Development of Painting in The Philippines

In American Period

Introduction

When the Americans took over

government of the islands after

the Spanish-American War,

they brought with them a new

source of patronage for

Philippine artists as well as a

demand for different subject

matter.

For example,

Fabian del Rosa’s paintings

gained a great measure of acclaim

during this period.

Rosa’s work was characterized by

realistic subjects and a soft, cool

palette of colors.

Some of Fabian del Rosa’s paintings:

"Barcazas en el Rio"

" Young Filipina (1928) "

" Women working in a rice field "

" A remembrance of the Villa Borghese

"

" El Kundiman "

Another popular artist who got his start

during the American era was Fernando

Amorsolo y Cueto. Amorsolo’s paintings

were idealized visions of the sun-drenched

Philippine landscape and its inhabitants.

Amorsolo was the dean of the University of

the Philippines school of fine arts from

1952-1955. His work and his leadership at

the college inspired the development of the

“Amorsolo School” of painting.

Some of Fernando Amorsolo y Cueto:

" Antipolo "

depicting Filipinos celebrating a town fiesta.

to illustrate the work of the artist, traditional Filipino

painting and societal norms embodied in the

subject of the painting - a town fiesta

Detail from Fernando Amorsolo's 1945 “Defence of

a Filipina Woman's Honour”

which is representative of Amorsolo's World War II-

era paintings. Here, a Filipino man defends a

woman, who is either his wife or daughter, from

being raped by an unseen Japanese soldier. Note

Other Paintings inAmerican Period

Battle of Manila Bay, 1 May 1898

Painting by Fred S. Cozzens, depicting the U.S. battle line turning while in action, with USS Olympia leading.

Courtesy of the Naval Historical Foundation, donation of Mrs. F. Parotto.

U.S. Naval Historical Center Photograph.

Battle of Manila Bay, 1 May 1898

Contemporary colored print, showing USS Olympia in the left foreground, leading the U.S. Asiatic Squadron in destroying the Spanish fleet off Cavite. A vignette portrait of Rear Admiral George Dewey is featured in the

lower left.

U.S. Naval History & Heritage Command Photograph

Battle of Manila Bay, 1 May 1898

Colored print after a painting by J.G. Tyler, copyright 1898 by P.F. Collier. Ships depicted in left side of print are (l-r): Spanish Warships Don Juan de Ulloa, Castilla, and Reina Cristina. Those in right side are (l-r): USSBoston,

USS Baltimore and USS Olympia.

Collections of the Navy Department, purchased from Lawrence Lane, 1970.

U.S. Naval History & Heritage Command Photograph

"Admiral Dewey at the Battle of Manila"

Contemporary colored print depicting Commodore George Dewey on the bridge of his flagship, USS Olympia, during the Battle of Manila Bay, 1 May 1898.

Courtesy of the Naval Historical Foundation, Collection of C.J. Dutreaux.

U.S. Naval History & Heritage Command Photograph

A propaganda poster depicts the Philippine resistance movement during the first year of Japanese occupation. Following the fall of Corregidor on May 6, 1942, the Philippine guerrilla

movement provided valuable behind the lines intelligence reports to Allied strategists, as well as ambushing the occupying Japanese forces.

Clearly shown in the painting is a guerrilla armed with a bolo knife divesting a Japanese sentry of his rifle. Crouched behind the foliage and clutching U.S. issued .30 caliber M1903 series rifles, are

other members of the force who wait to assist the 11th Airborne force landing in front of the camp.

The four-day battle of Bagsak Mountain on Jolo Island in the Philippines took place from 11 to 15 June 1913. Americans of the 8th Infantry and the Philippine Scouts, personally lead by Brigadier

General John J. Pershing, brought to an end years of bitter struggle against the Moro pirates.

The capture of Aguinaldo, March 22, 1901. The ceProduced by Jeroen Hellingman and the Online Distributed

Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This file wasproduced from images generously made available by theDigital & Multimedia Center, Michigan State University

Libraries.)ntral fact of the American military occupation.