Arts during Spanish Colonization

 Spanish Colonial Art Period Started when Philippines was colonized by

Spaniards. They introduced formal paintings, sculpture and architecture.
Most art are religious (catholic based).
 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.
 Estampitas- small pictures of saints
 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 and estampitas
(smaller version of estampas) were distributed during town fiestas to the
natives.
 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 19th century, art was only for the church and
religious use.
Arts during Pre-Colonial Vs. Spanish
 Personally, the difference is more on the culture particularly in the religious
aspect of the Filipinos of the colonial Philippines.
 During the pre-colonial, the Filipinos then were animists. They used to
worship inanimate objects like stones, water, trees, sun, moon and other
things considered lifeless. The Filipinos then were also pagan.
 Until the arrival of the Spaniards who introduced and propagated
Christianity all over the country. They built Catholic churches in every town
and city. Most of these houses of worship still exist. Millions of Catholic
Filipinos go to these churches especially on Sundays.
Painting
 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.
 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.
Spolarium
 A painting by Filipino painter Juan Luna. Luna, working on canvas, spent
eight months completing the painting which depicts dying gladiators.
 Its theme, "Better to perish than to be slaves" is thought to have inspired
Luna to begin work on his greatest masterpiece
 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 (pampalubag loob),
commissioned him to paint The Battle at Lepanto.
 Spoliarium was a symbol of “our social, moral, and political life: humanity
unredeemed, reason and aspiration in open fight with prejudice,
fanaticism, and injustice.”
Sculpture
 It also replaced the anitos in the altars of the natives’ homes.
 Anito, refers to ancestor spirits, nature spirits, and deities in the indigenous
Philippine folk religions from the precolonial age to the present, although
the term itself may have other meanings and associations depending on the
Filipino ethnic group.
  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.
Carroza
 Processions of religious floats are one of the main activities during the
week, when Filipino Catholics commemorate the passion of Jesus Christ.
 Since some decades ago the number of carrozas, floats with one or several
wooden statues related to the Passion, has been growing exponentially.
Fiestas/Festivals
 When the first colonizers noticed the early Filipinos' love for celebrations,
they used fiestas as a way to entice the natives and to spread Chistianity.
 The colorful banderitas (flaglets), the abundant food and the carrozas
(parade floats) have all become symbolic of Filipino spirit and warmth.
Graphic Arts
 The Doctrina Christiana was an early book on the catechism of the Catholic
Church, written in 1593 by Fray Juan de Plasencia, and is believed to be one
of the earliest printed books in the Philippines.
 The title literally means “The Teachings of Christianity”, and thus the
primary goal of the book was to propagate Christian teaching across the
Philippine archipelago.