Lavandera, Fernando Amorsolo, 1952

A glance to Philippine Art History

From the journey “searching my identity”

It took me 22 years to realize that I don’t really know as much as I should about my
genes. As a half Cypriot- half Philippine young artist -but mostly as a human, I should have a
specific knowledge about both parts of my nationality. I believe the fact that I was born and
raised in Cyprus and circumstances of life, kind of made my Philippine side to become
“unknown” and a mystery for me. That’s how a journey begins… or maybe it is a part of my
journey. Searching for both external and internal knowledge, from books and websites but
also from instincts and characteristics of the/myself. This paper is just a first glance; maybe
just a small drop to the ocean that I want to explore. I decided to start with searching about
the Art History in Philippines and specialize in artifacts and artworks that I found interesting
and believe they show something of the culture of Philippines.
 As I have a passion about history and archaeology and after the research through the
Art history of the Philippines, I decided to divide the art periods into 3 parts- Pre Colonial
Period: Paleolithic, Neolithic and Ancient, Colonial Period: Spanish and American Colonial
and Post War Colonial Period: Modern and Contemporary. The Spanish and American
Colonial marked deeply the Philippines culture and we will see that though a brief
retrospective in the history of visual arts. Without judging if the colonials were “bad” or
“good”, I would say that the most unfortunate fact is that a lot of historical records or
artifacts or in general a lot of the history of the nation got lost or was destroyed during that
period. Fortunately many survived and many had been found and still being found till today.
Now let’s begin our journey by going some years back…

Picture 1: View inside the Tabon cave Picture 2: Angono Petroglyphs, 2000BC

Pre- Colonial Period

Paleolithic, Neolithic and Ancient (aprx 40,000BC- 1500AD)

One of the earliest human remains found in Philippines is the “Tabon Skull” and it
was discovered in the Tabon Cave in Palawan. (picture 1) Palawan is located in the East
side of Philippines; is the largest province of the islands and many artifacts were found
there. The woman’s skull is dated to around 14,500 BC and was found along with a teeth
and a mandible, but during a re-excavation archaeologists found a tibia bone dated back to
45,000 BC, which suggests that humans inhabited Philippines from long before. The oldest
known work of art in the Philippines is the “Angono Petroglyphs” (picture 2), located in the
province of Rizal. The petroglyphs contain 127 human and animal figures engraved on a
rock during the late Neolithic period or before 2,000BC and they are very similar to other
Neolithic frescoes and wall engravings. People back then, believed that art was something
“magical” and they were using it for healing purposes in addition to their need to represent
the world around them. These petroglyphs prove that Philippine in the Neolithic period
had the same beliefs.
 One of the most known artifact of the Neolithic period is “The Manunggul Jar”
(picture 3) and it’s a secondary burial jar dated around 890-710BC, found also in the Tabon
Cave, which is considered to be a burial place. The jar contained human bones that were
covered with red paint. In the top of the jar there is a representation of the “ship of the
dead”; a boat man holding oars and a figure/symbol of the dead person sitting in front of
the boat. The Philippine civilization as a religious one was practicing several of burial
rituals like decorating their dead with ornaments. An excellent example and a notable
artifact is the “Gold Death-Mask” found in the Iloilo city. It was believed that by covering
the eyes, nose and mouth of the dead with gold ornaments evil spirits couldn’t enter the
body.. Generally the art in the Pre-Colonial period was mostly crafts like pottery, weaving,
tattoo, jewelry and many of them are still being practice till today.

Picture 3: The Manunggul Jar,

Picture 4: The Butuan Ivory Seal,
890-710 BC
1002 AD

Colonial Period

Spanish Colonial (1500-1898)

The art scene of the Philippines changed dramatically with the Spanish Colonial.
When the Spaniards arrived in 1521, they used art as a tool to propagate the Catholic faith
through beautiful images of Christ’s life and saints painted on churches walls. The Spanish
also introduced formal painting, architecture and carving and the western approaches of
art like Gothic, Baroque and Rococo.. “The Miagao Church” (picture 6,7) is a Roman Catholic
Church located in Iloilo, having a Baroque architecture and founded in 1731. The facade of
the Church consists of an ornately decorated sculpture; a mixture of Medieval Spanish,
Chinese, Muslim and local traditions and elements, depicting St. Christopher holding a palm
tree, symbol of the tree of life.
 Picture 5,6: The Miagao Church,
1731 AD

A second example of the Spanish influence that I wanted to include is the murals of
the Paete Church. (picture 7) The church was founded in 1580 but the painting was
created in 1850 by Jose Luciano Dans. Doesn’t it look familiar to you? It is clearly influenced
by Hieronymus Bosch’s paintings; a Dutch Renaissance painter whose work included
fantastic imageries, detailed landscapes and illustrations of religious concepts and
narratives. The painting is divided into three sections; heaven at the top and the crucifixion
of Christ, the world in the middle and hell in the lower part represented with many
suffering people.

I could analyze each artwork more but the purpose of this journey is different so I
have to move on. Damian Domingo (picture 9) was a Chinese Filipino artist and considered
to be the “Father of Filipino Painting”. He was the first artist who painted a self-portrait and
also he established the Official Philippine Art Academy in his residence in Tondo in 1821.
His works was mostly portraits and religious imagery but he also created albums of
illustrations of native costumes (picture 10). During that period there was a flourish of
painters influenced by the western movements but also with a personal-Philippine
character, which was there before the Spanish arrival.

Picture 7: Mural by Jose Luciano Picture 8: Damian Domingo’s self-

portrait, 1830’s Picture 9: Portrait of Don José
Dans, 1850
María Peńarada,1830’s
American Colonial (1898-1946)

In 1896 we have the “Philippine Revolution” that started when the Spaniards
discovered an anti-colonial secret organization called Katipunan and its primary aim was to
gain independence. Philippines weren’t the only one who was fighting for their liberation
as we also have the “Cuban War of Independence” against Spanish (1895-1898). Without
going into further details, these wars of independence led to the Spanish- American war in
1898 that had as a result the “Treaty of Paris”, an agreement that required American
control of Cuba and ownership of the Philippine islands, Puerto Rico and Guam and this is
when the American Colonial begins. The Americans brought the “American way of life”,
they introduced art illustration, advertising and commercial design which they gain
popularity and united with the Fine arts. Painting themes continued to be the same;
landscape, still life and portraits but they gain a more academic approach and we can see a
great influence of Neoclassicism, Art Deco and Art Nouveau in architecture.

Picture 11: Rice Planting, Fernando

Picture 10: “Souvenir de 1899”, Amorsolo, 1922
Juan Luna, 1899

Juan Luan was one from the first recognized Philippine artists; a painter, sculptor
and a political activist of the Philippine Revolution. “Souvenir de 1899” (picture 10) is a
painting that I believe has a great significant. As you see it represents the Philippine flag,
but the interesting fact is that this flag was adapted to Philippines a year before the
creation of the painting, in 1898 with the Philippine Independence. (but didn’t last for
long) Fernando Amorsolo is also an important name in Philippines and we can see his
painting “Rice Planting” (picture 11) painted in 1922. The painting depicts Philippine
villagers in bright clothes and straw hats working together in the countryside. Again there
is a western influence this time with the French Realist Jean-Francois Millet’s painting “The
Gleaners” from 1857. Even though, there is something unique in Amorsolo’s painting;
except the harmony and the beauty in his representation, we can see the daily lives of
Filipino villagers in their community; a Philippine’s Art identity.
 Post War Colonial: Modern and Contemporary (1946-1986-now)

With the Second World Wide War, in 1942 we have the Japanese invasion in the
Philippines. After a three-year-old fight, Philippines with a great loss of life and physical
destruction defeated the Japanese control and in 1946 we have the independence of the
islands. The independence was gained with the “Treaty of Manila”; an agreement between a
representative of the United States and the Philippine president Manuel Roxas. Finally the
Philippine people gained their liberation and Philippine culture and arts would start to rise
in its own rhythms. Certainly the influences of both the Spanish and Americans marked the
Philippine identity, but this is something that has being happening in all around the world
for thousands of years now and I believe that whatever happens to a country, it cannot lose
its identity because it is hidden deep inside its people- like the roots of a tree.

Now going back to art history, we have a huge development and a great appreciation
of the Philippine arts after the Independence. The Art Association of the Philippines was
founded in 1948 and was organizing annual exhibitions of National painters. In 1969 with
the support of the Philippine government, a Cultural center was created and gave the
opportunities of artists to experiment and explore new arts. Also the Modern art was
introduced and art movements like Pop art, Minimalism, Abstraction, Expressionism, Magic
Realism etc. The “father of the modern art” is considered to be Victorio C. Edades and we
can see an early painting “The sketch” (picture 12) created in 1928. His main contribution
was the shift from art as a representation of reality through realism to expression of the
mind, emotion and reality as perceived by the artist. Edades was also the head of the
Thirteen Moderns, a list of 13 artists that contributed to bring Modern art to Philippines as
they learned it from American Academies. Some notable Modern names are: Alfonso A.
Ossario, Cesar Legaspi, Hernando R. Ocampo, Vicente Manansala etc.

Picture 12: The Sketch, Victorio C. Picture 13: Market Vendors, Vicente
Edades, 1928 Manansala, 1949
 Moving to the contemporary period- now, we have many Philippine artists in all
around the world expressing their selves freely with any possible medium. The new
technology which also arrived in the Philippines generated new ways of expressions
without losing the old ones. A very recent example of the contemporary Philippine art is
the “Stormy Weather” by Felix Bacolor; an artist based in Manila who is currently making
exhibitions and participating in festivals around the world. “Stormy Weather” is an
installation created in 2009 at Mo’s Art Space and it contains 800 plastic wind chimes; a
popular item of the Philippines’ crafts, hanging on a ceiling and a fan which gave them
movement and sounds, creating an atmospheric experience for the viewer. Some other
names of contemporary artists are: Alfredo and Isabel Aquilizan, Louie Cordero, Norberto
Roldan , Mark Salvatus, Norberto Roldan and many others.

Picture 14: Transfiguration, Napoleon Picture 15: Filipina: A racial identity

Abueva, 1979 crisis, Pacita Abad, 1990
 Ending our journey, I would like to summarize some thoughts and conclusions
about the identity of Philippine culture based on the Philippine art. Very similar to Cyprus
and to many other countries that were invaded, I would say that Philippines culture has
obvious signs of Colonial influences (Spanish and American) and also from neighboring
(Asian) countries but succeeded to keep an identity. Identity cannot be lost or be replaced
and especially when we are referring to a culture. The words “culture” and “identity” are
concepts that cannot be analyzed in a seven-paper-research, although this research
answered some of my questions (but also raised more) and gave me a basic knowledge, a
small glance of the culture of the Philippines, my unknown- or maybe not as much
unknown as I thought- side.

The culture A has something from the culture B and the culture B has something
from the culture D which got it from the culture C. Of course each one of them is unique but
in the way they are all the same because they all have a specific structure. The concept of
“culture” includes the concept of “history” and history includes the concept of “time”. A
culture has been developed over the years and by looking into the years of each culture,
we will find out that there is a wider connection which we didn’t know. Why I haven’t
thought before about the concept of “universal culture”? Why we didn’t learn in schools
about the origins of cultural traditions? So we will see that we are all connected in ways
that we didn’t know… I realized that this “unknown”- something from Philippines that I
feel, is just my genes. And maybe the word genes could be the biological way to express the
“culture” and that suggests that culture is inside us. But above all we are all humans with an
Earthly culture.
Bibliography
Ardia, C. A. (2017, April 25). 10 Contemporary Filipino Artists . Retrieved January 26, 2018, from Culture
Trip: https://theculturetrip.com/asia/philippines/articles/top-10-filipino-contemporary-artists-
where-to-find-them/

Camama, R. S. (2012, March 12). Paetenians Work of Art. Retrieved January 20, 2017, from Preserving
Paete Treasures: https://discoveringpaete.wordpress.com/infrastructures/san-santiago-
apostol/paetenians-work-of-art/

Chua, M. C. (2014). The Manunggul Jar as a vessel of History. Retrieved January 22, 2018, from Artes de
la Filipinas: http://www.artesdelasfilipinas.com/archives/50/the-manunggul-jar-as-a-vessel-of-
history

Harrington, D. R. (2009, May 9). Saturday Volcano Art: Fernando Amorsolo. Retrieved January 2018, 23,
from The Volcanism Blog: https://volcanism.wordpress.com/2009/05/09/fernando-amorsolo-
planting-rice-with-mayon-volcano-1949/

Landaos, I. (2014, December 13). The Modernists in the Philippines . Retrieved January 20, 2018, from
Slide Share: https://www.slideshare.net/ivanlandaos11101999/the-modernists-in-the-
philippines

manilaartblogger. (2009, May 27). Felix Bacolor’s Perfect Storm. Retrieved January 20, 2018, from
Snippets from the Manila Art scene: http://www.manilaartblogger.com/2009/05/27/felix-
bacolors-perfect-storm/

Philippines, N. M. (2014, February 10). Archaeology. Retrieved January 2017, 17, from National Museum
Of the Philippines:
http://www.nationalmuseum.gov.ph/nationalmuseumbeta/Collections/Archaeo/Skull.html

Tanedo, W. D. (2016, October 17). Philippine Art History. Retrieved January 24, 2018, from Slide Share:
https://www.slideshare.net/wilfreddextertanedo/philippine-art-history-67264203

Pictures
0: https://tl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fernando_Amorsolo#/media/File:Lavandera_Fernando_Amorsolo.jpg
1: https://tl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yungib#/media/File:St_mor%C3%A9_cave.jpg
2: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Angono_Petroglyphs#/media/File:Angono_Petroglyphs1.jpg
3: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manunggul_Jar#/media/File:Manunggul_Jar.jpg
4: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philippines#/media/File:Butuan_Ivory_Seal.jpg
5: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Miagao_Church#/media/File:Miagao_Church.jpg
6: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Miagao_Church#/media/File:Miagao_Church_facade.png
7:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_James_the_Apostle_Parish_Church_(Paete)#/media/File:Philippines
_Paete_Church_Mural3.JPG
8: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dami%C3%A1n_Domingo#/media/File:Damian_Domingo.jpg
9: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dami%C3%A1n_Domingo#/media/File:Pasqual_Enrile_y_Alcedo.png
10: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Juan_Luna#/media/File:Filipino_Flag_by_Juan_Luna.jpg
11:
https://tl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fernando_Amorsolo#/media/File:Planting_Rice_Fernando_Amorsolo.jpg
12: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Victorio_Edades#/media/File:Victorio_Edades_-_The_Sketch.jpg
13: https://www.wikiart.org/en/vicente-manansala/market-vendors-1949
14: https://tl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Napoleon_Abueva#/media/File:Transfiguration_Abueva.jpg
15: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pacita_Abad#/media/File:Filipina_-
_A_racial_identity_crisis_(1990)_by_Pacita_Abad.jpg