizard skin.)

(Rain Sticks - simulate the sound of rainfall,

and were originally used in native ceremonies
during dry months to ask the gods for rain.)
(Karaga - is a guitar made up of bamboo where the strings are slit from the bamboo itself.)

(Tongkaling brass bells, used as an amulet or as a

musical instrument.)

The art of batik-making uses an indigenous

technology passed on from one generation to another.
Traditional crafts produce priceless masterpieces
which become a treasure.

(Batik)

Basketry is an ethnic tradition of weaving and one of the functional art of many nations. The intricate
patterns on the weaves are repeatedly done creating harmony and rhythm. Grasses and twigs are
woven to make baskets.
 CLOTH WEAVING. This is one living tradition that is
kept and preserved until the present. Existed since the
pre-colonial times, this art done by the Cordillera tribes
from the North is still being done even though a threat of
more practical and convenient mass production of cloth
is already discovered. To make this, a back strap loom is
being used by the natives in order to create a very well-
done product purely made of their hands. One example
is the Pinya Cloth of Antique, a fragile and superb hand
woven cloth made of fibers that can be extracted from
the leaves of a pineapple plant. The Philippine national
costume for men, Barong Tagalog, is a famous product
out of Pineapple cloth.
(Ata Talaingod Liyang Basket Weaving)

Pottery is another ethnic tradition

commonly practiced by Asians.
Pottery originated from the Chinese.
They make the best porcelain in the
Asian region.

(Vigan
Pottery, Ilocos Sur, Philippines)

Carving is another form common

to Filipino people. Japanese
sculptural works focus on the
image of Buddha. The Chinese
and Koreans are the roots of its
artistic influence. Japanese used
clay, bronze and lacquer in
making statues.

(Banaue Wood Carving Souvenirs)

Metalworks have intricated and intriguing designs among

Asian metal crafts. The iron-tipped spears were used in
hunting and warfare. Metalworks also include jewelry like
neckpieces, anklets and bracelets. Each metal piece is
etched with geometric motifs.

(Anklet from the Bagobo, Mindanao)

 LESSON

4 MODERNISM

The history of Modern Philippine art is marked by the conflict between the rules and views of
the Academy and the innovative methods of the Modernists. The Academic style was established
during the Spanish colonial period and followed the rules of the Spanish, Italian and French
Academies. When they first arrived in the Philippines in the early 16th century the Spaniards did so
with the primary intention of spreading the Catholic faith. As a result, religious art and the creation of
icons were strongly encouraged. By late 19th century Neo-Classicism and Realism became the norm.
A turning point was the emergence of the “13 Modernists” group which included artists who
had received their education abroad where they had meet various new and experimental styles. They
argued that the official art was too photographic and relied too much on the exactness of
representation which led to rigidness and lack of originality. The Academy stroke back by framing the
Modernists as charlatans who made shocking and controversial artworks to mask “their lack of skills”.
The terms modernism and modern art are generally used to describe the succession of art
movements that critics and historians have identified since the realism of Gustav Courbet and
culminating in abstract art and its developments in the 1960s.
Although many different styles are encompassed by the term, there are certain underlying
principles that define modernist art: A rejection of history and conservative values (such as realistic
depiction of subjects); innovation and experimentation with form (the shapes, colours and lines that
make up the work) with a tendency to abstraction; and an emphasis on materials, techniques and
processes. Modernism has also been driven by various social and political agendas. These were
often utopian, and modernism was in general associated with ideal visions of human life and society
and a belief in progress.

Modernist in Painting
Miguel Zaragosa’s two pointillist works in 1890’s already had a
touch of modernism in it but Emilio Alverio who is first noted for
Impressionist still life paintings, as well as Juan Areliano’s
Impressionist landscapes.
Triumvirate of Modern Art in the Philippines- includes Victorio
C. Edades, Carlos Botong Francisco and Galo B. Ocampo El Violinist
Which produced collaborative murals like the Interaction.
Victorio C. Edades – was the first among those who
questioned the Amorsolo style as the standard for painting.
Influenced by the modern art technique in the United States, he
opened a show at the Philippine Columbian Club in Ermita

Manila which featured Marchel

Duchump’s Nude Descending
the Staircase. Instead of smiling
farmers, fisherfolks or
“dalagang bukid” he chose to
portray them naked covered
with sweat and grime in his
 famous work “The Builders” in 1928. This is considered as the first modernist painting in the
Philippines.

The Builders

Galo O. Ocampo (1913-1985) – is

popular for his Brown Madonna made in
1938 which is a Filipinized mother and
child portrayal. He is famous for his
Flagellant series which depicts scenes
during the Lenten season as period of
war and penitence. He was
commissioned to make the “coat-of-
arms” of the Republic of the Philippines
and served as the director of the National Museum.

Brown Madonna

Carlos “Botong” Francisco (1913 -

1969) – an Angono based painter who
is known on the use of fluid lines and
brilliant colors. The same technique
employed in the mural at the Manila City
Hall entitles “History of Manila”. The
highlight of his career aside from
claiming the National Artist Award in
1973 was when his mural entitled “500
years of Philippine History” was featured
“500 years of Philippine History”
in Time Magazine.

Diosdado Lorenzo (1906-1984) – is known for

his illustration of conservative subject like

landscapes, nipa huts and women but done in
modernist’s strong, vigorous brushstrokes and
with the use of bright green and oranges. His
first attempt was an exhibition in 1938 at the
Philippine Columbian Club.

Ilog ng Cabiao
 Response to the Japanese Occupation and War Propaganda Art – the progressive fruits of the
conflict between classicism and modernism in the Philippines was temporarily halted by the Japanese
occupation wherein almost all artistic endeavors were controlled by the imperial army.

Thirteen Moderns
Led by Edades, Ocampo and Francisco which also includes Diosdado Lorenzo, Vicente S.
Manansala, Hernando R. Ocampo, Cesar T. Legazpi, Dementrio Diego, UST faculty members
Bonifacio Cristobal (1911) and architect Jose Pardo (1916), Arsenio Capili (1914-1945) who dies
during the war, two student-assistants – Ricarte Purungganan (1912-1998), and Anita Magsaysay-Ho
(1914).

Vicente

Manansala (1910-1981) – is
considered as the major proponent
of Cubism in the country and his Jeepneys and Madonna of the
Slums best represents his style.

Jeepneys
Madonna of the Slums

Hernando R. Ocampo (1911-1978) – produced the

“first” pure non-representational artwork in the
country, and his abstract work is nor produced by a
formal training for he was self-taught. His famous
work Genesis serves as the theatre curtain of the
Main Theater of CCP.

Genesis
 Cesar Legazpi (1917-1994) – is always remembered for his
illustration and representation of Filipino masses. One great works
includes ‘Gadgets” which present half naked factory workers.

Gadgets

Demetrio Diego (1909-1988) – is a comic

illustrator by profession who is famous for his
presentation of the sufferings of Filipino and
American soldiers in the infamous prison
camp in Capas Tarlac.

Anita Magsaysay-
Ho’s (1914-2012) –
is the first Filipina to
win national and
international
recognition for her
works which rural
folk women doing
daily chores are
presented thin, with
long necks, slant eyes and flat noses which is a typical
Filipina.

Modernist in Sculpture

Napoleon Abueva (b.1930) – he went against the standard

of classicist Tolentino and worked with variety of materials
and techniques. Some of his works are noted for its
stylized, simplified, and later abstraction which is argued to
be influenced by Moore and Brancusi. His “Kaganapan” is
one of the best examples of his style which depicts a
woman at the height of pregnancy.
 LESSON

5 THE NATIONAL ARTISTS Kaganapan

The order of National Artists of the Philippines is an order bestowed by the Philippines on
Filipinos who have made significant contributions to the development of Philippine art. Originally
instituted as an award, it was elevated to the status of an order in 2003.
The order of the highest state honor is conferred on individuals deemed as having done much
for their artistic field. Deserving individuals, must have been recommended by both the Cultural
Center and the National Commission for Culture and the Arts prior to receiving the award. Such
people are then titled, by virtue of a Presidential Proclamation, as National Artist (Gawad
Pambansang Alagad ng Sining), and are inducted into the Order.

National Artists for Painting

 Fernando Amorsolo
 Born May 30, 1892, in the Paco
district of Manila. At 13 he was
apprenticed to the noted
Philippine artist Fabian de la
Rosa, his mother's first cousin.
  During this period, Amorsolo developed the use of light—actually,
backlight—which is his
greatest contribution to
Philippine painting.
Characteristically, an
Amorsolo painting
contains a glow against
which the figures are
outlined, and at one
point of the canvas
there is generally a
burst of light that
highlights the smallest
detail.
 During the 1920s and 1930s Amorsolo's output of
paintings was prodigious. In 1939 his oil Afternoon Meal of the Rice Workers won first prize at
the New York World's Fair. Afternoon Meal of the Rice Workers
 The Philippine collector Don Alfonso Ongpin commissioned him to execute a portrait in
absentia of Gen. Douglas MacArthur, which he did at great personal risk.

 Carlos “Botong” Francisco

 Born in Angono,
Rizal in 1912,
Carlos “Botong”

Francisco studied at the University of the Philippines

School of Fine Arts under the tutelage of portraitist and
genre painter Fabian de la Rosa.
 In 1938, he pioneered as an instructor at the newly
established University of Santo Tomas School of
Architecture and Fine Arts.
 National Artist for Visual Arts Carlos “Botong” Francisco is considered one of the Philippines’
most distinguished muralists. He created enormous canvasses that chronicled the mythical
world of the Filipino and its history, often seeking inspiration from tradition, folklore, myths,
legends, and customs. 

 J. Elizalde Navarro 
Harana
 Was born in 1924 in Antique,
Philippines. He came to
Manila when he won a one-
year scholarship at the
 School of Fine Arts of the University of the Philippines. He
finished his degree of Bachelor of Fine Arts major in painting at
the University of Santo Tomas in 1951.
 His first solo exhibit at the Philippine Art Gallery in 1954
consisted of woodcuts and construction pieces of mixed media,
using metal, wood and other found objects.
 In the late 1970’s, he chose to work as a full-time painter and sculptor.
 In 1989, he became the first Filipino artist to be represented at the Yayasan Dharma Seni
Museum Neka in Bali, Indonesia.
The Gold of their Bodies
 J. Elizalde Navarro was given the National Artist award for
Visual Arts in 1999. His career spans more than 50 years of painting, sculpting and other
forms of visual art.

National Artists for Visual Arts

 Hernando R. Ocampo 
 A self-taught painter, he was a leading member of the pre-war
Thirteen Moderns, the group that charted the course of
modern art in the Philippines. His works provided an
understanding and awareness of the harsh social realities in
the country immediately after the Second World War and
contributed significantly to the rise of the nationalist spirit in
the post-war era.
 It was, however, his abstract works that left an indelible mark
on Philippine modern art. His canvases evoked the lush
Philippine landscape,
its flora and fauna,
under the sun and
rain in fierce and bold
colors. He also
played a pivotal role
in sustaining the
Philippine Art Gallery,
the country’s first.
 Ocampo’s
acknowledged masterpiece Genesis served as the basis of
the curtain design of the Cultural Center of the Philippines
Main Theater. His other major works include Ina ng
Balon, Calvary, Slum Dwellers, Nude with Candle and
Flower, Man and Carabao, Angel’s Kiss, Palayok at Kalan,
Ancestors, Isda at
Man and Carabao Mangga, The
Resurrection, Fifty-three
“Q”, Backdrop, Fiesta.

 Arturo Luz
  Painter, sculptor, and designer for more than 40 years,
created masterpieces that exemplify an ideal of sublime
austerity in expression and form.
 From the Carnival series of the late 1950s to the recent
Cyclist paintings, Luz produced works that elevated
Filipino aesthetic vision to new heights of sophisticated
simplicity.
 By establishing the Luz Gallery that professionalized the
art gallery as an institution and set a prestigious
influence over
generations
of Filipino
artists, Luz
inspired and
developed a
Filipino
artistic
community
that nurtures
impeccable
designs.
 Among his
other significant paintings are Bagong Taon, Vendador
de Flores, Skipping Rope, Candle
Vendors, Procession, Self-Portrait, Night Glows, Grand
Finale, Cities of the Past, Imaginary Landscapes. His
mural painting Black and White is displayed in the lobby
of the CCP’s Bulwagang Carlos V. Francisco (Little
Theater). His sculpture of a stainless-steel cube is
located in front of the Benguet Mining Corporation
Building in Pasig.

Bagong Taon

 Ang Kiukok 
 Born to immigrant Chinese parents Vicente Ang
and Chin Lim, Ang Kiukok is one of the most vital
and dynamic figures who emerged during the
60s. As one of those who came at the heels of the
pioneering modernists during that decade, Ang
Kiukok blazed a formal and iconographic path of his
own through expressionistic works of high visual
impact and compelling meaning.
 He crystallized in vivid, cubistic figures the terror
and angst of the times. Shaped in the furnace of the
political turmoil of those times, Ang Kiukok pursued
an expression imbued with nationalist fervor and
sociological agenda.
 Some of his works include Geometric
Landscape (1969); Pieta, which won for him the
 bronze medal in the 1st International Art Exhibition held in Saigon (1962); and the Seated
Figure (1979), auctioned at Sotheby’s in Singapore.
 His works can be found in many major art collections, among them the Cultural Center of
the Philippines, National Historical Museum of Taipei, and the National Museum in
Singapore. Ang Kiukok died on May 9, 2005
Geometric Landscapes
 Jose Joya 











A painter and multimedia artist who distinguished himself by creating an authentic Filipino
abstract idiom that transcended foreign
influences. Most of Joya’s paintings of
harmonious colors were inspired by Philippine
landscapes, such as green rice paddies and
golden fields of harvest.
 His use of rice paper in collages placed value on transparency, a common characteristic of
folk art. The curvilinear forms of his paintings often recall the colorful and multilayered
‘kiping’ of the Pahiyas festival. His important mandala series was also drawn from Asian
aesthetic forms and concepts. 
 He espoused the value of kinetic energy and spontaneity in painting which became
significant artistic values in Philippine art. His paintings clearly show his mastery of ‘gestural
paintings’ where the paint is applied intuitively and spontaneously, in broad brush strokes,
using brushes or spatula or is directly squeezed from the tube and splashed across the
canvas. 
 His 1958 landmark painting Granadean
Arabesque, a work on canvas big enough to
be called a mural, features swipes and gobs
of impasto and sand. The choice of Joya to
represent the Philippines in the 1964 Venice
Biennial itself represents a high peak in the
rise of modern art in the country.
 Joya also led the way for younger artists in
bringing out the potentials of multimedia. He
designed and painted on ceramic vessels,
plates, and tiles, and stimulated regional Granadean Arabesque
workshops. He also did work in the graphic
arts, particularly in printmaking.
 His legacy is undeniably a large body of work of consistent excellence which has won the
admiration of artists both in the local and international scene. Among them are his
compositions Beethoven Listening to the Blues, and Space Transfiguration, and other
works like Hills of Nikko, Abstraction,  Dimension of Fear, Naiad, Torogan, Cityscape.

 Benedicto R. Cabrera
  Who signs his paintings
“Bencab,” upheld the
primacy of drawing over
the decorative color.
Bencab started his career
in the mid-sixties as a
lyrical expressionist.
 His solitary figures of scavengers emerging from a dark landscape
were piercing stabs at the social conscience of a people long inured
to poverty and dereliction. Bencab, who was born in Malabon, has
christened the emblematic scavenger figure “Sabel.” For Bencab,
Sabel is a melancholic symbol of dislocation, despair, and isolation–
the personification of human dignity threatened by life’s vicissitudes,
and the vast inequities of Philippine society*
 Bencab’s exploration of form, finding his way out of the late neo- Sabel
realism and high abstraction of the sixties to be able to reconsider
the potency of figurative expression had held out vital options for Philippine art in the Martial
Law years in the seventies through the contemporary era.

 Abdulmari Asia Imao 

 A native of Sulu, Abdulmari Asia Imao is a
sculptor, painter, photographer, ceramist,
documentary filmmaker, cultural researcher,
writer, and articulator of Philippine Muslim art
and culture. 
 Through his works, the indigenous ukkil,
sarimanok and naga motifs have been
popularized and instilled in the consciousness
of the Filipino nation and other peoples as original
Filipino creations. His U.P. art education
introduced him to Filipino masters like Guillermo
Tolentino and Napoleon Abueva, who were among
his mentors.
 With his large-scale sculptures and monuments of
Muslim and regional heroes and leaders gracing
selected sites from Batanes to Tawi-tawi, Imao has
helped develop among cultural groups trust and
confidence necessary for the building of a more
just and humane society. Sarimanok
 Selected works: Industry Brass Mural, Philippine National Bank, San Fernando, La Union
Mural Relief on Filmmaking, Manila City Hall Industrial Mural, Central Bank of the Philippines,
San Fernando, La Union Sulu Warriors (statues of Panglima Unaid and Captain Abdurahim
Imao), 6 ft., Sulu Provincial Capitol

 Francisco Coching
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 A
cknowledged as the “Dean of Filipino Illustrators”
and son of noted Tagalog novelist and comics
illustrator Gregorio Coching, Francisco Coching
was a master storyteller ― in images and in
print.
 His illustrations and novels were products of that
happy combination of fertile imagination, tgbdfca
love of storytelling, and fine draftsmanship. He
synthesized images and stories informing
Philippine folk and popular imagination of
culture. His career spanned four decades.
 Starting his career in 1934, he was a central force in the formation of the popular art form of
comics. He was a part of the golden age of Filipino comics in the ’50s and ’60s. Until his
early retirement in 1973, Coching mesmerized the comics-reading public as well as his
fellow artists, cartoonists, and writers.
 The source of his imagery can be traced to the Philippine culture from the 19th century to
the 1960s. His works reflected the dynamics brought about by the racial and class conflict in
Philippine colonial society in the 19th century, a theme that continued to be dealt with for a
long time in Philippine cinema. He valorized the indigenous, untrammeled Filipino in Lapu-
Lapu and Sagisag ng Lahing Pilipino, and created the types that affirm the native sense of
self in his Malay heroes of stunning physique.
 His women are beautiful and gentle, but at the same time can be warrior-like, as in Marabini
(Marahas na Binibini) or the strong seductive, modern women of his comics in the 50s and
60s.
 There are myths and fantasy, too, featuring
the grotesque characters, vampire bats,
shriveled witches, as in Haring Ulopong. Yet,
Coching grounded his works too in the
experience of war during the Japanese
occupation, he was a guerilla of the
Kamagong Unit, Las Pinas branch of the
ROTC hunters in the Philippines.
 He also drew from the popular post-war
culture of the 50s, as seen in Movie Fan. At
this point, his settings and characters became El Vibora
more urbane, and the narratives he weaved
scanned the changing times and mores, as in Pusakal, Talipandas, Gigolo, and Maldita.
  In his characters and storylines, Coching brings to popular consciousness the issues
concerning race and identity. He also discussed in his works the concept of the hero, which
resonate through the characters on his comics like in Dimasalang and El Vibora.
 He also left a lasting influence on the succeeding generations of younger cartoonists such
as Larry Alcala, Ben Infante, and Nestor Redondo. The comics as popular art also helped
forge the practice and consciousness as a national language.

National Artists for Architecture

 Juan F. Nakpil
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Architect, teacher, and civic leader is a pioneer
and innovator in Philippine architecture. In
essence, Nakpil’s greatest contribution is his
belief that there is such a thing as Philippine
Architecture, espousing architecture reflective of
Philippine traditions and culture.
 It is also largely due to his zealous
representation and efforts that private Filipino
architects and engineers, by law, are now able to
participate in the design and execution of

government projects.
 He has integrated strength, function, and beauty in the buildings that are the country’s
heritage today. He designed the 1937 International Eucharistic Congress altar and rebuilt
and enlarged the Quiapo Church in 1930 adding a dome and a second belfry to the original
design.
 Among others, Nakpil’s major works are the Geronimo delos Reyes Building, Magsaysay
Building, Rizal Theater, Capitol Theater, Captain Pepe Building, Manila Jockey Club, Rufino
Building, Philippine Village Hotel, University
Geronimo de los Reyes Building
 of the Philippines Administration and University Library, and the reconstructed Rizal
house in Calamba, Laguna.

 Leandro V. Locsin
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Reshaped the urban landscape with a distinctive architecture reflective of Philippine Art and
Culture. He believes that the true Philippine
Architecture is “the product of two great
streams of culture, the oriental and the
occidental… to produce a new object of
profound harmony.” It is this synthesis that
underlies all his works, with his achievements
in concrete reflecting his mastery of space and
scale.
 Every Locsin Building is an original, and identifiable as a Locsin with themes of floating
volume, the duality of light and heavy, buoyant and massive running in his major works.
From 1955 to 1994, Locsin has produced 75 residences and 88 buildings, including 11
churches and chapels, 23 public buildings, 48 commercial buildings, six major hotels, and
an airport terminal building.

 Locsin’s largest single work is the Istana Nurul

Iman, the palace of the Sultan of Brunei, which
has a floor area of 2.2 million square feet. 
 The CCP Complex itself is a virtual Locsin
Complex with all five buildings designed by him
— the Cultural Center of the Philippines, Folk
Arts Theater, Philippine International
Convention Center, Philcite and The Westin
Hotel (now Sofitel Philippine Plaza). Geronimo
de los Reyes Building Istana Nurul Iman

 Ildefonso Paez Santos, Jr.

 Distinguished himself by pioneering the practice
of landscape architecture–an allied field of
architecture–in the Philippines and then
producing four decades of exemplary and
engaging work that has included hundreds of
parks, plazas, gardens, and a wide range of
outdoor settings that have enhanced
contemporary Filipino life.
  Sa
nto
s,
Jr.,

who grew up in Malabon, made his first mark with

the Makati Commercial Center where he introduced
a new concept of outdoor shopping with landscaped
walks, fountains and sculptures as accents. Santos,
Jr.’s contribution to modern Filipino landscape
architecture was the seminal public landscape in
Paco Park.
 Santos, Jr.’s most recent projects were
the Tagaytay Highland Resort, the Mt. Malarayat
Golf and Country Club in Lipa, Batangas, and
Tagaytay Highland Resort
the Orchard Golf and Country Club in Imus, Cavite.

 José María V. Zaragoza

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Zaragoza’s name is synonymous to modern ecclesiastical architecture. Notwithstanding his
affinity to liturgical structures, he greatly
excelled in secular works: 36 office buildings, 4
hotels, 2, hospitals, 5 low-cost and middle-
income housing projects; and more than 270
residences – all demonstrating his typological
versatility and his mastery of modernist
architectural vocabulary.
 Zaragoza graduated from the University of Santo Tomas in
Manila in 1936, passing the licensure examinations in 1938 to
become the 82nd architect of the Philippines.
 With growing interest in specializing in religious architecture,
Zaragoza also studied at International Institute of Liturgical Art
(IILA) in Rome in the late 1950s, where he obtained a diploma
in liturgical art and architecture. His training in Rome resulted in
innovative approaches, setting new standards for the design of
mid-century Catholic churches in the Philippines.
  His prolificacy in designing religious edifices was reflected in his body of work that was
predominated by about 45 churches and religious centers, including the Santo Domingo
Church, Our Lady of Rosary in Tala, Don Bosco Church, the Convent of the Pink Sisters, the
San Beda Convent, Villa San Miguel, Pius XII Center, the Union Church, and the controversial
restoration of the Quiapo Church, among others.
Sto. Domingo Church (Quezon
 Zaragoza is a pillar of modern architecture in the Philippines City)
buttressed by a half-century career that produced ecclesiastical edifices and structures of
modernity in the service of God and humanity.
 Major Works: Meralco Building (Pasig Cty), Sto. Domingo Church and Convent (Quezon
City), Metropolitan Cathedral of Cebu City, Villa San Miguel, Mandaluyong.

National Artist for Sculpture

 Guillermo Estrella Tolentino
 A

product of the Revival period in Philippine art.

Returning from Europe (where he was enrolled at the
Royal Academy of Fine Arts, Rome) in 1925, he was
appointed as professor at the UP School of Fine Arts
where the idea also of executing a monument for
national heroes struck him.
 The result was the UP Oblation that became the
symbol of freedom at the campus. Acknowledged as
his masterpiece and completed in 1933, The
Bonifacio Monument in Caloocan stands as an
enduring symbol of the Filipinos’ cry for freedom.

 Ot
her

works include the bronze figures of President

Quezon at Quezon Memorial, life-size busts
of Jose Rizal at UP and UE, marble statue
of Ramon Magsaysay in GSIS Building;
 granolithics of heroic statues representing
education, medicine, forestry, veterinary science,
fine arts and music at UP.

 He also designed the gold and bronze medals for

the Ramon Magsaysay Award and did the seal of
the Republic of the Philippines.
Bonifacio Monument in Caloocan

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References:
 Crisanto, R., and Mendoza, J.,(2013). Art appreciation: Introductory reading on humanities
focus on Philippine art scene
 Stancheva, Y., (2017). Art independence magazine. Retrieved from
https://www.artdependence.com/articles/five-classics-of-modern-philippine-art/
 https://ncca.gov.ph/about-culture-and-arts/culture-profile/national-artists-of-the-philippines
 https://biography.yourdictionary.com/fernando-amorsolo
 https://mercierart.wordpress.com/j-elizalde-navarro-a-brief-bio/
 https://yuchengcomuseum.org/up-close-and-personal-botong-francisco-through-lenses-and-
letters/
 https://www.tate.org.uk/art/art-terms/m/modernism
 https://www.slideshare.net/ChristianPark12/painting-in-the-philippines-during-the-modern-
periods
 https://www.preceden.com/timelines/667670-history-of-philippine-art
 https://steemit.com/traditional/@lapilipinas/philippines-ethnic-art-and-crafts
 https://ncca.gov.ph/about-ncca-3/subcommissions/subcommission-on-the-arts-sca/visual-arts/
the-spanish-colonial-tradition-in-philippine-visual-arts/
 https://ncca.gov.ph/about-ncca-3/subcommissions/subcommission-on-the-arts-sca/visual-arts/
the-american-and-contemporary-traditions-in-philippine-visual-arts/
 https://prezi.com/zccmgq8w8_p7/timeline-of-the-development-of-philippine-art/?
frame=41e21b32a7dc382d4ad8469192c259f9c4da5756

_________________________________________________________________________

STUDENT ACTIVITY

Name: ______________________________________ Date: __________________

=========================== =========================

Activity 1 (15pts)
What do you think is the current trend of the Philippine Visual Arts, Painting, Architecture and
Sculpture? Is there still a hope for the artists to achieve national identity and be source of pride among
ordinary Filipinos? How can you help to achieve the aspiration?
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Activity 2
Matching Type: Match category A to category B and write the letter of the correct answer before the
number.
A B

__1.Fernando Amorsolo a. Seated Figure

__2. Hernando R. Ocampo b. Dimension of Fear
__3. Ang kiukok c. Sarimanok
__4. Benedicto Cabrera d. Sabel
__5. Arturo Luz e. Dimasalang
__6. Carlos V. Francisco f. Afternoon Meal of the Rice Workers
__7. Francisco Coching g. Captain Pepe Building
__8. Ildefonso Paez Santos Jr. h. Cultural Center of the Philippines
__9. Jose Maria Zaragoza i. Angel’s Kiss
__10. Guillermo Estrella Tolentino j. UP Oblation
__11. J. Elizalde Navarro k. Metropolitan Cathedral of Cebu City
__12. Leandro V. Locsin l. Skipping Rope
__13. Juan F. Nakpil m. Harana
__14. Abdulman Asia Imao n. Orchard Golf and Country Club
__15. Jose Joya o. The Gold of their Bodies