LESSON 2: A BRIEF

HISTORY OF ART
At the end of the lesson, students will be
able to:
• 1. Identify the major periods, artists, and
artworks of Philippine art history;
• 2. Build an initial vocabulary of major and
basic art terms in Philippine Art history;
define contemporary arts by situating
these within Philippine Art
• In the discussion, be conscious of the
way the description of context is
integrated into the description of form—
what art is made of and how art is made.
The relationship of material and process
to the symbols and meanings of the art
forms matters
I. Pre-conquest
• In art historical terms, we refer to art before the
coming of the first colonizers as “ pre-conquest.”
• In stylistic terms, we refer to it as “indigenous” to
emphasize the idea that our ancestors have been
making art even before colonization.
• It is also described in cultural terms as “pre-colonial”
as a term to use for the general way of life before
colonization. Although the terms are interchangeable,
it is also useful to keep these distinctions in mind
when studying the art of the past.
Pre-Conquest Artforms
• Mayvanuvanua
• According to Maria F. Mangahas, the term
“Mayvanuvanua” refers to a sacrificial rite
performed at the beginning of the summer
fishing season by mataw fishers in
Batanes.

• It is an act of attraction to successfully

capture the fish dorado for a limited period
of time.
Cañao or Kanyaw
• A similar ritual known as cañao or kanyaw
is found in the Cordillera Autonomous
Region.
• Officiated by a shaman or mumbaki, the
cañao also involves animal sacrifice, where
the entrails are read through a process of
divination that is performed either for
healing, to announce the birth of a child, or
a coming age, during wakes, weddings,
and burial ceremonies.
Mumbaki or Shaman
• According to Grace Grabrito, the term “Mumbaki” is
a local term that translates to a religious specialist
meaning “sayer of prayers” for the Ifugaos.
• Almost every adult in the region is a
mumbaki who practices the tenets of the
religion which they are associated with.

• Each mumbaki invokes prayers and

rituals to various deities, though central to
it is their belief in one supreme deity,
Maknongan and the common sets of
indigenous beliefs.
• These mumbakis offers prayers during
wedding, thanksgiving, funeral, and other
occasions.

• They also open the graves of their ancestors

and bring home the remains for a canao.
They have memorized almost every oral
traditions, stories and lineages which are
passed on from generation to generations
which they perform as rituals
Kashawing
• In Lake Lanao in Mindanao, a
Kashawing ritual to ensure abundance
during rice planting and harvesting is
still observed and performed.
• This ritual involves a re-enactment of
the pact made by the ancestors of the
community and the unseen spirits that
inhabit the lake.
Tagbanwa
• In Palawan, the Tagbanwa believe that
every thirteenth moon, three goddesses
descend from heaven to bless the
planting of rice.
• The shamans go into a trance amidst
ritual chanting and dancing and are
believed to be taken over by the
goddesses themselves.
Pangalay
• from the Sulu archipelago is mimetic of the
movement of seabirds
man-manok of the Bagobos of Mindanao imitate the
movements of predatory birds
“Banog-banog” is a dance that portray
hunters shielding in their chickens from the
famishing hawk.
• The hawk ends up entrapped and dies in
the hands of hunters.

• Based on WikiPilipinas, the dance is

usually performed by the healed patients
of the babaylan (priest) and sometimes on
social occasions.
• The ladies wear patadyong of dark colors and
kamisa made of piña or birang (abaca cloth).
The sleeves are bell-shaped.
• A headdress, a necklace and a belt made
of silver coins are worn on the forehead,
around the neck and around the waist.
• Talip dance of the Ifugaos- is used in
courtship and is mimetic of the
movements of wild fowls.
• The man lures a woman with an attractive
blanket to place on her shapely shoulders,
the Ifugao celebrate the intaneg or wedding
with the festival dance called dinnuyya.

• In the presence of a mumbaki drinking

ceremonial wine, the bride is dressed with
the dong-dong and the groom with the
horned kango on their heads.
• inamong of the Matigsalugs,

• kadaliwas dance of the T’bolis represent the

comedic movements of monkeys
• tinikling, a popular Tagalog folk dance often
showcased for tourists, is evocative of the
movements of the crane, balancing itself on stilt-
like legs or flitting away from the clutches of
bamboo traps.
• People of the Cordilleras carve the bulul,
regarded as a granary god that plays an
important role in rituals. The anthropomorphic
bulul also appears in containers, bowls, and
spoons.
• The Ifugaos also produce the hagabi, a
wooden bench that marks the socioeconomic
status of the owner. It is a symbol of wealth
and prestige.
• Christianized communities in Laguna and
Pampanga are known for carving santos or
sculptures of saints as well as other wooden
sculptures of secular or non-religious
orientation.
• In the Southern Philippines, curvilinear
decorations called the okir (termed ukkil in
Tausug/Samal/Badjao) are employed in
woodcarving. Okir designs can also be found
in the panolong or protruding beams of the
sultan’s house called the torogan.
• Sensuous figures sometimes painted in
primary colors follow the basic designs of
the mythical sarimanok, the naga or
serpent,and the pako rabong or fern
• Manunggul Jar, discovered at Manunggul
Cave, Lipuun Point, Palawan is dated to
the late Neolithic period (890–710 BC). It
is a secondary burial vessel, where
buried and exhumed bones are placed.
• Glazed with reddish hematite and incised
with curvilinear designs, it has two
anthropomorphic or human forms atop the
lid: a boatman paddling to transport his
deceased charge, whose journey through
water is interpreted as a metaphor of
travel to the afterlife.
•
 On the other hand, other forms of pottery
that remain in use are the palayok for cooking,
and containers such as the banga and
tapayan for fermenting food or keeping liquids.
• Another cherished living tradition is weaving.
• Textiles are not only functional, they also
impart knowledge about people’s belief
systems: the reverence for spirits and nature,
criteria for the beautiful and their societies
'sociopolitical structures
• In traditional weaving, the fibers are
gathered from plants like cotton, abaca,
and pineapple leaves while the pigments
are extracted from clay, roots, and leaves
of plants.
• Examples of woven textiles include the
pis siyabit, a headpiece woven by the
Tausug of Sulu and malong with exquisite
tapestry panels called langkit woven by
the Maranao of Lanao del Sur
• Aside from textiles, other forms of weaving
include mat and basket weaving. The colorful
double-layered tepo mat of the Sama of Tawi-Tawi
made of pandan leaves is a remarkable example
of a mundane or everyday object with high artistic
value.
• In Itbayat, Batanes, ovaloid baskets made of nito
and bamboo are used as a head sling to carry
harvests. Weaving techniques are also applied in
creating tools for agricultural purposes.
• In the Ilocos region, sturdy bamboo strips are
woven to create fish traps called bubo.
• In the 16th century, the illustrated manuscript called the
Boxer Codex featured representations of various
ethnolinguistic groups.
• An upper class Tagalog couple was portrayed
wearing gold jewelry while the Visayans are
shown fully covered in tattoo, corroborating early
accounts that referred to the Visayas as “Islas de
los Pintados.”
• Aside from its aesthetic function, tattoos
were valued because it was believed to
protect the individual from evil spirits, and
in some cases, it was considered as a
badge of maturity and bravery.
• The T’boli are known to wear brass chains, bells,
and colorful beads to complete their elaborate
ensemble.
• lotoans or betel nut boxes of various shapes, made of
brass or bronze produced chiefly by the Maranao of
Lanao del Sur.

• The design is achieved through a special technique

of metal casting called the lost wax or cire perdue
process which involves the use of moulds filled with
liquefied metal that eventually hardens.
• Other vessels that employ the same techniques are the
brass kendi and the gadur are used in ceremonies and
are cherished as status symbols or as heirloom pieces.

• The kendi is a vessel used for pouring liquids. It has a

round body with no handle; while the gadur is a container
with a tapered top, a round body, and a flared base.
II. Islamic Colonial (13th century to the
Present)
How did Islam influence art before the
coming of Spanish colonizers?
• The arrival of Sayyid Abbubakar of Arabia
in the 15th century in the Southern
Philippines
• He married Princess Piramisuli, daughter
of Rajah Baguinda
• When his father-in-law died, Abubakar
succeeded the throne and established the
Sultanate of Sulu
• He introduced holy texts via the holy book
of Quran and built a house of prayer
• Abubakar was recognized for building a
religious school, also known as the
madrasa that facilitated the teaching of
Arabic writing in the 16th century.
What are the main beliefs of Islam that
influence the ways art is made and interpreted?
• ummah- a community of believers; where
Filipino Muslims recognize that they belong to
• Tawhid or unity of God- a doctrine which is
central to the Islamic faith. This belief
emphasizes the impermanence of nature and
the incomprehensible greatness of the divine
being.
• How Philippine Muslims organize space in
architecture is also telling of their adherence to
the Tawhid and other Islamic beliefs?

• For example, parts of the mosque like the

mihrab or niche and the Qibla wall are oriented
toward the west—may it be in Sultan Kudarat or
in Quiapo, Manila—in order to fulfill the
requirement that all Islamic buildings must be
oriented toward Mecca as an expression of
oneness with the larger Islamic community
III. Spanish Colonial Period (1521–1898)
• What kinds of art were developed during
Spanish Colonization?
• plaza complex- where the natives were
forcibly resettled in towns structured to
carry out the project of colonization and
Christianization
• consisted of the municipio or local
government office and the church
• In keeping with the prevailing design of
Hispanic churches, the baroque style was
predominantly employed;
• they were characterized by grandeur,
drama, and elaborate details that
purposely appealed to the emotions.
• Examples of baroque churches that have
survived to this day are the San Agustin
Church in Manila, Morong Church in Rizal,
Paoay Church in Ilocos Norte, and Sto. Tomas
de Villanueva Church in Miag-ao, Iloilo
• Although the designs are European-inspired,
local interventions have been employed in
order to suit native sensibilities and adjust to
local environmental conditions.
• The façade of Miag-ao Church features
St. Christopher surrounded by reliefs
having tropical motifs like palm fronds
and papaya trees.
• The use of adobe, limestone, or brick and
the construction of thick buttresses or
wing-like projections reinforce the church
structure to make it more resistant to
earthquakes.
• In colonial churches, santos are displayed in a
decorative altar niche called the retablo.

• With the coming of the Spaniards, who

brought western musical instruments like the
pipe organ, the violin, the guitar, and the
piano, Philippine musical forms also took on a
very European flavor—with new rhythms,
melodies and musical forms, that Filipinos
proceeded to adopt them and make their own.
• Outside of Manila, a musical form based
on the Catholic faith would emerge in the
pasyon or pabasa as it is sometimes called
—or the biblical narration of Christ’s
passion chanted in an improvised melody
• awit and the corrido- These were musical forms that
were chanted stories based on European literature.
(Christian communities of Pampanga, Ilocos, Bicol, and
Iloilo)
kundiman-usually spoke of resignation and fatalism

• Among Mangyans who inhabit the island province of Mindoro,

bamboo poles are cut into smaller nodes and are etched with
Baybayin script used to compose short poems that tell of
courtship and other emotional concerns.

• In the town of Ticao, located in southern province of Leyte, a

huge stone was discovered that contained Baybayin writing
believed to be an invocation for a safe journey by sea.
• Zarzuela or sarsuwela-was an operetta which
features singing and dancing interspersed with
prose dialogue which allowed the story to be
carried out in song.
• Senakulo or Passion play was written in 1704 by
Gaspar Aquino de Belen. It is about Christ’s passion
and death on the cross, adapted into verse form and
translated into the local language. It is performed
during Lent and in some cases, may last for three
days.
• komedya is another local theater form that
emerged during this period. The komedya
depicts the conflict between the Muslims and
Christians.
• Folk dances such as the cariñosa, pandanggo
or fandango, polka, dansa and the rigodon
carry traces of the habañera, jota, and tango
dances from Spain and its colonies
• In the visual arts, paintings served an
instructive function through visual
interpretation of biblical texts central to
Catholic devotion. An example is Heaven,
Earth, and Hell (1850), a mural by Jose Dans
in Paete Church, Laguna
• Doctrina Christiana (The Teachings of Christianity) was
printed in 1593 in Spanish and in Tagalog by Dominican
priests. Doctrina is the first printed book in the Philippines
compiling song lyrics, commandments, sacraments, and
other catechetical material.
• Carta Hydrographica y Chorographica de las Yslas
Filipinas, (1734) is the first scientific map of the Philippines
by Fr. Pedro Murillo Velarde ,Francisco Suarez and Nicolas
de la Cruz Bagay

• Flora de Filipinas in 1878- extensive compilation of

Philippine plants by Augustinian botanist Fr. Manuel Blanco
• Portrait of the Quiazon Family, by Simon Flores
(1800) documents the family’s affluence: the
magnificent interior of the family’s home, the
mother’s jewelry, the delicate fabric and embroidery
of their clothing, and their dignified poses.
• Primeras Letras, 1890, which features a
woman teaching a child how to read.
• In 1884, Juan Luna and Felix Resurreccion Hidalgo won
medals in the Madrid Exposition. Luna won gold for
Spoliarium; while Hidalgo garnered a silver medal for
Virgenes christianas expuestas al populacho
•  “genius knows no country’’- Jose Rizal
• Rizal spoke of the importance of the paintings as the
propagandists campaigned for reforms in the Philippines.
• Large in scale and grandiose (ambitious) in effect, the
significance of both paintings lies not only in the prestige
these gained but also in the relay of meanings these
continue to generate.
• España y Filipinas, 1886 featuring two women ascending
a flight of stairs. Personified by a woman in a flowing red
gown, Mother Spain patronizingly leads her charge, a
petite brown-skinned woman representing Filipinas, the
duo presumably making their way toward the path of
enlightenment.
• IV. American Colonial Period (1898–1940) to the Postwar
Republic (1946–1969)
• Plays

• Juan Abad’s Tanikalang Guinto or “Golden Chain,” 1902

• Juan Matapang Cruz’s Hindi ako Patay or
“I Am Not Dead,” 1903
• Aurelio Tolentino’s Kahapon, Ngayon, at
Bukas or “Yesterday, Today, and
Tomorrow,” 1903
• A Modern Filipina (1915), the first Filipino
play written in English. By Lino Castillejo
and Jesus Araullo
• Vaudeville, which originated from France, was
another form of theater which the Americans
introduced that became popular in the Philippines
during the 1920s. It’s a collection of slapstick,
songs, dances, acrobatics, comedy skits, chorus
girls, magic acts, and stand-up comic acts would
be known locally as bodabil.
• What is Modern Art?
The most well-known proponent of Modern Art in painting was
Victorio Edades
• National Artist Carlos “Botong” V. Francisco and Galo
Ocampo. “Botong” Francisco is known for his magisterial
murals, particularly, Filipino Struggles Through History 1964
• Brown Madonna 1938 which sets the mother
and child in a native, tropical environment.
• Mother Nature’s Bounty Harvest , (ca. 1935) which portrays
a group of women harvesting fruits in a field. At the center
of the painting is a papaya tree and heavenly beings
hovering from above
• V. Japanese Occupation (1942–1945)
• If art was strictly policed during the Second World War,
it brings us little surprise that Amorsolo’s paintings,
many of which showed little or no indication of war’s
atrocities, continued to be favored. Examples include
Harvest Scene, 1942 and Rice Planting, 1942.
• These are paintings that evoked a semblance of
peace, idealized work in the countryside, and
promoted values of docile industriousness.

• Such a mood is echoed by Sylvia La Torre’s hit

song Sa Kabukiran, written in Tagalog in the
1940s by the acclaimed composer Levi Celerio
(National Artist for Music and Literature, awarded
1997). La Torre’s operatic singing along with an
energetic tempo offered an escape from the
troubles of the war.
• Portraits representing different ethnolinguistic
groups were produced, and this is exemplified
by Crispin Lopez’s Study of an Aeta, 1943.

• Although scenes from the war were also made,

the imagery remained neutral, focusing rather
on the aesthetic qualities of ruin and disaster.
• Take Amorsolo’s Bombing of the Intendencia, 1942 and
Ruins of the Manila Cathedral, 1945 as examples, they draw
attention to the elegant handling of value in the billows of
smoke or the pile of ruins rather than the urgency of the
disaster itself. Works which depicted the horrors of war such
as Diosdado Lorenzo’s Atrocities in Paco and Dominador
Castañeda’s Doomed Family were painted after 1945.
• Neo-Realism, Abstraction, and Other Modern Art
Styles
• Manansala’s The Beggars, 1952 consists of the
image of two women with emaciated bodies, their
forlorn faces set against a dark background capturing
the dreariness of poverty.
• Many of Manansala’s paintings are characterized by
transparent cubism, a style marked by the soft
fragmentation of figures using transparent planes instead of
hard-edged ones, as exemplified in the painting Tuba
Drinkers, 1954, Legaspi’s Gadgets II, 1949 depicts half-
naked men almost engulfed in the presence of machines.
• Their elongated limbs and exaggerated muscles indicate
the hardship of their labor; their expressionless faces and
repetitive actions rob them of their humanity as they
function like machines.
• Most of Legaspi’s figures in this period are distorted by his
elongating or making rotund forms in a well-ordered
composition, as seen in the painting Bar Girls, 1947.
• HR Ocampo’s The Contrast, 1940, discussed Lesson 1 is
a distinct figurative work which exposes dire human
conditions amid the backdrop of modernity.
• Ocampo is more recognized however, for his
paintings that combine geometric and
biomorphic shapes with vibrant colors.
• His painting Genesis, 1968, which puts
together warmcolored shapes, became the
basis of the stunning tapestry hanging at the
Main Theater or Bulwagang Nicanor Abelardo
of the CCP.
• Other artists identified with Neo-Realism are
Ramon Estella, Victor Oteyza, and Romeo
Tabuena.
• The 1950s also saw the construction of modern
architectural structures, particularly churches that
modified or veered away from traditional cruciform
designs.
• Within the UP Diliman campus, examples include the
Church of Holy Sacrifice, 1955 (to be discussed in detail
in Lesson 5) and the Church of the Risen Lord, which
both employed concrete as primary material and
experimented with rounded or parabolic forms.
• Another remarkable example is the Chapel of St. Joseph
the Worker in Victorias, Negros, built by the Czech-
American architect
• Antonin Raymond. It features a striking mural of
Christ by the Filipino-American artist Alfonso
Ossorio. Referred to as the Angry Christ, the mural
delivers pictorial overload, filling up the walls and
ceiling of the altar space.
• Distinct from most Christ-figures, the expressive use
of color, the jagged angularity of the rendering, and
the use of flame-like motifs bring to mind the visual
extacle of Bacolod’s Maskara festival. The church is
a curious combination of modern architecture with a
minimalist character and modern painting
expressive of folk sensibilities.
• What was typical of Arturo Luz’s works is the
use of stark linear elements, as seen in Street
Musicians,1952 which pared down the figures
into lines and basic shapes.
• Nena Saguil who took her art studies at the UP, in
the United States, and in Spain, is known for her
canvases filled with circles and cell-like forms.
Earlier in her career, she did figurative works with
rotund features, such as in the painting
Cargadores, 1951.
VI. 70s to Contemporary
• How was the “modern” interpreted in the 70s? How did
contemporary artists rework it influences of the Modern?
• The CCP as Shrine for the Arts
• At the center of this arts and culture
program was the Cultural Center of the
Philippines (CCP), the premier
bureaucratic entity through which art
acquisition, exhibition making, workshops,
grants, and awards were implemented.
• It was created on 25 June 1966 through
Executive Order 30 and inaugurated in 1969,
the year Marcos was elected to his second term
as Philippine President. Leandro Locsin, chief
architect of Imelda Marcos, designed the
modernist cantilevered building described as a
cross between the vernacular bahay kubo and
art brut minimalist structures It stands like a
shrine to High Art on land reclaimed from
historic Manila Bay.
• Like the Marcos Monument, this structure presides
over and stands guard at the entrance of the CCP
complex, which consists of satellite structures with
varying functions:
• the Folk Arts Theater which became the venue of
the first Ms. Universe Pageant in the Philippines in
1974; the state-of-the-art Philippine International
Convention Center (PICC) which housed the 1976
IMFWorld Bank Conference; the Tahanang Filipino
or Coconut Palace which was built in anticipation of
a papal visit; and the Manila Film Center which was
built to host the Manila International Film Festival to
ambitiously rival Cannes.
Social Realism (SR)
• A significant strand that emerged during the intense
political ferment of the 70s and the 80s was Social
Realism or SR, for short. Using various mediums,
techniques, and styles, SR, is a form of protest art
that exposed the sociopolitical issues and struggles
of the times.
• Edgar Fernandez, Kinupot- The format of protest art is not
just confined to painting on canvas but also extends to
other more accessible and popular forms like posters and
illustrations; or street art as in collaborative murals in public
spaces. Several years after the declaration of Martial Law,
an artist collective committed to the development of the
said art movement was formed
• Varied forms of expression can be observed
from the period which spilled over from the
previous decades.
• Among these are expressionist works that
conveyed emotional qualities or states, as in
the dogfight paintings of National Artist Ang
Kiukok, hinting of conflict and aggression; or
the paintings of Onib Olmedo which feature
men with ovoid faces often donning a
mysterious expression bordering on ennui.
• In sculpture, Eduardo Castrillo’s gigantic metal work Pieta,
1969, evoked a strong feeling of anguish and loss through
the expressive poses of Mary the mother and the oversized
body of Christ which she supports.
• On a whole sheet of paper have the learners answer
the Ask the following questions:
• 1. What fiesta traditions do you observe in your
hometown or the place where you currently live?
• 2. When is the fiesta held and what does it
commemorate? What are the rituals and activities?
• 3. Choose a form (fiesta décor, culinary arts,
performing arts, etc.); describe and explain its
origins.
• SCAFFOLD # 2
• Prior to the Activity have the learners watch Watch Decada ‘70’s
(2002) at home.
• This film is an adaptation of Lualhati Bautista’s novel about
family travails during the Martial Law years.
• On a sheet of paper, have them answer the Following questions:
• 1. How was the regime reflected on the film
• 2. What was the setting and how did the characters react to the
setting?
• 3. How can you reconcile what was shown in the film with art
production during the period?
• 4. What could you say about the art production in general?