What is Philippine Art?

The art of the Philippines refers to the works of art that have developed and accumulated in
the Philippines from the beginning of civilization in the country up to the present era. Philippine art
reflects to its society and non-Filipinos the wide range of cultural influences on the country's culture and
how these influences honed the country's arts. The art of the Philippines can be divided into two distinct
branches, namely, traditional arts, and non-traditional arts.

Western Trends followed by some famous artists in India

Ideas that have subjugated the opinions, sentiments and views of Indian artists and their paintings have
always revolved around three basic elements: style, technique and subject matter. The pursuit for
something innovative, diverse in art is as old as art itself. In the renaissance period, great artists like
Micahelangello, Leonardo da Vinci and Raphael prepared their own paints and conceived their own
ways to do so. However their works remained mostly in realist styles. As the artists moved from realism
to abstraction, the quest for their own styles got even more passionate and intense.
Impressionism, Cubism, Futurism, abstract expressionism: these were all products of these quests.
The style popularized by mainly Pablo Picasso was the first endeavor at serious distortion of natural
form. This had many cohorts in India among the early Bengal School artists including Gagnendranath
Tagore and some Calcutta Group painters like Paritosh Sen.

Pre-Hispanic Art
Sculpture was an important part of life, as the flexibility of clay and mud was discovered, and used to
make pottery and ceramics, with intricate decorative designs. Other materials such as sand, ground
shells were also used.

When the Spaniards arrived in the Philippines in 1521, the colonizers used art as a tool to propagate the
Catholic faith through beautiful images. With communication as problem, the friars used images to
explain the concepts behind Catholicism, and to tell the stories of Christ's life and passion.

PHILIPPINE ART AS FILIPINO Many art critics still doubt the Filipino-ness of the artworks produced

by Filipinos. Tradition where works and artists came from makes one to question its authenticity. ... But
as Filipinos learned and adapt the usage of English usage, regardless of language, is truly Filipino.
Planting Rice by Fernando Amorsolo
Fernando Amorsolo (1892-1972) was a dominant figure in the visual arts of the Philippines during the
decades before the Second World War and into the post-war period. The 'Planting Rice with Mayon
Volcano, Exhibits the happiness across from the difficulties in planting rice.

PLANTING RICE (1951) By Fernando Amorsolo

1. Mimetic – with respect to the Subject Matter

This painting I believe is a representational art as it portrays something other than its form. This painting
falls under the classification of painting as Genre painting as it is painted in the contemporary life of the
Filipino farmers in 1951, when it was painted, as they are engaged in their regular every-day occupation
and activities. Behind the workers, a farmer with a carabao ploughs. In the background is a cluster of
nipa huts along the thick accumulation of trees and weeds. The central grouping of lush trees and hills
provides an idyllic setting for the workers besides a mountain view or background. I think this painting
basically captures the traditional Filipino occupation of the farm life of men and women in a hot sunny
day. It depicts how enduring they are and how the farmers work together. It portrays a provincial setting
in which the farmers wear traditional clothes for farming in the 1950s and captures that fashion as I
think if a modern artist would draw with a similar subject, women farmers will not be wearing skirts or
the traditional look of women back then as time has changed. The painting is very Filipino with respect
to the subject matter. The subject matter itself defines the aesthetic qualities of this painting relating it
to the period in which it is created to appreciate more its overall beauty.

2. Expressive – with respect to the Artist

I would say that this painting has a relationship with Amorsolo. His works usually depicts people and
barrio scenes of the Philippines. Those paintings of the nationalistic, the true character, smiles, emotions
or feelings and spirits of the Filipino people which say something about his creations that falls in the
same classification. “His optimistic, pastoral images set the tone for Philippine painting before World
War II. Except for his darker World War II-era paintings, Amorsolo painted quiet and peaceful scenes
throughout his career.  Amorsolo is best known for his illuminated landscapes, which often portrayed
traditional Filipino customs, culture, fiestas and occupations. His pastoral works presented “an imagined
sense of nationhood in counterpoint to American colonial rule” and were important to the formation of
Filipino national identity.” (Wikipedia) Therefore, Amorsolo painted a peaceful painting such as planting
rice to get back to his usual expression using the light technique of painting.
He also spent his childhood in the province of Camarines Norte in which I believe affected the subject
matter of his paintings as provincial, tropical etc. He is also soft-spoken and his works tells a little bit of
himself as he puts his self in the painting depicting a peaceful life, quietly doing his job as a source of
living (painting and farming).

3. PRAGMATIC – with respect to the AUDIENCE

My self is an audience to the work of Amorsolo. The perceived value, importance, function or
significance of this painting is the aesthetic appreciation I give to it. The surface look is beautiful as first
glance, as I cannot paint as realistically as Amorsolo paints. The underlying values are sentimentality
with respects to the subject matter as very Filipino depiction of a scene familiar to all Filipinos. I believe
the painting aims to teach or to deliver some value to an audience especially if he or she is a foreigner.
He or she would interpret the painting as showing the endurance, hard work and the lifestyle of the
Filipinos. In short it gives a glimpse of the Filipino culture in one aspect such as the farm life. The
agricultural means, worker, animals, equipments, huts, clothes, weather, irrigation and etc. are visibly in
the painting that I think would give an idea to the audience. It may not be appreciated by a great
number of audiences such as the mass considered as uneducated or unenlightened therefore, cannot
appreciate or critically analyze a painting in an overall assessment of its value and importance, yet they
may appreciate and understand it casually. I think one of primary values of this painting is simply to
contribute to the usage of the sense of sight of the audiences which are us, the Filipinos, to simply
appreciate a work of art that does not need science but to humanize us, just using free judgment and
leaving the more specific details to the experts as a form of advance studies for Art students. This
‘Planting Rice”, a typical theme to paint by many Filipino artists, but beyond that, the several versions
proves that it is not only painted because of the simplicity but the underlying significance to our culture.