Herb & Ally's Tips and Trips: Juan Luna and the Masters at the Philippine National Museum

"Without art, the crudeness of reality would make the world unbearable."

~George Bernard Shaw

Poster designed by Aissa Domingo/NM Zoology Division
National Museum of the Philippines

I seriously could not remember if I have been to the Philippine National Museum in the past, i mean faraway past. What a shame. Either i never was, which means i was probably absent during our field trip days or nothing impressed me at that time. Again, what a shame.

Door handles of the renovated museum

A blogger/ fb friend Joey "Guy with a blog" posted his visit to the museum and it lit fire in my list of interests. Being an avid fan of Filipino painters and realizing that the best works of no less than Juan Luna, of our National Artists and Masters of Contemporary Art are housed in the museum, it's time to drop by.

The last time I was in a museum is a few weeks ago at Sagada. Prior to that it was years ago in Spain's Museo del Prado. Not that I'm a museum freak but it's one of the best ways to learn a lot in a short time. When I read that our museum has been renovated and finally that the admin is allowing dslr photography on experimental basis, I felt the urge to rush before they change their minds. For a long time museum photography also did not include taking shots of Juan Luna's Spoliarium. Now is the time to capture its awesomeness with decent photos, hopefully. So I tell Herb that he ought to come with me one Sunday in October.

A visit to the National Arts Gallery will never be complete without seeing the impressive Spoliarium, the very first artwork to greet the museum's visitors. It it just impossible to miss it. The painting is really huge, 7 meters by 4 meters in size, awesome in its grizzly power, dwarfing every visitor and commanding respect for the talent of the Filipino, back then the so-called Indios. Painted in 1884, Luna submitted the painting to Exposicion Nacional de Bellas Artes in Madrid where it garnered its first gold medal surpassing the genius of the Spaniards.

The painting features a glimpse of Roman history centered on the bloody carnage brought by gladiatorial matches. Spoliarium is a Latin word referring to the basement of the Roman Colosseum where the fallen and dying gladiators are dumped and devoid of their worldly possessions. At the center of Luna’s painting are fallen gladiators being dragged by Roman soldiers. On the left, spectators ardently await their chance to strip off the combatants of their metal helmets and other armory. In contrast with the charged emotions featured on the left, the right side meanwhile presents a somber mood. An old man carries a torch perhaps searching for his son while a woman weeps the death of her loved one.The Spoliarium is the most valuable oil-on-canvas painting by Juan Luna, a Filipino educated at the Academia de Dibujo y Pintura (Philippines) and at the Academia de San Fernando in Madrid, Spain. With a size of 4.22 meters x 7.675 meters, it is the largest painting in the Philippines. A historical painting, it was made by Luna in 1884 as an entry to the prestigious Exposicion de Bellas Artes (Madrid Art Exposition, May 1884) and eventually won for him the First Gold Medal. [Philippine National Museum]

In Leon Ma Guerrero's "The First Filipino, 2007" , Rizal made a speech regarding the victory of Juan Luna and Felix Resurrection Hidalgo's painting [Hidalgo won silver for his Las Viregenes Cristianas Expuestas al Populacho], " I ask you then to drink a toast to our painters, Luna and Hidalgo, exclusive and legitimate glories of two people. A toast for those who have helped them to the arduous paths of art! A toast for the youth of the Philippines, sacred hope of my country that they may follow such excellent examples." It is later acknowledged that Rizal was inspired by the victories of his comrades and vowed to create his own Spoliarium. Thus the "Noli me Tangere".

Details of the Spoliarium:

A woman weeps for the death of a loved one

Men waiting for their turn to strip off dead gladiators of their armory

Opposite Juan Luna's Spoliarium is another huge and equally stunning painting, this time of contemporary Felix Resurrection Hidalgo's The Assassination of Governor Bustamante. According to historian Ambeth Ocampo, this painting was never exhibited in Hidalgo's lifetime. It depicts the murder in 1719 of an unpopular governor who raised taxes to increase government revenues. He likewise earned the ire of the religious over the issue of sanctuary. Back then, anyone who fled to the church for sanctuary may not be forcibly arrested. The governor earned enemies among the Catholic clergies and he ordered the arrest of major religious personalities including the Archbishop of Manila.

The Assassination of Governor Bustamente

Felix Ressurection Hidalgo
Philippine National Museum

One night, People Power was mobilized with every class joining the attack on the Governor's Palace at Intramuros. The Dominicans, Augustinians and Franciscans came out of their convents holding crucifixes and shouting "Long Live the King!" Governor Bustamante was killed that night along with his son.

When Hidalgo was commissioned to paint that scene from Philippine history, the angry mob became a pack of friars. Initially the painting had the title of "Church vs State" but later changed to its current and more specific title. It was never exhibited in public but simply kept rolled up in the care of Hidalgo's family. In 1974, then First Lady Imelda Marcos urged the Hidalgo family to allow its first public exhibition at the National Museum.

Details of Hidalgo's "The Assassination of Governor Bustamante"

formerly entitled " Church vs State":

Two impressive paintings in one gallery, one cannot help but be proud being Filipino. The so-called Indios proved to surpass the genius of the Spaniards of their time having beaten them in competitions. I urge my fellow Filipinos not to miss seeing these works while they are still available for us to view. Somehow, being displayed in our National Museum, I feel like I'm a part and proud owner of a legacy so priceless and thought provoking. One stands in front of them and realize that indeed in every generation, there's got to be a genius who will speak the truth . And art, oh yes art has always and will always be that one effective vehicle of communication that will not cease to exist.

I'm glad about the renovation that the National Museum has been doing. I honestly did not expect to have a leisurely and comfortable walk in and out of the art galleries but I did [ save for the suspicious looks the guard galleries give the visitors like as if one could bag the Spoliarium ]. I hope one of these days they could come out with pamphlets or booklets that would have a brief background of the artworks displayed. I remember enjoying this perk at the Museo del Prado so that even without a guide, one's viewing becomes more significant.

More of Juan Luna...

Self

Portrait of Paz Pardo de Tavera

Una Bulaqueña

Padres Dominicos

Juan Luna at Fort Santago

Now off to the other galleries...

Hall of the Masters

Fernando Amorsolo (1892-1972 )

First National Artist for painting

Fernando Amorsolo's unfinished portrait along with his easel and painting paraphernalia

"Who is she?" is the first question that comes to mind when one sees the unfinished portrait of the country's first national artist awardee for painting, Fernando Amorosolo (1892-1972). Similar in a way to da Vinci's Mona Lisa who's identity is still vague, Amorsolo's portrait is clouded by some mystery. Nonetheless, it is beautiful in its wanting. I keep staring at the painting and all the other portraits he's completed and was left to thinking of how proud the personalities he gave light to in canvas must be, to be the subject of Amorsolo's light and colors.

How many of us can own an Amorsolo which runs by the millions of pesos? The highest record set so far I've read in an auction at Christie's is his Lavanderas which hammered to P20.2M ! But all of us can take a glimpse of his works at the museum. Right before you, an arm's reach is perfection in canvas and there is absolutely no reason to say, you've never seen an Amorsolo for real.

Carlos Botong Francisco (1914-1969)
Posthumous National Artist awardee 1973

First panel of the mural "Progress in Medicine"

Until 2006, the PGH lobby takes pride in having a mural " The Progress of Medicine" painted by Carlos Botong Francisco.. It depicts the history of Philippine medicine from the Babaylans to present day doctors and scenes in medical science. Then again, such pride is not shared by many passers by. The murals were ignored and left to deteriorate suffering from the effects of humidity, pollution, insect droppings and heavy human traffic. I was once part of PGH having trained there and I am just as guilty as anyone else for ignoring such valuable piece of work. Now here comes much sense from art lovers... restore the painting and give it a new home, one that will take care of it. So in 2011, an agreement was reached between PGH and the National Museum. It will be on long time loan to the Museum for those who really care about what priceless means. In return, the National Museum is to put up a high quality replica at the PGH lobby. It's just as beautiful they say and to the untrained eye, it could be the real thing. Then again, if you would want to se the original, it has a gallery of its own at the National Museum now. Thank God! It is such a pity that I've heard several other government buildings own pieces of artworks by our art geniuses, national artists and they are left to die for good. C'mon, if you can't take care of them, don't own them. Not so different from those wanting to have a chihuahua after watching Legally Blonde then are idiots about how to take the responsibility.

Second panel of Progress in Medicine

Details of the four panels "Progress in Medicine"

More of Carlos Botong Francisco...

Lost in the Woods

Introduction of the First Christian Image, 1965
145cm x 301cm Oil on Canvas

Benedicto "Bencab" Cabrera

National Artist, 2006

Bencab is a personal favorite of mine basically because of Sabel. Seen in many of his paintings, Sabel is a character based on a real life scavenger which the artist has photographed in 1965. Since then, she has graced many of Bencab's canvasses embodying melancholy, solitude and the many inequities of Philippine society. Boy, was I glad to meet Sabel in one of Bencab's paintings displayed at the museum, "The Imaginary Portrait of Sabel" oil in canvas created in 1969.

Other works of Bencab currently on display include a self-portrait 1969 and Manggagawa 1968.

Manggagawa, oil on canvas, 1968

Self, oil on canvas 1969

Jose Joya ( 1931-1995 )

National Artist 1991

Hills of Nikko

Jose Joya introduced abstract non figurative abstract expression in visual arts. The painting Hills of Nikko is actually an allegory to human imperfections. The earth colors symbolize the weaknesses and limitations of humanity while the hues of greens and blues represent life and hope. [ Philippine National Museum ]

Details of "Hills of Nikko" ,1964
Oil on Canvas

Ethereal Aura

Abstraction 58 , 1958
Oil on canvas

Ang Kiukok (1931-2005)

National Artist 2002

Ink Fish is a figurative abstract painting of an undersea life with three skeletal fish as prominent figures and full of colors. It was one of Ang Kiukok’s early works in the 1960s generally described as distorted, disjointed, and full of geometric skeletons with overlapping geometric forms. The subject borders on the artist’s social commentaries on the realities of life. [Philippine National Museum]

Fish Forms, 1965
Oil on Canvas

Towards the Graveyard 1955
Oil on Canvas

H.R. Ocampo (1911-1978)
National Artist, 1991

Homage to Tandang Sora, 1977
Acrylic on Canvas

Ang Pulubi, 1946

Oil on Canvas

Abdulmari Asia Imao

National Artist 2006

Cesar Legaspi (1917-1994)
National Artist 1990

Superstition, Undated
Oil on Canvas

Vicente Manansala (1910-1981)

National Artist, 1981

The Burial

1951

Pablo Amorsolo (1898-1945)

The less known Amorsolo, younger brother of the National Artist, Fernando Amorsolo likewise has several of his works showcased at the museum. It was only there that I learned the Amorsolos are a family of superb visual artists. Among my favorites is a painting he did for the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes