the modernists in the philippines
TRANSCRIPT
The intelligentsia refer to the Filipino artists
who were sent to America for further studies,
and were exposed to the impressionist and
post-impressionist art masters like Paul
Gauguin and Henri Matisse, as well as Vincent
Van Gogh and the father of modern art, Paul
Cezanne.
The Filipino painters came home with a strong
desire to introduce modernism in the
Philippine art scene at the time the Traditional
artists were heavily engaged in landscape and
genre painting.
Headed by Victorio Edades, the Thirteen Moderns emerged:
• Carlos “Botong” Francisco
• Galo Ocampo
• Hernando Ocampo
• Cesar Legaspi
• Diosdado Lorenzo
• Vicente Manansala
• Anita Magsaysay
• Demetrio Diego
• Picarte Purugunan
• Bonifacio Cristobal
• Arsenio Capili
The Art Association of the
Philippines (AAP) was
founded in 1948 through the
initiative of Purita Kalaw
Ledesma. It was through the
AAP’s annual exhibitions that
the modern painters were
showcased.
Victorio C. Edades (December 23, 1895 – March 7,
1985) is considered the father of modern art in the
Philippines. 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. In his The
Builders, Edades depicted several men in different
positions carrying stone blocks.
Although Edades used perspective, the painting
looks crowded with men carrying stone. In fact,
even if the title is The Builders, focus is on the
contortion of the bodies and no hint is shown as to
what structure is being built.
Victorio Edades, The Builders. 1928, oil on wood, 121x322 cm. Cultural Center of
the Philippines Collection
Carlos Modesto Villaluz Francisco (November 4,
1912 – March 31, 1969), popularly known as
“Botong”, was a muralist from Angono, Rizal.
He received the title National Artist in 1973. His
famous four-panel mural paintings at the
Philippine General Hospital, The Progress of
Medicine in the Philippines, were commissioned
in 1953 by four physicians: Dr. Agerico Sison,
Dr. Eduardo Quisumbing, Dr. Florentino Herrera,
Jr., and Dr. Constantino Manahan. After hanging
of the walls of the hospital for 58 years, the
National Museum restored the four murals
exhibit these in September 2011.
Francisco’s murals showed scenes from the
history of the Philippines, such as Blood
Compact, First Mass at Limasawa, The
Martyrdom of Rizal, Bayanihan, Magpupukot,
Fiesta, Bayanihan sa Bukid, Sandugo, Portrait
of Purita, The Invasion of Limahong, Serenade,
and Muslim Betrothal. His style was flowing
narrative, and his colors are rendered softly with
smooth brush strokes. He always shows the
Filipinos as dignified, valiant, and proud people
who have a colorful and meaningful history
despite the many years of foreign colonization.
Carlos
‘Botong’
Francisco,
The
Progress of
Medicine in
the
Philippines,
1953, mural.
Philippine
General
Hospital
Collection.
Galo B. Ocampo (October 16, 1913 –
September 12, 1985) had his first exhibition
in 1973 at age 59, entitled Anthropographic
Designs, in which he featured the Tabon man
of the caves of Palawan. It was inspired by
his field work with Robert Fox. Fascinated
by the ancient stalagmites within the
mysterious caves, he said, “I haveendeavoured to create acontemporary world out ofthe past, for the past hasalways given us strength for
His Brown Madonna shows a woman with a child,
which was always depicted in the West as Mary
and the child Jesus. In his version of the same
subject, his woman has brown complexion with
facial features of a Filipina. The Madonna’s baro
(blouse) and saya (skirt) with tapis (wrap
around) reflects a rural settings and indigenized
religious image.
Other famous paintings by Ocampo are:
• Flagellants (1953);
• Pounding Rice (1951); and
• War and Peace (1955).
Galo B.
Ocampo, 1938.
Brown
Madonna, oil
on canvas.
62x47 cm.
(UST Museum
of Arts and
Sciences
Collection)
REMEMBERThe Filipino artists who studied art in America were
influenced by art masters like Paul Gauguin and
Henri Matisse, as well as Vincent Van Gogh and the
father of modern art, Paul Cezanne.
Victorio Edades is considered the father of modern
art in the Philippines.
Carlos ‘Botong’ Francisco’s famous four-panel mural
paintings at the Philippine General Hospital, The
Progress of Medicines in the Philippines was
restored by the National Museum.
Galo Ocampo’s Brown Madonna is an indigenized
religious image.