As someone who has lived in a country like Italy, where art has always been recognized and celebrated, I got curious – and I wanted to learn more about Filipino Art. I wondered if the Philippines had joined on the same trends that had developed in Europe, since it used to be a Spanish colony, or if it had a style and artistic movement of its own – that’s why I decided do some research, and I’m so glad I did!
Here is a guide to 10 important paintings in Filipino Art History!
1. Fruit Gatherer by Fernando Amorsolo
Amorsolo is one of the most important painters in Filipino Art History. His paintings were able to embody the simplicity of Filipinos, in its daily lives and beauty. Just by looking at this painting, we can all say that the “Fruit Gatherer” is the original dalagang filipina.
“The women I paint should have a rounded face, not of the oval type often presented to us in newspapers and magazine illustrations. The eyes should be exceptionally lively, not the dreamy, sleepy type that characterizes the Mongolian. The nose should be of the blunt form but firm and strongly marked. … So the ideal Filipina beauty should not necessarily be white complexioned, nor of the dark brown color of the typical Malayan, but of the clear skin or fresh colored type which we often witness when we met a blushing girl.”
Fernando Amorsolo
Title: Fruit Gatherer
Artist: Fernando Amorsolo
Technique: Oil on canvas
Date: 1950
2. Planting Rice by Fernando Amorsolo
Amorsolo painted a few versions of this painting. He wanted to capture the traditional Filipino occupation and the farm life of men and women in a hot sunny day. This representation depicts how enduring they are, and how the farmers work together.
Title: Planting Rice
Artist: Fernando Amorsolo
Technique: Oil on canvas
Date: 1951
3. Hope in the Ruins of Manila by Fernando Amorsolo
Another masterpiece from Amorsolo is Hope in the Ruins of Manila. He was known for his bright colors and peaceful paintings, but he also represented the years of World War II, when the Japanese were occupying the Philippines. He’s able to depict the war, and the devastation it brings to people – but in the middle of that sadness and desperation, he gives us a hint of hope. The way the light shines, on the young Filipino woman holding her child, gives us hope for a brighter future that will be built by these children.
Title: Hope in the Ruins of Manila
Artist: Fernando Amorsolo
Technique: Oil on canvas
Date: 1945
4. Las Virgenes Cristianas Expuestas al Populacho by Félix Resurreccion Hidalgo
This painting was a silver medalist during the 1884 Exposicion General de Bellas Artes in Madrid, Spain, also known as the Madrid Exposition. Hidalgo’s winning the silver medal for the painting was a landmark achievement that proved the ability of Filipinos to match the work ofSpaniardsand laid claim to Filipino participation inEuropean culture. Sadly, what we have now at the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas is just a copy, because the original one was destroyed in a fire at the University of Valladolid in Spain.
After winning at the Exposition in Madrid, a small group of Filipino expatriates and members of the Philippine reform movement held a victory celebration.During the party,José Rizalgave a speech regarding the achievement of Hidalgo and Luna as a proof that the talents of Filipino artists equaled those of the Spaniards. In relation to such evidence, Rizal questioned the inequality in political rights and freedom between Filipinos and Spaniards. Graciano Lopez-Jaenain turn orated that Hidalgo and Luna were propaganda painters who exposed the “lamentable conditions” of the Philippines while under the tutelage of the Spaniards.
Title: Las Virgenes Cristianas Expuestas al Populacho
Artist: Félix Resurrección Hidalgo
Technique: Oil on canvas
Date: 1884
Location: Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (currently on loan to the National Gallery Singapore)
5. España y Filipinas by Juan Luna
España y Filipinas, meaning “Spain and the Philippines”, is an 1886oilonwoodby Filipino painter,ilustrado, and revolutionary activist,Juan Luna. It is anallegoricaldepictionof twowomentogether, one a representation ofSpainand the other of thePhilippines.The painting, also known asEspaña Guiando a Filipinas(“Spain Leading the Philippines“),is regarded as one of the “enduring pieces of legacy” that theFilipinosinherited from Luna.The painting is acenterpieceart at the Luna Hallof theLopez Memorial Museum.
TheSpaniardwoman “Motherland” was drawn with “wide strongshoulders” while theFilipino womanwas illustrated as “graceful” andbrown-skinned. Both were wearing female dresses known astraje de mestizaor “dress of themestiza”. The dressing of the women in traje de mestizas shows the cultural character, class consciousness, and social transformations resulting from 19th centuryHispanization. Both women have theirbacksto the viewer, heading towards a far-away horizon, while embarking on the steps of astaircase.Side by side in the painting, Spain was shown to be leading the Philippines along the path toprogressand development.
Title: España y Filipinas
Artist: Juan Luna
Technique: Oil on wood
Date: 1886
Location: Lopez Memorial Museum
6. Madonna of the Slums by Vicente Manansala
Manansala is a Filipino National Artist in Visual Arts and a Filipino cubist artist and illustrator. He developed a new imagery based on the postwar urban experience. The city of Manila, through the vision of the artist, assumed a strong folk character. He painted an innovative mother and child,Madonna of the Slums, in 1950, which reflected the poverty in postwar Manila.
Title: Madonna of the Slums
Artist: Vicente Manansala
Technique: Oil paint
Date: 1950
Location: National Museum Collection
7. The Blood Compact by Juan Luna
The Blood Compact is an “historic and historical” painting by Filipino painter Juan Luna. The scene painted by the artist portrays the 1565 Sandugo (blood compact ritual) between Datu Sikatuna of Bohol and Miguel López de Legazpi, surrounded by other conquistadores. Datu Sikatuna was described to be ‘being crowded out of the picture by Miguel López de Legazpi and his fellow conquistadores’. This is one of the last paintings created by Luna.
Title: The Blood Compact
Artist: Juan Luna
Technique: Oil on canvas
Date: 1886
Location: Malacanang Palace
Trivia: José RizalandTrinidad H. Pardo de Taverahelped Luna in completing the painting by providing historical advice and posing for the painter: Rizal posed as Sikatuna while Pardo de Tavera posed as Legazpi.
8. Granadean Arabesque by José Joya
Jose Joyais a painter and multimedia artist who distinguished himself by creating an authentic Filipino abstract idiom that transcended foreign influences.
He espoused the value of kinetic energy and spontaneity in painting which became significant artistic values in Philippine art. His paintings clearly show his mastery of ‘gestural paintings’ where the paint is applied intuitively and spontaneously, in broad brush strokes, using brushes or spatula or is directly squeezed from the tube and splashed across the canvas. His 1958 landmark paintingGranadean Arabesque,a work on canvas big enough to be called a mural, features swipes and gobs of impasto and sand. The choice of Joya to represent the Philippines in the 1964 Venice Biennial itself represents a high peak in the rise of modern art in the country.
Title: Las Damas Romanas
Artist: Juan Luna
Technique: Oil paint
Date: 1958
9. Fishermen at Sea by Ang Kiukok
Ang Kiukokwas a Filipino painter known for his expressive, Cubist-like works. He often chose dynamic or disturbing subject matter, frequently depicting rabid dogs, crucifixions, and screaming figures in an abstracted geometric style. When asked why he often chose subjects full of such angry he once replied “Why not? Open your eyes. Look around you. So much anger, sorrow, ugliness. And also madness.“
He is acclaimed for his series ofFishermen at Sea, which connects both energy, faith and the struggle of fishermen under a vibrant crimson sun labouring together to bring in the haul for the day.
Title: Fishermen at Sea
Artist: Ang Kiukok
Technique: Oil on canvas
Date: 1981
10. Spoliarium by Juan Luna
TheSpoliarium(often misspelledSpolarium) is a painting byFilipinopainterJuan Luna. The painting was submitted by Luna to theExposición Nacional de Bellas Artesin 1884 inMadrid, where it garnered the first gold medal. The picture recreates a despoiling scene in aRoman circuswhere deadgladiatorsare stripped of weapons and garments.
Title: Spoliarium
Artist: Juan Luna
Technique: Oil paint
Date: 1884
Location: National Museum of Fine Arts, Manila
(source: Wikipedia)
Did you know most of these paintings? Did I inspire you to visit a museum to learn more about Filipino Art? I really hope I did! There are so many museums and new young local artists out there for you to discover.
Art and artists in the Philippines don’t get enough recognition and support. People who pursue artistic careers, are often not taken seriously, or they’re even looked down on, as it is believed that it’s a career that won’t “feed you“, or “provide you a roof over your head“, neglecting the importance art has in our lives and crashing many people’s dreams and passions. Support Filipino art because it deserves to be recognized more. Art can be a powerful tool to express yourself, when your voice cannot be heard.
We live in a place so full of culture and history, so full of stories waiting to be told through different lines and words and brush strokes and film scenes.
Aleeza Abinuman
#SupportFilipinoArt
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