LESSON 9

THE NATIONAL ARTISTS OF THE PHILIPPINES FOR VISUAL ARTS

(Painting and Sculpture)

Introduction
In the Philippines, visual arts can be characterized as a mixture of western and native cultural
influences. During the times of Spanish colonization, it was the Spanish friars who introduced the western styles
of painting and carving, the theme being religious. Churches all over the country have become informal museums
where religious paintings and statutes abound.
Currently, Spanish influence is still apparent in the Filipino artworks, along with inspirations from other
countries. Filipino art masterpieces, from those of Juan Luna and Felix Hidalgo, to the modern pieces of
Benedicto (BenCab) Cabrera, 21st century Filipino visual arts have embraced native forms and themes, as well as
foreign styles and techniques.

The National Artists for Visual Arts

NAPOLEON ABUEVA
(1930 – )
Year of Conferment: 1976
A Boholano, Napoleon Abieva is considered the “Father of Modern Philippine Sculpture”. His works used
varied materials ranging from hardwood, to coral, and adobe. His famous works include The Transfiguration at the
Eternal Gardens Memorial Park, the Water Buffalo, and the bronze image of Teodoro M. Kalaw, found in the
façade of the National Library. He also made the death masks of famous personalities, such as Benigno Aquino, Jr.,
and Fernando Poe, Jr.

ANG KIUKOK
(1931 – 2005)
Year of Conferment: 2001
Born to immigrant Chinese parents Vicente Ang and Chin Lim, Ang Kiukok is one of the most talented and
energetic figures who began his flourishing career during the 1960s. His works are marked by their visual intensity
and meaning. Art critics praise Ang Kiukok for works which are “imbued with nationalist fervor and sociological
agenda”, according to the NCCA. His famous works include Geometric Landscape, Dog Fight, Pieta (a bronze
medal winner in Saigon, Vietnam), and the Seated Figure (auctioned at Singapore’s Sothesby’s).

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 VICTORIO EDADES
(1895 – 1985)
Year of Conferment: 1976
Victorio Edades is considered the “Father of Modernism in Philippine Art”. Early in his career he showed
his attraction towards impressionism. In his works, he used dark and gloomy colors. Most of the subjects in his
artworks are Filipino laborers in their everyday situations. According to the NCCA, his paintings depict the working
class in “rough, bold impasto strokes, and standing tall and singular in his advocacy and practice”. His famous
paintings include The Sketch, Poinsettia Girl, The Wrestlers, Portrait of the Professor, and Japanese Girl.

CESAR LEGASPI
(1917 – 1994)
Year of Conferment: 1990
Cesar Legaspi is recognized as the pioneer of the Neorealist movement in the Philippines. His art is said to
have paved the way to the birth of the modern Philippine art. He was able to create paintings that made “use of the
geometric fragmentation technique, weaving social comment and juxtaposing the mythical and modern into his
overlapping, interacting forms with disturbing power and intensity”. Some of his notable works are Tree Planting,
Man and Woman, Reclining Nude, and Gadgets.

VICENTE MANANSALA
(1910 – 1981)
Year of Conferment: 1981
Vicente Manansala was an extraordinary illustrator and cubist painter. His paintings depict the barrio and
the city together, and are often characterized, according to the NCCA, as “visions of reality teetering on the edge of
abstraction”. His famous masterpiece is Madonna of the Slums, which represents a mother and a child from the
country. In his other paintings, such as the Jeepney, and the Birdman, he combined the elements of provincial folk
culture with the busy streets of the city.
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 HERNANDO OCAMPO
(1911 – 1978)
Year of Conferment: 1991
Hernando Ocampo was an exceptional visual artist, though he was self-taught. His works, as cited, are
often praised to have “provided an understanding and awareness of the harsh social realities in the country”.
Ocampo invented a new mode of perception that demonstrated the atmosphere and the wildlife of the Philippines.
He used movement and bold colors in his artworks. Some of his popular works are Nude with Candle and Flower,
Ina ng Balon, Kasaysayan ng Lahi, Man and Carabao, Revelation 8, Ancestors, and Fiesta.

FERNANDO AMORSOLO
(1892 – 1972)
Year of Conferment: 1972
Fernando Amorsolo is the country’s first National Artist, heralded as the “Grand Old Man of Philippine
Art”. As an artist, he started his education as an apprentice, later enrolling at the Art School of the Liceo de Manila,
and then at the University of the Philippines. He further studied at the Academia de San Fernando in Madrid
through a study grant provided by Enrique Zobel de Ayala, the famous business tycoon. National Artist Nick
Joaquin described Amorsolo’s work as “the rapture of a sensualist utterly in love with the earth, with the Philippines
sun…..” Most of his paintings depict the rich rural Philippine landscape. Famous of his works include Rice
Planting, Defence of a Filipina Woman’s Honor, and Sunday Morning Going to Town.

CARLOS FRANCISCO
(1912 – 1969)
Year of Conferment: 1973
Carlos (Botong) Francisco was a muralist whose massive murals depict historical events. His artistic
genius lies in his ability to turn “fragments of the historic past into vivid records of the legendary courage of the
ancestors of his race”. Francisco’s impressive works include Blood Compact, First Mass at Limasawa,
Magpupukot, The Martyrdom of Rizal, and Fiesta.

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 ARTURO LUZ
(1926 - )
Year of Conferment: 1997
Arturo (Art) Rogerio Luz is a prominent printmaker, sculptor, and art administrator. A minimalist, he uses
geometric abstracts that “exemplify an ideal of sublime austerity in expression and form. He also has pioneered the
professionalization of the art galleries that “set a prestigious influence over generations of Filipino artists”. His best
masterpieces include Bagong Taon, Man With Guitar, Self-Portrait, and Cities of the Past.

JERRY ELIZALDE NAVARRO

(1924 – 1999)
Year of Conferment: 1999
Jerry Elizalde Navarro was both a painter and sculptor whose works, aside from painting and sculpture,
include graphic design, printmaking, and mask-making in hardwood which “merge the human and the animal”. He
represented the country at the Sao Paulo Biennale in Brazil for sculpture. His illustrious works include I’m Sorry
Jesus, I Can’t Attend Christmas This Year; Homage to Dodjie Laurel; A Flying Contraption to Mr. Icarus; Singkil;
Is He the Man?; and The Seasons.

GUILLERMO TOLENTINO
(1890 – 1976)
Year of Conferment: 1973
Guillermo Tolentino is famous for his countless contributions in Philippine sculpture that are iconic
and truly a pride of the Filipino people. He was a master in classical sculpture, being “a product of the Revival
Period in Philippine art”. His brilliant sculptures include Oblation, Bonifacio Monument (in Caloocan), the figures
of Dr. Jose Rizal (in UP), President Quezon (in Quezon Memorial), and President Magsaysay (in the GSIS
Building). He also designed the medal of the Ramon Magsaysay Award and the Seal of the Republic of the
Philippines.

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 JOSE JOYA
(1931 – 1995)
Year of Conferment: 2003
A former dean of the UP College of Fine Arts, Jose Joya initiated abstract expressionism in the country.
Abstract expressionism is the use of the abstract style to convey strong emotional or expressive content. His
masterpieces showed “dynamic spontaneity” and “quick gestures” of action painting. Majority of his works employ
the tropical landscapes of the country as their theme. These include Nanking, Hills of Nikko, Mariveles, Beethoven
Listening to the Blues, Cityscape, Granadean Arabesque, and Biennial.

BENEDICTO CABRERA
(1942 - )
Year of Conferment: 2006
Benedicto (BenCab) Cabrera is a brilliant painter who has “upheld the primacy of drawing over the
decorative color. A lyrical expressionist, BenCab represents Philippine society through his work Sabel, a symbolic
scavenger which he describes as “a melancholic symbol of dislocation, despair, and isolation – the personification of
human dignity threatened by life’s vicissitudes, and the vast inequities of Philippines society. His greatest works
include Madonna with Objects, Studies of Sabel, People Waiting, The Indifference, and Waiting for the Monsoon.

ABDULMARI IMAO
(1936 – 2014)
Year of Conferment: 2006
A Native of Sulu, Abdulmari Imao was a remarkable sculptor, painter, ceramist, photographer, writer, and
cultural researcher. Mentored by National Artists Guillermo Tolentino and Napoleon Abueva, Imao incorporated in
his works native motifs and designs, such as the sarimanok, the naga, and the ukkil, which has helped develop
among ethnic groups trust and confidence essential for the development of a civilized society. Some of his notable
works are the Industry Brass Mural and Mural Relief on Filmmaking in the Manila City Hall.

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 FRANCISCO COCHING
(1919 – 1998)
Year of Conferment: 2001
Francisco Coching was a comic book creator with 53 comic book novels to his name. Unable to finish his
studies, he became an apprentice at Liwayway magazine under Tony Velasquez . Art critic Alfredo Roces, on
Coching’s art, noted: “For two decades, Francisco Coching’s fanciful stories captured the popular imagination.
Borrowing from the long tradition of romances and corridos, along with the moro-moro and zarzuela of the colonial
era, Coching reimagined Philippine in his enduring works.” His works include: Hagibis, El Indio, Don Cobarde,
Pagano, Dumagit, Lapu-Lapu, Bulalakaw, Waldas, Talipandas, Palasig, Movie Fan, Gat Sibasib, and Satur.

FEDERICO ALCUAZ
(1932 – 2011)
Year of Conferment: 2009
Federico Alcuaz was a multi –awarded artist in both national and international competitions since the
1950s. An awardee of the UP Art Competition two times (1953 and 1954), and the 1954 Annual Shell Art
Competition, he later studied at the Academia de Bellas Artes de San Fernando in Madrid, under a scholarship from
the Spanish government. In Spain, he received several awards including the Premio Moncada in 1957, the 1958
Prix Francisco Goya in Barcelona, the Pintura Sant Pol del Mar in 1961 and the Premio Vancell at the Fourth
Biennial of Tarrasa in Barcelona in 1964. In France, he garnered the Diploma of Honor at the International
Exhibition of Art Libre in 1961, the decoration of Arts, Letters and Sciences award from the French government in
1964; and the Order of French Genius in 1964.  In 2007, the Philippine government bestowed on him the
Presidential Medal of Merit award for his outstanding accomplishments in visual arts. Alcuaz’s works include oil
paintings on canvas and mixed media (watercolor). In his 55 year career, he has exhibited in leading galleries in
Spain, the Philippines, Portugal, Poland, the United States and Germany. Several of his paintings were featured in
the definitive book “Parallel Texts” by Rod Paras Perez, which included rare watercolor pieces Manila 1968 and
Manila 1968 II, and other paintings on Wiesbaden, Germany. (federicoaguilaralcuaz.com)

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 LARRY ALCALA
(1926 – 2002)
Year of Conferment: 2018
Larry Alcala was an editorial cartoonist and illustrator who brought to life the cartoon series Slice of Life in
the Weekend Magazine, Mang Ambo in the Weekly Graphic, and Kalabog en Bosyo, the first comic strip where the
characters spoke in Taglish (Tagalog and English). His works portrayed the idiosyncracies of the Filipino,
especially our ability to laugh at ourselves in the face of great adversity. Alcala was a Professor of Fine Arts at the
University of the Philippines from 1951 to 1981. He introduced the first college degree course on Commercial
Design in 1953, and the first 8 mm film production of animated cartoons in Visual Communications course in 1972.
He received the Australian Cultural Award accompanied by a travel study grant in 1975.
(https://www.rappler.com-214953-list-national-artists-philippines-for-2018 and https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/
Larry Alcala)

oOo

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