TravelswithCharie

Marc Chagall June and July have been busy months for me. Haven’t had the time to write much. There are so many travel articles that I would like to post soon. Here’s a preview of what’s to come.  Bordeaux Marc Chagall Museum in Nice Albi Toulouse Bordeaux Notre Dame de Paris Carcassonne  Albi Stay tuned! ***** Images by TravelswithCharie

In 1968, Antonio Villegas (then Mayor of Manila), commissioned Carlos "Botong" Francisco to paint the history of Manila for Manila City Hall. The series of large scale paintings was called  Kasaysayan ng Maynila  (History of Manila).  The paintings deteriorated over time and no attempt was made to preserve these historical canvases until 2013 when Mayor Amado Lim sent them to the National Museum for extensive restoration. Four years later, in 2017, Mayor Joseph Ejercito Estrada and the Manila City Council signed an agreement with the National Museum to leave the paintings at the museum so they may reach a larger audience in exchange for museum grade reproductions to replace the originals. Kasaysayan ng Maynila was later renamed Filipino Struggles in History and is now on display at the Senate Hall of the National Museum . Carlos "Botong" Francisco died in March 1969, a few months after completing the paintings. He is one of the first Filipino modernists and

Pre-colonial period Pag-unlad ng Panggagamot sa Pilipinas (The Progress of Medicine in the Philippines) is a group of four large-scale paintings depicting healing practices in the Philippines from pre-colonial times to the modern period. Carlos Botong Francisco was commissioned in 1953 by  Dr. Agerico Sison who was then the director of Philippine General Hospital (PGH) together with   Dr. Eduardo Quisumbing of the National Museum, Dr. Florentino Herrera, Jr. and Dr. Constantino Manahan. These oil on canvas paintings measure 2.92 meters in height and 2.76 meters in width (9.71 ft x 8.92 ft) and were displayed at the main entrance hall of PGH for over five decades. Owing to its location, the artworks were in a state of "severe deterioration" at the beginning of the 21st century from exposure to heat, humidity, dirt, dust, smoke, insect stains, grime, termites and an oxidized synthetic resin used in an earlier restoration. These canvases were restored three times, the last was

"If art is to nourish the roots of our culture, society must set the artist free to follow his vision wherever it takes him." John F. Kennedy Spoliarium by Juan Luna The Spoliarium  is an oil on canvas painting by Juan Luna. It won the coveted first gold medal at the Exposición Nacional de Bellas Artes in Madrid in 1884. The Assassination of Governor Bustamente by F. Hidalgo Felix Resurección Hidalgo studied at the Real Academia de Bellas Artes de San Fernando de Madrid as a pensionado of the Ayuntamiento de Manila. He won the ninth silver medal in 1884 for his work, Las Virgines Cristianas Expuestas al Populacho at the Exposicion General de Bellas Artes in Madrid at which event, Juan Luna won the gold medal for his Spoliarium.  The Assassination of Governor General Fernando Bustamante y Rueda  is a controversial painting for its depiction of the Dominican friars as active participants in the murder of the Governor. In fact, Fr. Fidel Villaroel, Ph.D., a Span

Unlike its neighbors, Kyoto and Nara, Osaka has few historical landmarks to show. This third largest city in Japan makes up for the shortfall with its thriving entertainment and food scene.  Dotonbori Street Dotonbori is referred to as the Times Square of Osaka. I think of it as an amusement park with shopping, restaurants, theaters, night clubs and crazy billboards all lit up at night. This place is all about fun, food and whimsical appearances. Restaurant signboard Osaka has been christened the city of kuidaore which means, "eat until you drop". Nowhere is food more visible than in Dotonbori where cartoon signs come alive in the evening, beckoning patrons to dinner. The restaurant shown above is on Dotonbori Street and from the looks of things, the favorite of Spiderman. There are also food stalls on the street selling two popular street food,  okonomiyaki (grilled pancake with flour, eggs, shredded cabbage and meat)   and takoyaki (octopus dumplings).   C