Underground Sculpture:

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. It housed the remains of Jose Rizal, a
Filipino nationalist, novelist, poet, journalist, ophthalmologist, and a national hero.

Rizal wrote the novels Noli Me Tangere and El Filibusterismo to expose the cruelty and injustice of
the Spanish ruling government in the Philippines during his time. Because of his revolutionary
writings, he was executed by a firing squad in Luneta on December 30, 1896.

There are at least 118 Rizal monuments in the Philippines and at least 10 in the other parts of the
world. There’s even a replica of the Rizal monument in Luneta in Madrid, Spain.

Progressive Sculpture:
CONTEMPORARY SCUPLTURE IN THE PHILIPPINES

BEFORE THE LAST PACIFIC WAR, practitioners in sculpture were primarily on the traditional
methods such as modelling in clay and direct carving in wood. A great majority of the modeled clay
would normally undergo the molding and casting process and become a plaster or concrete cast and
a few would eventually cast in bronze in Italy.

Among the sculptors who did the clay to cast method were Professor Guillermo Tolentino,
Francisco Monti, Anastacio Caedo, and a few others. All of them work in a classical or conservative
manner with the exception of Francisco Monti whose works were stylished and more conventional.

In direct carving in molave wood, Sculptor Graciano Nepomuceno stood almost alone.
His depiction of familiar themes in high relief and religious pieces were exquisitely carved. In direct
carving in marble or stone it was rather rare except for the number of pieces executed by Tolentino
and those religious piecesdone by a tallieres or studious of Maximo Vicente and Oriol. Practically
all marble used in statuary came from Italy. The churches and cemeteries were the usual consumers
of these statues and hardly any of them would find its way into the private houses. Romblon
marbles was never used seriously as a sculptural material except in recent times.

Alternative Sculpture:
‘Pagtataguyod:’ A sculpture to evoke Filipino familial spirit.

Moreen Joy Austria had befriended the sparks and fumes of the hot metal rods she used on her very
first attempt at sculpting. The more she became accustomed to them, the more her art developed
into the winning form that it is today.
An illustration of the “Filipino values that define the national soul,” Austria said that
Pagtataguyod, whose definition equates to building and promotion, has paralleled her appreciation
for the character of Filipino families and the culture of bayanihan in the country.

Revolutionary Sculpture:
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). He is an icon of bravery and pride of the Filipinos.

The monument is one of the most beautiful works of art in the Philippines. It was designed by
national artist Guillermo Tolentino, who also sculpted the famous University of the Philippines’
Oblation statue.

An important historical and cultural landmark in the Philippines, the monument has twenty-three
figures, including Emilio Jacinto (popularly known as the brains of the Katipunan ) and the three
martyred priests Mariano Gomez, Jose Apolonio Burgos and Jacinto Zamora (well known by many
Filipinos as the GOMBURZA).