NAME: Bermejo, Albert Basil R.

COURSE: BCAE – III A

SUBECT: SPEC AA1 (Art Apprenticeship)
SCHEDULE: M-W (10:30am – 12:00nn)

Carlos “Botong” Francisco (1912 - 1969)

Francisco studied at the University of the Philippines School of Fine Arts.  Francisco
was also a member of the “Thirteen Moderns,” a group formed in 1938.  He belonged to
the first generation of Philippine modernists, with Edades and Galo B. Ocampo,
who pioneered the directional shift of Philippine art from the Amorsolo school to the
emerging Modern art movement.

Camote Diggers by Carlos “Botong” Francisco

According to historian and curator Ambeth Ocampo, the digging of the old woman along with the
young man, which he says could possibly be her son, is a commentary on the plight of the poor.
Ocampo adds that the red, white, and blue in the background is meant to represent
the Philippine flag, an allusion to "our sad republic, then and now".

My interpretation of this painting is pretty much the same as the painters. Even now, in the
present, there are still people in the Philippines who are suffering from poverty, and are
forced to toil, harder than most, for them to survive a single day. While those in power and
those who are well off take their fortune for granted, just being blissfully ignorant to the plight
of their poor Filipino brethren, and choose not to help those in need. It is truly sad that Carlos
Francisco died before finishing this masterpiece, how much more beautiful and impactful
would it have been if he had finished this painting? It is truly a shame.