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ARTS HISTORY OF THE PHILIPPINES
PRE-COLONIAL PERIOD
1. Old Stone Age (Paleolithic)
 Espinosa Ranch Site, Cagayan
 (16000-8000 BC)
 Proof of earliest man’s presence
 recovered from a ranch site in Cagayan
Province
 Two flake tools dated about .9 million
years, the oldest man-made object
associated with the fossils of a
proboscidean, a prehistoric elephant.
2. Shell Bracelets and Pendants (Neolithic)
 4854 BC Shells were fashioned into
tools, as well as ornaments.
 The oldest known ornaments made
from cone shells were found in the
early 1960’s in the grave of an adult
male in Duyong Cave in Palawan.
3. Early Metal Age (2000 BC– 1000 AD)
 Lingling-o - An ear pendant fashioned
from green nephrite (jade) is the
characteristic trait of the Early Metal
Age.
 One of the finest jade ornaments
found to date is the double- headed
pendant recovered from Duyong Cave,
Palawan.
4. Metal Age (190 BC to 500 AD)
 In 1991, the National Museum
archaeological team discovered
anthropomorphic secondary burial jars
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in Ayub Cave, Barangay Pinol, Maitum,
Sarangani Province, Mindanao,
Philippines.
Traditional Folk Dance
 An ancient art form that is still
practiced today
 Native Filipinos used dances to
celebrate important events e.g.
harvests, weddings
 Many traditional dance troops keep
this ancient art alive.
Music
 Another art form that pre-colonial
indigenous Filipinos were
accomplished in.
 Native cultures had their own distinct
instruments and styles of music.
SPANISH COLONIAL PERIOD
 Artistic paintings were introduced to
the Filipinos in the 16th century when
the Spaniards arrived.
 These paintings were mainly focused
on religious themes as they were used
as religious propaganda to spread
Catholicism.
 The purpose of most paintings from
the 16th -19th century were to aid the
Catholic Church.
Two Filipino Art Styles that were Developed
during the Spanish Period
1. Miniaturismo
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 art style that pays attention to the
embroidery and texture of the costume.
2. Letras y Figuras
 art style that fuses letters with figures
in every day activity
 amidst a common background. Usually
used in painting a patron’s full name.
EARLY 19TH CENTURY
 Wealthier, educated Filipinos
introduced more secular art which in
turn caused art to deviate from the
religious motifs
 Paintings are all about landscapes,
Philippine fashion, its inhabitants, etc.
 In WWII, the subject of Filipino artworks
focused on the effects of war such as
battles, destruction, and suffering
1. Damian Gabor Domingo (1796-1834)
 Father of Filipino Painting
 The 1st Filipino to paint his face (self-
portrait)
 Founder of the Academia de Dibujo y
Pintura, the first school of drawing in
the Philippines (1821)
AMERICAN COLONIAL PERIOD
 Art Illustration
 Advertising
 Commercial Design
 Painting themes still largely favored
Genre Paintings, Landscapes and Still
Life
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 Portraits are reserved for high ranking
officials with a more academic
approach to make the subject more
formal.
Art Nouveau
 also called style modern
 characterized by simple, clean shapes,
often with a “streamlined” look;
ornament that is geometric or stylized
from representational forms; and
unusually varied, often expensive
materials.
Fernando Amorsolo
 A portraitist and painter of rural
landscapes.
 Best known for his craftsmanship and
mastery in the use of light.
 Art styles: Impressionism, Luminism,
Realism with subjects inspired by
Philippine genre and historical, nudes
and society portraits
Guillermo Tolentino
 National Artist Awards for Sculpture in
1973.
 "Father of Philippine Arts"
Works:
a. "Bonifacio Monument" symbolizing
Filipinos cry for freedom
b. "The Oblation" in UP signifying
academic freedom
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POST COLONIAL PERIOD
Modern art
 Characterized by the artist's intent to
portray a subject as it exists in the
world, according to his or her unique
perspective and is typified by a
rejection of accepted or traditional
styles and values.
Philippine Post Modern Art (1970 – 1980s)
 Some Philippine art historians/critics
has always been a follower of the
Western Art Style and its trends at that
point and thus, suggested that this was
actually the point where Philippine
Modern Art Period started but went
only full swing only after the war.
 The support of the Philippine
Government for the arts via the
creation of the Cultural Center of the
Philippines during 1969, gave a venue
for all artist to experiment and explore
different art mediums -Pop Art,
Installation Art, Performance Art
 Social realism became a heavy theme
by most Filipino Artist as a social
commentary of the problem brewing in
the Philippine political and social
landscape.
Contemporary Art
 the work of artists who are living in the
21st century.
 mirrors contemporary culture and
society, offering the general audiences
a rich resource through which to
consider current ideas and rethink the
familiar.
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 Has a dynamic combination of
materials, methods, concepts, and
subjects that challenges traditional
boundaries and defies easy definition.
 Diverse and eclectic, contemporary art
is distinguished by the very lack of a
uniform organizing principle, ideology,
or – ism.
 Forms of art that is produced in the
present time. It includes, and develops
from, postmodern art, which is a
successor to modern art.
Elements of Contemporary Arts
1. Appropriation - is when an artist creates a
new work of art by taking preexisting
images from other sources and modifies
and/or incorporates those images with
new ones.
2. Performance - refers to artwork created by
or presented to an audience.
3. Hybridity - Artists use hybridity in their
work through the blending of new or
unusual materials with traditional
mediums.
4. Space- Artists use space for creating the
illusion of space or depth upon a flat
surface. They use the effects of one point
perspective and/or light and shadow to
create this illusion—or they may purposely
distort these elements to make
abstractions.
5. Technology-This is the usage of technology
for creating and disseminating art.
Philippine Contemporary Art (1980s to
Present)
 It was on the on-set of the sudden rise
of personal computers and new
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technology created a new art medium
for the arts and human expression.
 There were also countless revivals of
old styles being done.
 This started a new direction for the arts
thus, setting the name, momentarily,
the Philippine Contemporary Period.
Postmodern art
 a body of art movements that sought to
contradict some aspects of modernism
or some aspects that emerged or
developed in its aftermath.
 In general, movements such as
intermedia, installation art, conceptual
art and multimedia, particularly
involving video are described as
Art and Spirituality
postmodern
Art and Environment
 The varied topography of the
Philippine (mountain, lowlands and
coastal lands) continue to influence the
form of art that Filipino create
 Bahay Kubo – vernacular architecture
adapted to the Philippine climate
 Ifugao’s payo(rice terrace): become
basis of their cultural identity ,the
construction of rice terrace was built
with minimal equipment, largely done
by bare hand.
 Torogan - Built by slaves for the king in
seventeenth century. They resides in
the torogan, a huge, stately, towering
house, with a single large room. The
house is more than a residence, it is
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also used for official meetings, social
gatherings and religious rituals.
 Bahay na bato- A building originating
during the Philippines' Spanish Colonial
Period. It is an updated version of the
traditional bahaykubo.
 The Hagabi of the Ifugaos is a long
wooden bench placed under the eaves
in the stone-paved yard that surrounds
the house.
 Ivatan House is a unique vernacular
architecture developed in the province
of Batanes. The Ivatan of Batanes
Islands build houses whose primary
function is to protect them against
typhoons.
 Art produced from the 16th to the 19th
centuries was predominantly religious
in nature.
 These were done under the auspices of
Catholic Church ,Such as retablos,
furniture, wall painting, bell casting,
gold vessels and priestly vestments
 Filipino have created their own sense of
faith and art as shown by the
prevalence of many folk religious
practices that lived today.
 Islamic faith predisposed Muslim art
toward ornamental designs since the
Koran forbids anthropomorphic figures,
but allow the following : Borak ,naga
and sarimanok.
 Called okir by the Maranao and ukkil by
the Tausug, traditional carving shares a
number of designs, although with
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distinct regional variations. One
common motif is called sarimanok by
the Maranao and manuk-manuk by the
Tausug.
Art in everyday life
 The practice of art in Philippines is
strongly characterized by its integration
into everyday life of people .I.e.
Clothing and accessories.
Art and Technology
 Images for digital art contexts, Internet
website and computer-generated
images on film
Art and Politics
 Art in the hands of the state can
harness the resources of the
government to impose its will
 Art comes in danger of becoming a
propaganda tool by people with vested
interest political issues which
government does not address find
expression in various medium of
protest.
 The color red has been widely used in
protest art to signify resistance and the
need for societal change.
 An effigy is a representation of a
specific person in the form of sculpture
or some other three – dimensional
medium.
Philippine Arts as Filipino
 The arts of the Philippines reflect a
society with diverse cultural influences
and traditions.
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 The Malayan peoples had early contact
with traders who introduced Chinese
and Indian influences. Most modern
aspects of Philippine cultural life
evolved under the foreign rule of
Spanish and the Americans.
 The cultural movements of Europe and
the United States profoundly influenced
Filipino artists, even after independence
in 1946.
Literature
 Developed orally in poetic and
narrative forms.
 Epic poems, legends, proverbs, songs,
and riddles
 Passed from generation to generation
through oral recitation and incantation
in the various languages and dialects of
the islands.
 The epics were the most complex of
these early literary forms. One common
theme of the epics is a hero who is
aided by benevolent spirits. The epics
that have survived are important
records of the ancient customs of tribal
society before the arrival of Islam and
Christianity.
Art and Architecture
 During the Spanish colonial period, the
art and architecture of the Philippines
were strongly influenced by the Roman
Catholic Church.
 In the late 1920s Victorio Edades, an
American-trained painter, infused
modernism into the Philippine art
world. Many Philippine painters who
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were influenced by American and
European modernism also
experimented with it to reflect
Philippine realities.
 Sculpture took on secular themes in
the early 1900s. The major Filipino
sculptor of the American colonial
period was Guillermo Tolentino, who
trained in classical sculpture in Rome.
 More recently, sculptors have tended to
utilize ethnic artifacts and natural
materials to produce assemblages with
social themes. Tribal groups have
preserved traditional art forms such as
woodcarving, textile weaving, bamboo
and rattan weaving, and metalsmithing.
Music and dance
 Filipino classical musical compositions
in many ways epitomize the blending of
multicultural influences. The
compositions often embody
indigenous themes and rhythms in
Western forms, such as symphonies,
sonatas, and concertos.
 Traditional types of music are played
on wind, string, and percussion
instruments made from local
materials. These include the kulibit, a
zither with bamboo strings and tubular
bamboo resonators; wooden lutes and
guitars; and the git-git, a wooden
three-string bowed instrument.
 The Muslim peoples use these and
other instruments to play complex
musical compositions that have been
passed by memory from generation to
generation.
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Art
 is “ human ingenuity in adapting
natural things to man’s use.”
(Webster)
 Art comes from the Latin word “ars”
which literally means skill method or
technique.
 It is synonymous with skill, cunning,
artifice, and craft, which all mean the
faculty of what is devised.
Integrated Art
 This practice refers to inter-
disciplinary art, art research,
development, production,
presentation, or artistic creation of
work that fully uses two or more art
disciplines to create a work for a
specific audience.
Why Study Art?
1. Art is a Natural Human Behavior
2. Art is Communication
3. Art is Healing
4. Art Tells Our Story
5. Art is a Shared Experience
Functions of art
1. Personal or Individual Function
 -Artists have their personal reasons for
indulging in art.
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2. Social Function

 Man is a social being and as such he

associates with his fellow beings.

3. Economic Function

 Many people believe that it does not

pay to be an artist. However, this
belief is negated by these facts.

4. Political Function

 -When Imelda Marcos, a patroness of

the arts became Governor of Metro
Manila, she promoted her political
programs by means of the arts.

5. Historical Function

 Paintings, sculptures, architectural

works, and other art forms serve to
record historical figures and events.
 Buildings, furniture (chairs, table, etc),
clothes, and the like form part of the
country’s material culture

6. Religious Function

 Almost all, if not all, art forms evolved

from religion. People in olden times
worshipped their Gods in the form of
songs and dances. Example is the
Pyramid of Giza

7. Physical Function

 Houses and other buildings are

constructed to protect their occupants
and all others inside them

8. Aesthetic Function

 Artworks serve to beautify