Philippine Arts
Philippine Arts
In the last half of the 19th century, Filipino painters showed enough maturity of
concept and technique to merit critical acclaim. Damian Domingo got recognition as
the “father of Filipino painting.” Towards the end of the Spanish regime, two Filipino
painters won recognition in Europe – Felix Resurreccion Hidalgo and Juan Luna.
Hidalgo’s Antigone and Luna’sSpolarium were both acclaimed in Europe as
masterpieces of Filipino painting. In 1884, Luna won the first Gold Medal at the
Exposicion Nacional de Bellas Artes for his Spolarium. This monumental painting
shows fallen gladiators being dragged to an unseen pile of corpses in a chamber
beneath the Roman arena.
Spoliarium,Art Manila
After World War II, the Neo-Realist school of painting emerged, with such notable
members as Vicente Manansala, Hernando R. Ocampo, Victor Edades, Arturo
Rogerio Luz, Jose T. Joya, and others.
The name of Jose Joya (1931 - 1995) is synonymous to the best in Philippine abstract
expressionist art. He produced an excellent body of bold and lyrical works.
SCULPTURE
Filipino sculptors came to be known in the middle of the 19th century. Classical
Philippine sculpture reached its peak in the works of Guillermo Tolentino (1890-
1976). His best known masterpiece is the Bonifacio Monument, which is a group
sculpture composed of numerous figures massed around a central obelisk. The
principal figure is Andres Bonifacio, leader of the revolution against Spain in 1896.
Behind him stands Emilio Jacinto, the brains of the Katipunan. The Bonifacio
Monumen t - completed in 1933 -- marked the apex of Tolentino'’s career.
Bonifacio Monument
Napoleon Abueva (born 1930), one of Tolentino'’s pupils, is one of the pioneering
modernists in sculpture. He used various media. And his stylization bordered on the
abstract as inAllegorical Harpoon, in which the dominant horizantal thrust of the
figure evokes the vitality of primitive forms.
Allegorical Harpoon, Art Philippines
Abueva'’s more famous work is Fredesvinda , which was included in the First
ASEAN Sculpture Symposium held in Fort Canning Hill, Singapore, from March 27
to April 26, 1981.
Kulintang (gong-chime)
Sari-manok
MAT (BANIG)
A closer look at some of the mat traditions will show the artistry and the superb skills
of the native weavers. One example is the Samal mat, considered design-wise as one
of the most interesting traditions in the whole country. The Samals are Muslims
occupying the bigger islands in Tawi-Tawi. They are generally engaged in trade and
agriculture. The Samal mat uses the leaves of pandanus plant which grows abundantly
in the area. It has four general patterns: 1) stripes; 2) multicolored squares; 3) a
checkered pattern of white and other colors; and 4) a zigzag pattern.
Samal mat