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.

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.

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 19th 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 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.