Reporting Outline

Stylistic Overview

I. Introduction
a. Painting Definition
Painting, the expression of ideas and emotions, with the creation of certain aesthetic
qualities, in a two-dimensional visual language. The elements of this language—its
shapes, lines, colours, tones, and textures—are used in various ways to produce
sensations of volume, space, movement, and light on a flat surface. These elements are
combined into expressive patterns in order to represent real or supernatural
phenomena, to interpret a narrative theme, or to create wholly abstract visual
relationships
b. Sculpture Definition
Sculpture, an artistic form in which hard or plastic materials are worked into three-
dimensional art objects. The designs may be embodied in freestanding objects, in reliefs
on surfaces, or in environments ranging from tableaux to contexts that envelop the
spectator. An enormous variety of media may be used, including clay, wax, stone, metal,
fabric, glass, wood, plaster, rubber, and random “found” objects. Materials may be
carved, modeled, molded, cast, wrought, welded, sewn, assembled, or otherwise
shaped and combined.
c. Architecture, the art and technique of designing and building, as distinguished from the
skills associated with construction. The practice of architecture is employed to fulfill
both practical and expressive requirements, and thus it serves both utilitarian and
aesthetic ends. Although these two ends may be distinguished, they cannot be
separated, and the relative weight given to each can vary widely. Because every
society—whether highly developed or less so, settled or nomadic—has a spatial
relationship to the natural world and to other societies, the structures they produce
reveal much about their environment (including climate and weather), history,
ceremonies, and artistic sensibility, as well as many aspects of daily life.
Painting

In the Philippines, painting is compared to that of its counterpart in the pacific region. Bynature,
Filipinos are imaginative and creative but whatever artifacts available wereeventually lost to oblivion
because of two major factors; the first is that primitive art weremade to last for a very short life span.
Maybe because of the medium used such as leavesand bark of trees which could not withstand the
harsh weather, and second is the comingof the Spanish colonizers left them with no choice but to give
up their way of life andaccept the culture of the Spaniards.

Ethnic Art

This means native or indigenous Philippine design. This kind of art is influencedby our southeast-asian
neighbors. The Ethnic art has curvilinear and linear patterns ordesign. This can also be traced from the
primitive designs as demonstrated in Philippine Pre-historic pottery used assurface decorations by way
of painting or engraving.

Folk Art

It means People s craft as well as handicrafts. This is basically made by the hands of the common
people where the materials are crafted together that the process itself is also anart form. The quality
and style of this products reflect the way of life of the makers.

Common Folk Art Motifs

The Serpent

Demon of the Naga.

The Naga design is said to be Sanskrit in origin. This art hasa counterpart in Indonesia as dragons or
mythical serpents. The Naga has the form of anelaborate mythical serpent with a vigorous S-curve and
numerous curvilinear motifs to suggestits scales.2

The Sarimanok

A cultural symbol of Mindanao, and is highly regarded throughout thecountry, it was influenced by
Indonesea and Malaysia and is said to have originated from themiddle east. It is depicted as a fowl with
colorful wings and feathered tail, holding a fish on its beak or talons. It is said tobe a symbol of good
fortune.

Tattoo Art

Tattooing was very prevalent among the early Filipinos specially among the people in Central Visayas.
Asidefrom being used for beautification, tattoo is also a symbol of rank, and is believed to have magical
properties. Thepractice has become very common that when the Spaniards arrived they called these
people as Pintados .
Modern Influence.

The Spanish friars introduced Western painting in the Philippines to artisans who learned to copy
ontwo-dimensional form from the religious icons that the friars brought from Spain,. For the first
centuries of Spanishcolonization, painting was limited to religious icons. Portraits of saints and of the
Holy Family became a familiar sight inchurches. Other subject matters include the passion of Christ, the
Via Crucis, the crucifixion, portrayal of heaven,purgatory and hell.

In the church in Paete, Laguna Josef Luciano Dans (1805- ca. 1870), probably one of the earliest
recorded painters inPhilippine art history painted the Langit, Lupa at Impierno ca. 1850 (Heaven, Earth
and Hell), a three-level paintingwhich shows the Holy Trinity, Mary the Mother of Christ, saints, the
Seven Blessed Sacraments and a macabre depictionof Hell. During the early part of the Spanish
occupation, painting was exclusively for the churches and for religiouspurposes. Occasionally, it was also
used for propaganda. Secular subject matter in painting only increased during the19th century.

Several Filipino painters had the chance to study and work abroad. Among them were Juan Novicio Luna
and FelixResureccion Hidalgo who became the first international Filipino artists when they won the gold
and silver medals in the1884 Madrid Exposition. Luna s academic painting Spoliarium won gold medal.
It showed the dead and dying RomanGladiators being dragged into the basement of the Coliseum. After
World War II, the Neo-Realist school of paintingemerged, with such notable members as Fernando
Amorsolo, Vicente Manansala and others.

Modern Filipino Painters

Fernando Amorsolo

(May 30, 1892 April 24, 1972) He is popularly known for his craftsmanship and mastery in the useof
light. Born in Paco, Manila , he earned a degree from the Liceo de Manila Art School in 1909.

Vicente Manansala

(January 22, 1910 - August 22, 1981) was a Philippine cubist painter and illustrator. He developed

transparent cubism, wherein the "delicate tones, shapes, and patterns of figure and environment are
masterfullysuperimposed

Sculpture

Pottery.

Among our most ancient arts ispottery, which combines design and function.The Manunggul Jar
excavated in Palawan isevidence of the high artistic level which the artattained in an ancient times. This
large burial jar has a cover which features two men rowinga boat, suggesting the belief of the
earlyFilipinos in an afterlife that one reaches aftercrossing a mythical body of water. Around itsbody is
an incised geometric pattern of linesand dots. Extant examples of early Philippinepottery show a wide
variety of shapes anddecorative techniques, such an incision,stippling, openwork and impression by
ropeand mat. Their designs were usually geometricwith stylized nature motifs. Later, potterybecame
more and more functional, principalexamples of which are the palayok for cooking,the banga and the
tapayan for storing liquids.In the Ilocos, the making of burnay potterycontinues as a lively tradition.

WoodCarving.

Many parts of the country havelively woodcarving traditions. The Cordilleragroups carve anito

figures called bulol which double as ancestral spirits and granary gods.They are often found in pairs to
signify thevalue of fertility. Human and animal motifs arealso integrated into parts of houses such
asdoor posts, as well as household objects suchas bowls, forks and spoons.

In SouthernPhilippines, the Maranao and the Tausog of Mindanao are known for theirokir-a-datu,
ornate curvilinear designs and motifs applied to woodcarving. Theprincipal okir designs are the
sarimanok, the naga and the pako rabong. The sarimanok carved in wood, simplyvarnished or painted in
many colors (it is also executed in brass).. The pako rabong is a stylized growing fernwith a broad base
gracefully tapering upwards. Spanish Influence

Examples

Fredesvinda

Bonifacio Monument

Modern Sculptures.

Of all the new art forms introduced, the Filipinos took to sculpture from the Spanish instantly.
Thecarving of anito was transformed into sculpture of the saints. These santos were used primarily for
the church altars andretablos. It also replaced the anitos in the altars of the natives homes. The
earliest known sculptor in the Philippines isthe 17th century sacristan, sculptor and silversmith Juan de
los Santos (ca. 1590 ca. 1660) of San Pablo, Laguna. A fewof his extant works may be found at the
San Agustin Convent museum.Filipino sculptors came to be known in the middle of the 19th century.
Classical Philippine sculpture reached its peak inthe works of Guillermo Tolentino (1890-1976). His best
known masterpiece is the Bonifacio Monument , which is a groupsculpture composed of numerous
figures massed around a central obelisk. The principal figure is Andres Bonifacio,leader of the revolution
against Spain in 1896. Napoleon Abueva (born 1930), one of Tolentino' s pupils, is one of thepioneering
modernists in sculpture. He used various media. Abueva's most famous work is Fredesvinda, which
wasincluded in the First ASEAN Sculpture Symposium held in Fort Canning Hill, Singapore, from March
27 to April 26, 1981shows the vitality of primitive forms.
Architecture

Ancient Filipinos lived in big settlements along sheltered bays, coastal areas, andmouths of rivers.
Interior settlements were established at the headwaters and banksof rivers and their tributaries. The
houses were usually constructed side by side alongthe river banks or seashores.Philippine architecture
responds to the climate. Although there are many variations,generally the roof of the first Philippine
houses, nipa huts, or nbahay kubo , were highpitched and usually open gabled to allow for ventilation.
The steeply sloping pitch alsoprotected from the wind and rain in the typhoon season.These houses
were elevatedthree to four meters of the ground, supported by wood or bamboo. The structure
wasusually four-walled with tukod windows. The Bagobos and Kalingas people used thistype of house
for protection from enemies and wild animals on the ground. In thesouthern islands of the Philippines
archipelago, the Moros of Mindanao had distinctarchitecture of their own. It was brought with them
along with the Muslim religion.

Western Influence in the Philippines

Spanish Period.

This period refers to the religious and civil buildings erected with thestyle influenced from South
America and Spain. Examples of these are the CatholicChurches and the famous town of Vigan.

American Period.

Under the American Occupation, many secular built such as theNational Museum and the National Post
Office Buildings. These structures reflect theneo-classical style of American Architecture.

Post-Modern

. The period of imported architecture. There is an extensive use of steeland glass which reflect the fast
developing urban community. New building designsthat could cope with the weather is continually
developed.
Painting
The first paintings were commissionned works during the Spanish colonial era. Since most art
produced during the first two centuries of Spanish occupation were for the church, the friars enforced
strict supervision over their production. Until the 19th century, art was only for the church and
religious use.
There is also some Chinese influence which can be found in the brush handling.
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.
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.
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.
During the American period (1900-45) on-demand portraitists included Fabian de la Rosa, Miguel
Zaragoza, Teodoro Buenaventura, Jorge Pineda and above all, Fernando Amorsolo, whose style
would dominate the period.
Amorsolo designed the logo for Ginebra San Miguel (Markang Demonyo) depicting St. Michael
vanquishing the devil. The logo is still in use in its original form today. The owner of the beverage
company, Don Enrique Zobel, who is an ardent patron of the arts, was so impressed by his work that
he offered to send Amorsolo to the Academia de San Fernando in Madrid for further studies with a
generous stipend for himself and his family.
Despite his exposure to Western influences, Fernando Amorsolo retained his Filipino
consciousness. He was drawn more towards the gentle rolling hills and rice fields of the Philippines
rather than the cosmopolitan world of Europe's proud cities. Even his illustrations of Spanish women
were drawn with slender physiques, narrower hips, and smaller breasts more typical of Filipinas
rather than full bodied Caucasian women. One of his most copied paintings is the "Palay Maiden".
Fernando Amorsolo's work still influences many contemporary painters. One of them is Monico
Benjamin Botor. Botor was born in Naga City, Camarines Sur and now lives in Bagasbas near Daet.
He is a hobby painter who recently started taking it seriously as an avenue of expressing his innate
talent to explore in the aesthetic realm one's quest to capture the appeal of nature and human
response to its illusive beauty and profound mystery.
Deeply rooted in culture, he pays homage to the Filipino tradition and way of life. He uses his artistic
insight and experience to capture the color and essence of a Philippine setting.
If you compare Amorsolo's painting below with the painting in Botor's atelier, then you find a girl in a
very similar pose in the water.
Another contemporary artist I know is Valentino Goyenechea Jr. He lives with his family in
Dumaguete (Negros). Goyenechea is a visual artist in different domains such as painting and
photography. Two of his paintings decorate our house.
This article contains excerpts of Ronnie Pasigui's presentation. Another very interesting website
is Go Philippines, a blog dedicated to all Filipinos, locals, OFW, migrants and tourists to gain more
knowledge about Philippines.

Sculpture
Early carved human figurine are known from the cordilleras. Still today, the bulols, or "Ifugao rice
Gods," are kept in the house or granary, and are usually made in pairs. They are carved of narra
wood, which represents wealth, happiness, and well-being. Every step in their production requires a
ceremony, from tree selection to arrival at the owner's house. A consecrated bulol has been bathed
in pig's blood, had myths recited to it, and received offerings of wine, ritual boxes, and rice cakes.
The carvings brought to the Philippines by early Arab and Russian missionaries were of beveled
type as the slanting type called Okkil. Although the word literally means XXX it is not confined to
carving alone but also refers to design.
A familiar example of sculpture with the integration of architecture is the Art Deco Style of the
Metropolitan Theater at Liwasang Bonifacio completed by Juan Arellano in 1931.
Woodcarving comes in ornamental form in the houses of the Maranao like that of the "torogan"
which features the "panolong", an extended beam carved with the Sarimanok or the Naga design.
Napoleon V. Abueva is known as the "Father of Modern Philippine Sculpture". He was born in
Tagbilaran, Bohol in 1930. In 1951, he won the Pura Villanueva-Kalaw scholarship and finished
Bachelor of Arts in Sculpture in University of the Philippines in 1953.

Abueva utilized almost all kinds of materials from hard wood (molave, acacia, langka wood, ipil,
kamagong, palm wood and bamboo) to adobe, metal, stainless steel, cement, marble, bronze, iron,
alabaster, coral and brass.
Among the major works of Abueva are: Kaganapan (1953), Kiss of Judas (1955), The
Transfiguration at the Eternal Garden Memorial Park (1979), Fredesvinda in Fort Canning, Nine
Muses at the UP Faculty Center (1994), Sunburst at the Peninsula Manila Hotel (1994) and the
bronze figure of Teodoro M. Kalaw in front of National Library.
Development of Visual Arts in the Philippines
Development of Visual Arts in the Philippines

Painting in the Philippines

Pre-Spanish Colonial Period • Early Filipino painting can be found in red slip (clay mixed with water)
designs embellished on the ritual pottery of the Philippines such as the acclaimed Manunggul Jar. • The
Manunggul Jar is a secondary burial jar excavated from a Neolithic burial site in Manunggul cave of
Tabon Caves at Lipuun Point at Palawan dating from 890–710 B.C

Pre-Spanish Colonial Period • Painting are also manifested in the tattoo tradition of early Filipinos,
whom the Portuguese explorer referred to as Pintados or the 'Painted People' of the Visayas.

Pre-Spanish Colonial Period • Early Filipino’s painting can be manifested today among the arts and
architecture of the Maranao who are well known for the Nāga Dragons and the Sarimanok carved and
painted in the beautiful Panolong of their Torogan or King's House.

Spanish Colonial Period • Artistic paintings were introduced to the Filipinos in the 16th century when
the Spaniards arrived in the Philippines. • Spaniards used paintings as religious propaganda to spread
Catholicism throughout the Philippines. • Paintings appeared mostly on church walls, featured religious
figures appearing in Catholic teachings.

Spanish Colonial Period • Filipinos began creating paintings in the European tradition during the 17th-
century Spanish period. • Most of the paintings and sculptures between the 19th, and 20th century
produced a mixture of religious, political, and landscape art works, with qualities of sweetness, dark, and
light.

Post-Spanish Colonial Period (Modern) • Early modernist painters such as Damián Domingo was
associated with religious and secular paintings. • The art of Juan Luna and Félix Hidalgo showed a trend
for political statement. • Artist such as Fernando Amorsolo used post- modernism to produce paintings
that illustrated Philippine culture, nature, and harmony.

Sculpture in the Philippines

Basic information: Location: Rizal Park (Luneta), Manila Designer: Richard Kissling Date of inauguration:
December 30 , 1913 Dedicated to: To the memory of José Rizal, patriot and martyr. The monument of
Rizal in Rizal Park (Luneta) is considered by many as the most popular, most visited and most
photographed monument in the Philippines. Rizal Monument (Bantayog ni Jose Rizal)

Basic information: Location: Grace Park, Caloocan City, Metro Manila Designer: Guillermo Tolentino
Date of inauguration: November 30, 1933 Dedicated to: To the memory of Andrés Bonifacio, the
founder and Supremo of the Katipunan. Andres Bonifacio is popularly known as the father of the
Philippine Revolution, and the founder and Supremo of the Katipunan or the Samahang Kataastaasan,
Kagalanggalang Katipunan ng mga Anak ng Bayan (KKK). Bonifacio Monument
. Location: Balangiga, Eastern Samar Designer: Napoleon Abueva Date built: September 28, 2003
Dedicated to: The heroism of the local freedom fighters in Samar The Balangiga Encounter Monument
reminds us that Filipinos will not back down to fight for freedom against any foreign invader – even
against the mighty American forces. Balangiga Encounter Monument

Location: Mount Samat, Pilar, Bataan, Philippines Designer: Lorenzo del Castillo and Napoleon Abueva
Date built: 1970 Dedicated to: The Soldiers who fought for freedom in the Battle of Bataan. Mount
Samat in Bataan was the site where the Philippine and American soldiers took their last stand against
the invading Japanese forces in the Battle of Bataan. After a three-month battle, Bataan fell and
surrendered to the Japanese on April 9, 1942 Dambana ng Kagitingan (Shrine of Valor)

Location: Ortigas Center, EDSA corner Ortigas Avenue, Ugong Norte, Quezon City Designer: Various
artists Date built: 1989 Dedicated to: The peaceful outcome of the People Power Revolution in 1986 The
EDSA Shrine was originally built to commemorate the events during the People Power Revolution and its
peaceful outcome. The People Power Revolution (also called the EDSA Revolution or the Philippine
Revolution of 1986) was a series of nonviolent demonstrations joined by over two million Filipino
civilians including several political, military and religious personalities on February 22-25, 1986. Edsa
Shrine

Location: Liberty Shrine, Punta Engaño, Lapu-Lapu City, Cebu Dedicated to: Lapu-Lapu, a native chieftain
of Mactan who defeated Magellan in the battle of Mactan in 1521. Date built: Sometime in 1969
through RA. 5695 Lapu Lapu is considered the first national hero who successfully defended the
Philippines from the Spanish invasion. He’s a symbol of courage and success in defeating enemies. Lapu-
Lapu Shrine

Location: MacArthur Landing Memorial Park, Palo, Leyte Designer: Anastacio Caedo Date of
inauguration: October 20 1981 MacArthur Landing Memorial Park in Palo beach was the site where the
Allied Forces led by General Douglas MacArthur landed in Leyte on October 20, 1944. Leyte Landing
Monument

Location: Liberty Shrine (Mactan Shrine), Punta Engaño, Lapu- Lapu City, Cebu Dedicated to: Portuguese
explorer Ferdinand Magellan Date built: 1866 The monument of Magellan is the oldest in this list. It was
built in 1866 – that makes the monument almost 150 years old now. Magellan Shrine

Location: Corner of EDSA and White Plains Avenue in Barangay Camp Aguinaldo, Quezon City Designer:
Eduardo Castrillo Date built: 1993 The monument is about 0.89 kilometers from the EDSA Shrine. I think
it’s a great monument to represent the People Power Revolution or EDSA Revolution in 1986. People
Power Monument

Architecture in the Philippines

Prehistory Period • For 2,000 years the mountainous province of Ifugao have been carefully cultivated
with terraced fields. • The structures' original builders used stone and mud walls to carefully carve and
construct terraces that could hold flooded pond fields for the cultivation of rice. • They also established
a system to water these plots by harvesting water from mountaintop forests. These engineering feats
were done by hand as was the farming itself.

Prehistory Period • Maintenance of the rice terraces reflects a primarily cooperative approach of the
whole community.

Classical Period • Invention of various tools allowed for the fabrication of tent-like shelters and tree
houses. • Early Classical houses were characterized by rectangular structures elevated on stilt
foundations and covered by voluminous thatched roofs ornamented with gable- finials and its structure
could be lifted as a whole and carried to a new site.

Classical Period • The Bahay Kubo is the Filipino word for Nipa huts, they were the native houses of the
indigenous people of the Philippines before the Spaniards arrived. • They are still used today, especially
in rural areas. • Different architectural designs are present among the different ethnolinguistic groups in
the country.

Classical Period • With the arrival of Indianized and Muslim scholars from nearby Indonesia, the native
Filipinos were introduced to the concept of the Kota or fort. • The Muslim Filipinos of the south built
strong fortresses called kota or moong to protect their communities. • These kotas were usually made
of stone and bamboo or other light materials and surrounded by trench networks. • Many of these forts
were also destroyed by American expeditions, as a result, very very few kotas still stand to this day.

Classical Period • The existing torogans were built by the community and the slaves for the King in
1800s. • The windows of torogan are slits and richly framed in wood panels with okir designs located in
front of the house. • The distinct high gable roof of the torogan, thin at the apex and gracefully flaring
out to the eaves, sits on a huge structures enclosed by slabs of timber and lifted more than two meters
above the ground by a huge trunk of a tree that was set on a rock. • The house was built to sway during
earthquakes. Twenty-five post of huge tree trunks were not buried but are freestanding.

Classical Period • With the arrival of Islam in Mindanao, Mosques, the masjid was extensively built, like
the Sheik Karimal Makdum Mosque in Simunul, Tawi-Tawi, which was built in 1380. • During the
establishment of the Sultanate of Sulu , a wooden palace was built for the Sultans which had the name
Astana Darul Jambangan which has been destroyed by a typhoon in 1912. • A replica of the royal palace
was rebuilt as an attraction in Mt. Bayug Eco-Cultural Park in the town of Talipao, Sulu.

Spanish Colonial Period • The arrival of the Spaniards in 1571 brought in European colonial architecture
to the Philippines. • Since the Spaniards brought Christianity to the islands, they created the need to
establish religious structures to support the growing number of religious organizations. • Some of the
best preserved colonial churches in the country are found in the Ilocos Region, as well as those in the
provinces of Laguna, Batangas, Cebu and Bohol.

Spanish Colonial Period • The Bahay na bato, the colonial Filipino house, followed the nipa hut's
arrangements such as open ventilation and elevated apartments. • The bahay na bato was constructed
out of brick and stone rather than the traditional bamboo materials. It is a mixture of native Filipino,
Spanish and Chinese influences. • During the 19th century, wealthy Filipinos built some fine houses,
usually with solid stone foundations or brick lower walls, and overhanging, wooden upper story with
balustrades and capiz shell sliding windows, and a tiled roof.

Spanish Colonial Period • Intramuros is the old walled city of Manila located along the southern bank of
the Pasig River. • The historic city was home to centuries-old churches, schools, convents, government
buildings and residences, the best collection of Spanish colonial architecture before much of it was
destroyed by the bombs of World War II. • Of all the buildings within the 67- acre city, only one building,
the San Agustin Church, survived the war.

Spanish Colonial Period • Fort Santiago (Fuerza de Santiago) is a defense fortress established by Spanish
conquistador, Miguel López de Legazpi. • The fort is the citadel of the walled city of Intramuros, in
Manila. • The location of Fort Santiago was also once the site of the palace and kingdom of Rajah
Suliman, king of Maynila of pre-Spanish era.

Spanish Colonial Period • The order of the Augustinians, Augustinian Province of the Most Holy Name
of Jesus of the Philippines, built many churches all over the Philippines. • These magnificent structures
can still be found throughout the Philippine Islands.The Paoay Church in Ilocos Norte is one of the most
prominent types of these churches. • This unique specimen of Filipino architecture from the Spanish era
has been included in the World Heritage Sites List of the UNESCO.

American Colonial Period • With the arrival of the Americans in 1898 came a new breed of architectural
structures in the Philippines. • Foremost of the American contributions to the country was the
establishment of civil government. • This led to the erection of government buildings from the city all
the way to the municipal level.

American Colonial Period • At the Far Eastern University (FEU) in Quiapo, Manila, five Art Deco
structures on the campus were designed by National Artist Pablo Antonio. • Three were built before
World War II and two, after. Although FEU buildings were totally damaged during the war, the university
was restored to its original Art Deco design immediately after. • The university was given a UNESCO Asia
Pacific-Heritage Award for Cultural Heritage in 2005 for the outstanding preservation of its Art Deco
structures.

American Colonial Period • The Manila Metropolitan Theater is an Art Deco building designed by the
Filipino architect Juan M. Arellano, and built in 1935. • During the liberation of Manila by the combined
American and Flipino troops in 1945, the theatre was totally destroyed. After reconstruction by the
Americans it gradually fell into disuse in the 1960s. In the following decade it was meticulously restored
but again fell into decay.

American Colonial Period • The Iglesia ni Cristo is an international Christian religion that originated in
1914. Their church buildings primarily serve as places of worship and are used for other religious
functions. • These churches were described as structures "which employ exterior neo-Gothic vertical
support columns with tall narrow windows between, interlocking trapezoids, and rosette motifs, as well
as tower and spires." • There are multiple entrances leading to the main sanctuary, where males and
females sit on either side of the aisle facing a dais where sermons are made.

Modern Period • The modern era dawned on Philippine architecture using the simple straight lines of
the International Modern Style as a chief mode of expression. • By the 1970s, a new form of Philippine
architecture emerged with the filipinization of architecture. By the 1980s the country’s architectural
idiom was swept by the tide of Post Modernism, a hearkening back of some sort to classical
architecture. • Today, architecture in the Philippines continue to be vibrant and with the country
opening up to the world, more first rate architecture is pouring in.

Modern Period • The Cultural Center of the Philippines Complex is home to the National Theater
(Tanghalang Pambansa). • The theater is the centerpiece of the 77 hectare (190 acres) arts and culture
complex located along Roxas Boulevard in Manila. Designed by Leandro V. Locsin, the construction of
the National Theater began in 1966 and was completed in 1969. • The theater is a primary example of
the architect's signature style known as the floating volume, a trait can be seen in structures indigenous
to the Philippines such as the nipa hut. It houses three performing arts venues, one theater for film
screenings, galleries, a museum and the center's library and archives.

Modern Period • The Philippine Arena is a multi- purpose indoor arena being constructed at Ciudad de
Victoria, a 75-hectare tourism enterprise zone in Bocaue and Santa Maria, Bulacan, Philippines. • With a
capacity of up to 55,000, it is the world's largest indoor arena once completed.

The Spanish Colonial Tradition in Philippine Visual Arts

Posted on April 15, 2015

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ELOISA MAY P. HERNANDEZ

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. Images of the Holy Family and the saints were
introduced to the Filipino psyche through carved santos, the via crucis (Stations of the
Cross), engravings on estampas and estampitas, and through paintings on church
walls.

Though the ethnic art forms such as pottery, weaving and metalwork were retained, the
Spanish friars and the Chinese, the colony’s primary trading partner, were slowly
introducing newer art forms. Icons brought by the friars were used as models for
sculpture. Filipino artisans were taught the Chinese brushwork technique in painting.
Engraving was also introduced.

The concept of patronage emerged. Artisans were commissioned and paid to carve,
engrave, and paint. They replaced the arts that were once done in a communal spirit
and community setting for rituals. The church, particularly the friars, became the new
patron of the arts.

Since most art produced during the first two centuries of Spanish occupation were for
the church, the friars enforced strict supervision over their production. Until the
19th century, art was only for the church and religious use.

Early in the 19th century, with the opening of the Suez canal in 1869 and the
development of the agricultural export economy, native indios acquired economic
wealth and became what was to be called the “ilustrados,”meaning enlightened and
educated. These developments paved the way for Filipinos ilustrados to send their
children to universities in Europe. The rise of the “ilustrado” (Filipinos with money and
education) class was inevitable. The ilustrados became the new patron of the arts.
These events paved the way for the secularization of art in the 19 th century.

A. Painting

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. Other subject matters include the passion of Christ, the Via Crucis, the
crucifixion, portrayal of heaven, purgatory and hell.

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. Christ normally dwarfs the Roman soldiers
in these paintings. Unfortunately, they did not sign their names on their works and no
record of their names exists.

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 1826, the society
offered Domingo to be the professor in their school, in effect merging the two art
schools. In 1828, Domingo was promoted to school director. Domingo must have taught
miniaturismo to his students, but a publication by the academy entitled Elementos de
Perspectiva (Elements of Perspective) suggests that he must have also taught the
classical ideals of the European academies. Due to lack of funds and probably due to
Domingo’s death in 1832, the school eventually closed in1834.

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.

B. Sculpture
Of all the new art forms introduced, the natives took to sculpture instantly. The carving
of anito was transformed into sculpture of the saints. These santos were used primarily
for the church altars and retablos. It also replaced the anitos in the altars of the natives’
homes.

Carvings for churches include altarpieces called retablos (usually with niches for the
icons), the central point of any Catholic church. The retablo houses the tabernacle and
the image of the town’s patron saint. Usually referred to as a “cabinet of saints”, one
would see a hierarchy of saints depending on their importance to the townspeople. The
patron saint would be in the middle; less important saints would be in the periphery. The
most elaborate retablos can be seen in the San Agustin Church in Intramuros.

Other parts of the church that may have carvings are church doors, pulpits,
and carrozas (floats that carry the saints for processions). The façade of churches may
be carved from adobe, coral stone, and volcanic rock, among others. It may have
carved images of saints, floral decorations or leaf decors. In the case of the Miag-ao
Church in Iloilo, the façade is decorated with a carved image of St. Christopher carrying
the Christ Child on his shoulders under a coconut tree.

Relleves (carved images in relief) usually depict the Via Crucis. It may also show holy
images in religious scenes.

The earliest known sculptor in the Philippines is the 17 th century sacristan, sculptor and
silversmith Juan de los Santos(ca. 1590 – ca. 1660) of San Pablo, Laguna. A few of
his extant works may be found at the San Agustin Convent museum.

Except for de los Santos, carvers were anonymous artisans before the 19th century. But
in the mid-19thcentury, with the rise of the ilustrados and the opening of the country to
international trade, higher artistic standards were demanded from the carvers/sculptors.
A number of Filipinos found fame in sculpture such asCrispulo Hocson, Romualdo de
Jesus, Leoncio Asuncion and Isabelo Tampinco.

The second half of the 19th century, as travel in and around the country considerably
improved, saw a marked increase in the demand for non-religious souvenirs. Tipos del
pais (human types of the country) sculptures, showing ordinary people doing everyday
activities and wearing their local costumes, became the favorite. They also depicted the
heads of the various ethnic groups.

The inclusion of sculpture in the Academia de Pintura, Escultura y Grabado de Manila’s

curriculum in 1879 formalized training in sculpture. Known sculptors during this time
were Bonifacio Arevalo, Graciano Nepomuceno, Marcelo Nepomuceno, and Anselmo
Espiritu. Philippine National Hero Jose P. Rizal was a sculptor. He took up woodcarving
lessons from Romualdo de Jesus and Paete master carver Jose Caancan.

Paete, a small woodcarving town in Laguna, Southern Luzon, produced the finest santo
carvers during this period. The most prominent name is Mariano Madriñan who won a
gold medal in the 1883 Amsterdam Exposition for his Mater Dolorosa (Sorrowful
Mother).

In 1889, the first woman student, Pelagia Mendoza y Gotianquin, was accepted in the
Academia de Dibujo Y Pintura by then Director Lorenzo Rocha. In 1892, Pelagia
Mendoza won in the 1892 Columbus Quadricentennial Art Contest with a bust of
Christopher Columbus.

C. GRAPHIC ARTS

Engraving was introduced in the 1590’s by the Spanish colonizers. In 1593, the
Dominicans published the La Doctrina Christiana en la Lengua Española y Tagala (The
Christian Doctrine in the Spanish and Tagalog Language), first book printed in the
country. On it was a woodcut engraving of St. Dominic by Juan de Veyra, a Chinese
convert.

The religious orders owned printing presses and printed mostly prayer books and
estampas. The estampas(prints of miraculous images) usually featured portraits of
saints and religious scenes. Estampas andestampitas (smaller version of estampas)
were distributed during town fiestas to the natives.

In the 18th century, copper etching became more popular. Filipino engravers like
Francisco Suarez, Nicolas de la Cruz Bagay, Laureano Atlas, and Felipe Sevilla were
the first Filipino artists to sign their works. And with words like “Indios Tagalo” or “Indio
Filipino”, affixed their social status on their works.

Francisco Suarez (ca. 1690 – ca. 1762) and Nicolas de la Cruz Bagay (1702 – ca.
1765) collaborated to depict landscapes, genre scenes and flora and fauna on the
borders of maps commissioned by Fr. Murillo Velarde in 1733. These were probably the
first secular images done in the country. The two also illustrated the pasyon written by
Gaspar Aquino de Belen entitled Mahal na Passion ni Jesu Christong Panginoon Natin
Na Tola (The Holy Passion of Our Lord Jesus Christ in Verse), possibly the first pasyon
written in the country.

Laureano Atlas made religious scenes and images. He did one of the earliest known
portrait engraved on copper, a portrait of Archbishop Juan Angel Rodriguez in 1743.
Phelipe Sevilla depicted scenes from the life of Christ.

Filipino engravers were the first to depict and reproduce brown madonnas. The Nuestra
Senora de Guia was made in 1711, the oldest Marian image. The natives worship this
icon like an anito.

Copperplate engraving remained popular until the introduction of a new printing

medium. Lithography was introduced and this facilitated the printing of newspapers and
periodicals in the country. It also enabled the printing of the local edition of Fr. Manuel
Blanco’s Flora de Filipinas in 1878.
One of the popular newspapers during the 19 th century was La Illustracion
Filipina published by Don Jose Zaragosa. It had more than 100 issues from November
1891 to February 1895. It usually featured lithograph prints of people, landscapes and
genre scenes. Since most of the family members know how to draw (including Carmen
Zaragosa mentioned earlier), some of their works must have been published here.

Reference/s:
Gatbonton, Juan, et.al. Art Philippines. Crucible WorkshopRod Paras-Perez. Edades and the 13
Moderns. Cultural Center of the PhilippinesTiongson, Nicanor G. CCP Encyclopedia of
Philippine Visual Arts, Cultural Center of the Philippines.

About the Author:

Eloisa May P. Hernandez teaches Humanities at the Department of Art Studies of the
University of the Philippines, Diliman. She worked for the Coordinating Center for Visual Arts,
Outreach and Exchange Division, and Museo ng Kalinangang Pilipino at the Cultural Center of
the Philippines.

The Iloilo Convention Center (also known as ICC or I-Con) is a state- of-the-art convention center in the
Iloilo Business Park in Mandurriao, Iloilo City, Philippines. • Its construction was completed in
September 2015 in time for the APEC 2015 hosting. • It is built on a 1.7-hectare of lot in the district of
Mandurriao donated by the Megaworld Corp.

Thank You!

References: • https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_painting#South- East_Asia •

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manunggul_Jar • https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Art_of_the_Philippines •
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/San_Pedro_Apostol_Church_(Apalit) •
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Architecture_of_the_Philippines#Ri ce_terraces •
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Malaca%C3%B1ang_Palace