TravelswithCharie

I Believe in God, 1948, oil on masonite  One of the group of Thirteen Moderns and Neo Realists, Vicente Silva Manansala had the good fortune to study art in Canada, the United States, France and Switzerland through a number of grants he received from UNESCO, the French government and the U.S. State Department. He studied at the Ecole de Beaux Arts in 1950 under the mentorship of Fernand Léger, a renowned French artist and exponent of cubism. Manansala’s early works were influenced by Fernando Amorsolo whose paintings celebrated Philippine landscapes and local culture. Manansala’s oeuvres portray the working class like the fish and candle vendors, the man with the rooster, or the family praying together (above image). I believe in God is a painting completed by Manansala before he dabbled into cubism. The figures and forms are solid depictions of farmers in the rural landscape. Procession, 1948, oil on canvas 1948 was three years after the second world war. The Philippines was qui...

The Evolution of Philippine Culture The story of The Evolution of Philippine Culture began in 1957 when the Fleur de Lis Auditorium at St. Paul University Manila was under construction. Jose L. Reynoso, the architect of the Fleur de Lis, asked his townmate, Carlos “Botong” Francisco, to paint a mural which he envisioned as the focal point of the auditorium’s lobby. The 3.5 meters by 4.5 meters mural was fitted between two pilasters and it is the first thing a theatergoer would see as they enter the foyer from the main portal. The theme, The Evolution of Philippine Culture, was carefully considered to complement the purpose of the Fleur de Lis, that is, to bring to the stage noteworthy musicals and concerts which have since earned the theater the name, “Broadway of Herran”. (Herran was the former name of Pedro Gil Street.) The central figure is that of a muscular Filipino who is intensely beating the drum. The sound is almost palpable. Above him is a Caucasian woman whose head is caugh...

Lino F. Villarruz Lino F. Villarruz graduated with a degree in Fine Arts from the University of Santo Tomas. He is a founding member of the Arts Association of Capiz (formerly Capiz Arts Council) which he served as its Visual Arts Director in 1995. Mr. Villarruz  has received numerous art awards throughout his career including the Capiznon Artist Award. He comes from a musical family and was a guitarist for the band he formed with his brothers when he was in his teens. He lives in Roxas City with his wife and children. How did you come to realize you wanted to be a painter? Lino: I liked drawing and found I was good at it during high school so it was easy for me to decide to study Fine Arts in college. Who were the artists who influenced you the most? Lino: The artists I admired most and who influenced my work were Vicente Manansala, Carlos "Botong" Francisco, Mauro "Malang" Santos and Pablo Picasso. How would you describe your artistic style? Lino: My style of pain...

In 1966, Marc Chagall donated the group of paintings collectively known as “Biblical Message” to the French State. These paintings were exhibited at the Louvre and became the inspiration for the Musée National Marc Chagall in Nice which was inaugurated in 1973 and attended by the artist himself. This biblical series of 17 large scale paintings form the core of the exhibition. 250 works were initially donated by Chagall. Aside from the paintings, there are sculptures, bas reliefs, a ceramic piece, lithographs and copies of his illustrated books. A mosaic wall called, The Prophet Elijah,  presides in the courtyard. Every Chagall painting has more than one story to tell. I learned to watch for the little vignettes scattered throughout his canvases so I wouldn’t miss the rich narratives that define his works. The Creation of Man, 1956-58 An angel carries Adam from the ocean where animals thrived prior to the creation of man. The rays of a swirling sun evoke the artistic style...

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...