Psalm S.

Israel BSCEN – 2 GEC106-E15 MTH 1:00-2:30

ELEMENTS OF ARTS ANALYSIS

This painting entitled “The Fiesta of Angono” was created by the National Artist,
Carlos “Botong” Francisco. The painting portrays a lively festival in the town of Angono,
which was his hometown. Carlos Francisco, also known as “the poet of Angono”, was a
mural painter who created many of his artworks portraying the communal life of
Philippine gatherings and celebrations. His use of rhythmic lines, folk colors, and
decorative patterns masterfully portrayed the different practices, customs, and local
activities pertaining to the Philippine setting (Carlos "Botong" Francisco - PHILIPPINE
ART GALLERY, n.d.).

Analysis of The Fiesta of Angono

• Line
The painting consisted of various types of lines including horizontal,
vertical, diagonal, and curved lines. The way that these types of lines were
presented and created made the different forms, shapes, and geometries present
painting become realistic looking (not abstracted); because of this, the portrayal
of the people who were cooking, eating, washing the dishes, and the buildings
 such as the church and the houses can be easily identified. The different lines
were also utilized in portraying the “busyness” of the people in the fiesta.

• Color & Texture

The most abundant colors in this painting were from the combinations of red,
yellow, green, blue, and brown (Botong Francisco: The Face of Philippine Mural
Revival - Team AMORSOLO, n.d.).The different combinations of related and
contrasted color harmonies gave the painting a “lively”. “joyful”, and “energetic” vibe,
which successfully represented its theme, which is a festival; the color combinations
also gave a “relaxed” ambiance, since the colors were not too contrasted, and also
not too bland. The different shades of colors created a shadow effect, which helped
in making the figures such as the people, trees, houses, the mountain, and the sky
look more realistic.

The manipulation of colors in this painting was also very effective in creating a
sense of texture; for example, we could say that the lady on the right side of the
painting who’s washing the dishes is young because her face, as portrayed in the
painting, is smooth; on the other hand, we could say that the man with a hat on the
right side of the painting who’s holding a laddle is a middle aged man, because of
how the countours in his face was portrayed in the painting.

• Perspective & Space

The painting gives a sense of depth and distance because of how the different
components in the painting are placed relative to each other. If we would look at the
painting, it would give us a feeling that the lady washing the dishes, the man beside
the lady, and the man with the hat are the “closest to us”; while the church, people
inside the bahay kubo, and the people sitting down around the table are “farther from
us. In simpler terms, the larger the component, the nearer it is; and the smaller the
component, the farther it is from our view.
 Carlos Francisco made use of all the space that was available in this artwork.
Every part of the painting is filled with details that makes up with the whole theme
behind it. The way that the components were in a close distance with each other,
gave a sense of crowdedness which definitely aided in the theme that the painting
wants to portray, a lively Filipino festival.

• Form & Volume

How the colors were used and manipulated in this painting has been a key on
how the different components in this
painting provided a realistic feel in terms
of form and volume. For example, the
way the part of the church (encircled in
yellow) was created using different
coloring techniques made it seem like it
is very thick and has a large area and
volume. Same goes for the tree trunk
(encircled in white), and the physique of the man (encircled in black). The shading of
the color brown in the tree trunk gave it a feel that it is fairly large in diameter. How
the shading of colors was used in portraying the man gives us an idea that he has a
“bulging stomach”, or it may also be viewed that the reason why he may seem to
have a bulging stomach is just because his shirt was hanging because he is bending
facing to the ground.

Carlos Francisco’s The Fiesta of Angono masterfully represented how lively

Filipino festivals are celebrated; the exquisite use and manipulation of the different
elements present in this artwork made its theme be “experienced” and “felt” by the
audiences.
References:
Botong Francisco: The Face of Philippine Mural Revival - Team AMORSOLO. (n.d.).
Retrieved from https://teamamorsolo.wordpress.com/:
https://teamamorsolo.wordpress.com/2021/05/02/botong-francisco-the-face-of-
philippine-mural-revival/

Carlos "Botong" Francisco - PHILIPPINE ART GALLERY. (n.d.). Retrieved from

https://www.philippineartgallery.com/:
https://www.philippineartgallery.com/carlos-botong-francisco.html

Image retrieved from:

https://teamamorsolo.wordpress.com/2021/05/02/botong-francisco-the-face-of-
philippine-mural-revival/