STI COLLEGE STA.

MESA
Art Appreciation
Three Famous Filipino Painters
Name: John Louis A. Abinal Course and Section: BSMT 1B
Asynchronousno.2 Professor: Mr. Terey Gil T. Gomez, LPT, MCED

FERNANDO C. AMORSOLO
Brief Biography

Fernando Amorsolo painted and sketched more than ten thousand pieces over his lifetime
using natural and backlighting techniques. His most known works are of the dalagang
Filipina, landscapes of his Philippine homeland, portraits and WWII war scenes. Born in
Calle Herran in Paco, Manila, on May 30, 1892, Fernando Amorsolo began drawing and
sketching as a young boy. The family lived in Daet until the death of his father. At that time
his mother moved the family to the home of her cousin, artist Don Fabian dela Rosa in
Manila. Amorsolo was 13 years old at the time and in order to help provide for his family, he
sold his drawings and began to study art under dela Rosa.
Awards and Honors
1908 – 2nd Prize, Bazar Escolta (Association International de Artistas), for Levendo
Periodico
1922 – 1st Prize, Commercial and Industrial Fair in the Manila Carnival
1929 – 1st Prize, New York's World Fair, for Afternoon Meal of Rice Workers (also known
as Noonday Meal of the Rice Workers)
1940 – Outstanding University of the Philippines Alumnus Award
1959 – Gold Medal, UNESCO National Commission
1961 – Rizal Pro Patria Award
1961 – Honorary Doctorate in the Humanities, from the Far Eastern University
1963 – Diploma of Merit from the University of the Philippines
1963 – Patnubay ng Sining at Kalinangan Award, from the City of Manila
1963 – Republic Cultural Heritage Award
1972 – Gawad CCP para sa Sining, from the Cultural Center of the Philippines
Selected works:
Afternoon meal of the rice workers, 1951,
Mango pickers, 1936.
Fruit Gatherer, 1950.
El Ciego (The Blind Man) 1929.
A Basket of Mangoes, 1949.
Tinikling in barrio, 1951.
 JOSE T. JOYA

Brief Biography

National artist Jose Joya was a pioneer modern and abstract artist who was active as a
painter, printmaker, mixed-media artist and ceramicist. It has been said that it was Joya who
“spearheaded the birth, growth and flowering of abstract expressionism” in the Philippines.
His mature abstract works have been said to be “characterized by calligraphic gestures and
linear forces, and a sense of color vibrancy emanating from an Oriental sensibility.” Joya’s
sense of color has been said to have come from the hues of the Philippine landscape, and
his use of rice paper in collages demonstrated an interest in transparency.
Jose Tanig Joya was born on June 3, 1931, the son of Jose Joya Sr. and Asuncion Tanig.
He began sketching at the age of eleven. At a young age, he became interested in studying
architecture, but found that he did not have the aptitude for the math and science that
architecture would require. While attending the University of the Philippines he was
introduced to the paintings of Fernando Amorsolo and began his study of painting. He was
initially schooled in the traditional tradition — in which the standards had been set by
Amorsolo and Tolentino — but gradually was influenced by American abstraction and by the
emerging trends in Philippine modernism. He was mentored by Guillermo Tolentino, Ireneo
Miranda, Domindaor Castaneda and Virginia Agbayani.
Joya graduated from the University of the Philippines (UP) in 1953 with a bachelor’s degree
in Fine Art, earning the distinction of being the university’s first Magna cum Laude. In 1954
the Instituto de Cultura Hispanica of the Spanish government awarded him a one-year grant
to study painting in Madrid. Travel/study scholarships to Madrid — which came about
through the influence of PAG member Fernando Zobel de Ayala — were also given to other
PAG artists including Arturo Luz, Nena Saguil and Larry Tronco. After returning from Spain,
Joya finished his master’s degree in Painting in 1956 at the Cranbrook School of Art in
Michigan, with the assistance of a Fulbright Smith-Mundt grant.

Awards and Honors

1953 - First Magna Cum Laude graduate of the University of the Philippines College of Fine
Arts
1954 - Scholarship award by the Spanish government to study at the Instituto de Cultura
Hispanica.
1957 - MFA from Cranbrook Academy of Art
1967 - John D. Rockefeller III Fund and Ford Foundation grant
1967 - Chevalier dans I’ Ordre des Arts et Lettres
2003 - National Artist for Visual Arts awarded by President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo
Selected Works:
Ligawan, 1948 
Barter of Panay, 1948
Hidalgo Studies, 1951
Christ Stripped of His Clothes, 1954
Granadean Arabesque, 1958
Space Transfiguration, 1959
Dimensions of Fear, 1965
Ang Tutubi, 1967
Cityscape, 1972
Warm Afternoon, 1974
Vista Beyond Recognition, 1981
Torogan, 1985
Spirit of Season, 1992
Playground of the Mind, 1998
 ANG KIUKOK
Ang Kiukok (1931-2005) was a popular Filipino artist best known for his depictions of
violent imagery and for originating the style of figurative expressionism. Equally at
home on canvas and paper, Ang's versatility helped elevate sketches from a simple
means for studies to a well-respected art-form.
 Ang Kiukok was born in Davao City, Philippines to Chinese immigrant parents. Early
encouragement of his art led to Ang's enrollment in the University of Santo Tomas in
Fine Art in 1952. There, notable Filipino painters such as Vicente Manansala
recognized his talent; Manansala would become Ang's primary mentor and lifelong
friend. After his time at university, Ang spent his time teaching and participating in art
shows. He held his first solo exhibition in 1954 and won numerous awards during
this period.
 In 1965, a trip to New York led to a shift in Ang's style. Influenced by the abstract
art that he saw there, his artwork portrayed the anger that he saw in the world
around him.  Ang worked mostly during the repressive dictatorship of Ferdinand
Marcos, and his art often reflected the political strife of the time, though veiled in
shrouds of metaphor in order to avoid being detected and censored. Although he
never explicated his opposition to the Marcos regime, his artwork nevertheless
reflects what many see as animosity towards the dictator while Ang himself
maintained a calm composure. Despite his later, more robotic pieces being rejected
by the public fancy, he nevertheless persisted in staying true to himself and painting
without regard for public opinion. After this period, his paintings again grew in
popularity in the 1970s, leading to a celebration period of Ang's work that would
persist beyond his passing.
In 1976, Ang was awarded the Outstanding Citizen Award which led to the
1978 Patnubay ng Sining at Kalinangan Award, and in 2001, he was awarded the
Pambansang Alagad ng Sining ng Pilipinas (National Artists of the Philippines) order,
the highest honor bestowed for artistic achievement in the Philippines. A
retrospective of Ang's work was held at the Metropolitan Museum of Manila in 2000;
he was only the third person in the history of the museum to receive this honor. He
died from prostate cancer in 2005 and was buried in Libingan ng mga Bayani,
 Manila's national cemetery for Filipino heroes. Today, Ang remains one of the most
recognizable and sought-after Filipino artists.
Awards and Honors:
Bronze medal in the 1st International Art Exhibition in Saigon, 1962
Outstanding Citizen Award, 1976
Stalwart of Art and Culture, 1978
Philippine National Artist, 2001
Selected Works:
Geometric Landscape, 1969
Pieta, 1962
Seated Figure, 1979