Sollegue, Maja Angela Victoria T. Asst. Prof. May Lyn L.

Cruz
TFA 166 Colonial Arts in the Phils. April 16, 2021

WEEKLY LEARNING LOG

Week: 4 Topic: Secular Art

Before learning about this topic, I thought that Philippine secular art is only within the realm of the art
academies. Most artworks I knew that were created within this timeline are largely portrait and historical
paintings by well-known artists like Juan Luna. Moreover, I thought that since most painters received formal
training in the Western classical, they were in sync with the styles in Europe.

Now I know that Philippine secular art extends to other forms such as miniaturismo, Tipos Del Pais, and
Scientific Plates. Although I have prior knowledge on Letras y Figuras, I only just realized its true
significance. I only recently discovered that this new form of painting was made possible by the honed skills
from the miniaturismo. Also, it not only visually represents the patron’s life; it also gives the viewer clues on
the scenes of Philippine colonial society or simply its social milieu. It fascinates me that one of the fruits in
the painting ceases to exist in our local markets and that even foreigners were patrons of this art form.
Moreover, I’ve come to realize and appreciate artists of this time who were based in the Philippines for
majority of their life. Artists like Lozano, Damian, and the like have a better grasp of what Philippine society
looked like. This helps give us a more nationalist perspective and position when examining the past.

However, I still have questions about more on the nuances in Hispanic colonial art in the early to late 19th
century. For instance, I wonder about Philippine secular art in the context of the 1896 Philippine Revolution.
Professor Alice Guillermo has looked into the politics of the paintings of Juan Luna who was associated
with the Propagandists. She even labels Luna as a social realist painter. I wonder if there were other artists,
specifically centered in the provinces, who created social realist art. Furthermore, I would like to read more
about Filipino women artists of this time too. On one hand, I am very much intrigued with cultural materials
preservation largely because of how historically rich paintings are on mere basis of materials.

As an artist, I think this topic is highly essential because the skills we can acquire by historicizing Hispanic
colonial art can and should be applied in understanding, consuming and critiquing contemporary artworks,
which majority are also secular in nature. With the absence of mysticality in art brought about by religious
beliefs, politics is more apparent in these types of work regardless of their place in the historical timeline.
We must be reminded that even the works that simply document exotic plants (scientific plates) or a sitter
(portrait paintings) are already value-laden. Applying class analysis while historicizing art will lead us to a
more holistic yet sharper understanding of not only art but also artists and art history.