The art of the Philippines 

is reflective of the diversity,
richness and uniqueness of Filipino culture. It began during the pre-historic era which is signified by the
various paintings and artworks found on the walls of the caves discovered throughout the region.
However, Filipino Art, as we know today, began with colonization of the region by Spain in the early
16th century. The Spanish introduced Christianity to Philippines and art of the period was majorly
influenced by religion. It thus reflects the religious propaganda through the country. Art played a
significant role in the spread of Catholicism in the Philippines. From the 16th century till
the 19th century, art in the Philippines was created primarily for the benefit and spread of Christianity.
Change was seen in the early 19th century, when native people of the Philippines educated themselves.
This change in education was also reflected in the art produced during that time. Among other things,
there was a shift in focus from the church to the native culture of the country which included local
landscapes, native fashion, jewelry and furniture. Another major change in Filipino art came during and
after the Second World War. For many artists, the focus shifted from the native culture to the effects of
the war. Painters started depicting battle scenes, death and the resulting suffering. Artists from the
Philippines have continued to contribute to contemporary art of the world while experimenting with
modern ways of expression. Here are the 10 most famous Filipino artists and their masterpieces.

#10 PACITA ABAD

Pacita Abad
Lifespan: October 5, 1946 – December 7, 2004

Among other things,  Pacita Abad is renowned for her eccentric use of color in her

paintings. Some other unique features of her paintings included underwater scenes,
along with wild animals  and  tropical flowers. She managed to highlight the constant
changes and developments going on in the world around her. Her paintings are a
reflection of her travels all over the world. After briefly studying painting in New York
and Washington D.C., she went on to travel over 80 countries around the world. Her
travels and her experiences with different people and cultures from various parts
of the world had a major influence on her style of painting. In 1970s and 1980s, her
work was majorly inspired by painters like Ben Shahn, which led her to create
paintings which inspired political and social thought. Abad received several awards
during her lifetime. In 1984, she became the first woman to win the Ten Outstanding
Young Men (TOYM) Award. Additionally, she also won the D.C. Commission on the Arts
Award in 1989 and 1990 and the Gwendolyn Caffritz Award in 1992.

Masterpiece: Underwater Wilderness Series  (1986)

Un
derwater Wilderness (1986) – Pacita Abad
Other Famous Works:-
Fly me to the moon (2000)

I Put A Spell On You (1997)

#9 HERNANDO R. OCAMPO

Hernando R Ocampo
Lifespan: April 28, 1911 – December 28, 1978

A self-taught artist, Hernando Ruiz Ocampo majorly followed modernist

traditions throughout his art career and highlighted his work by using
extremely bold color palettes. His work was also inspired by science fiction writing
and the Filipino landscape, which he portrayed by using biomorphic shapes. As
a radical modernist artist, Ocampo was part of a group found by Victorio C. Edades,
which was known as the Saturday Group of Artists or Taza de Oro Group. His work
portrayed the extremely harsh realities of the world he lived in. Moreover, through his
paintings, he depicted the colossal impact of the Second World War. Towards the
second half of his artistic career, he moved on to abstract forms of painting. He was
credited for the invention of an abstract form which used the native flora and fauna
of the Philippines and spatial elements such as the sun and the stars to portray the
abstract forms of life. In 1965, he won the Republic Central Award. Moreover, in
1991, Hernando R. Ocampo was posthumously awarded the title of National Artist of
the Philippines.

Masterpiece: Genesis  (1968)

Ge
nesis (1968) – Hernando Ocampo
Other Famous Works:-

Man and Carabao (1950)

Calvary (1948)
#8 NAPOLEON ABUEVA

Napoleon Abueva
Lifespan: January 26, 1930 – February 16, 2018

One of the most famous Filipino sculptors, Napoleon Veloso Abueva, was one of
the youngest recipients of the National Artist for Sculpture title in the
year  1976. Among other things, Abueva is known as the Father of Modern Philippine
Sculpture. He is credited for shaping the art of sculpture in his country. Abueva used
numerous types of material to create sculpture masterpieces including marble,
bronze, iron, stainless steel, hard wood, cement, adobe, coral  and alabaster. Among
one of his early innovation in his field was “buoyant sculpture”, which according to
him was something to be viewed from the surface of a pool. He is famously known
for being the first Filipino artist for putting up a one-man sculptural exhibit in the
Philippine  Center  in New York in the year 1980. He was awarded the Ten Outstanding
Young Men of the Philippines Award (TOYM) in 1959 and the ASEAN Award for Visual
Arts in the year 1987.

Masterpiece: Kaganapan (1953)
 Kaganapan (1953)
– Napoleon Abueva
Other Famous Works:-

Kiss of Judas (1955)

Allegorical Harpoon (1964)

#7 ANG KIUKOK

Ang Kiukok
Lifespan: March 1, 1931 – May 9, 2005

A man of Chinese descent, Ang Kiukok is most famous for his expressive artwork.

Almost all his paintings have one thing in common: an extremely disturbing subject
matter. With a dynamic profile, his paintings have been known to depict death;
crucifixions;  and  tortured and screaming figurines; which portray the dull and bleak
reality of life. Kiukok was a critically as well as commercially successful painter and
his paintings have had a high viewership. The decade of 1970s, when Philippines
was under martial law, was the time when he made some of his
extremely grueling paintings. Apart from his subject matter, Kiukok is renowned for
his extremely unique style of painting, which was a mixture of Cubism,
Expressionism and Surrealism. It was due to his style that he first gained fame and
prominence in the 1960s. Ang Kiukok was named the National Artist for Visual Arts in
the Philippines in the year 2001.

Masterpiece: Watermelon (1987)
 Wa
termelon (1987) – Ang Kiukok
Other Famous Works:-

The Fishermen (1981)

Angry Figure (1982)

#6 VICTORIO EDADES
 Victorio Edades
Lifespan: December 23, 1895 – March 7, 1985

Victorio Edades was a revolutionary artist, who was the  leader of the Thirteen Moderns,
a group of artists who believed and promoted Modernism in artwork.
A traveling exhibition from the New York Armory Hall  was what inspired Edades to
follow and appreciate modern art. Through the exhibition, he got inspired by some
of the Modern European artists  including Gaugin, Picasso  and  Matisse and felt a pull
towards Modernism and  Surrealism. He believed that Modernism allowed artists to
experiment with art  and encouraged artistic expression and freedom. One of
his most famous paintings, The Sketch (1927)  won the second prize  in the Annual
Exhibition of North American Artists. However, his ideas of modern art were not easily
accepted in the Philippines. He had to struggle to bring a change in the conventions
of domestic art in his nation. Nonetheless his contribution was recognized  and
he was bestowed with the honor of National Artists of the Philippines in Visual Arts
(Painting) in 1976.

Masterpiece: The Builders (1928)

The Builders (1928) – Victorio Edades
Other Famous Works:-

The Sketch (1928)

Mother and Daughter (1926)

#5 VICENTE MANANSALA
 Vicente Manansala
Lifespan: January 22, 1910 – August 22, 1981

Vicente Manansala was a prodigious artist who received a six-month grant from

UNESCO  and was invited to study at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts in Quebec, Canada. He
is most commonly known for his Cubist paintings, prints  and illustration. He was a
member of the Thirteen Moderns, which was led by Victorio Edades. As a neo-realist,
he became one of the few artists who were responsible for the modernist movement
in the country. Primarily, his work was focused on the issues and the problems of the
world. Along with this, the Second World War had a great impact on his
paintings. National culture, social environment, identity  and  native sensibility became
the epicenter of his works. Along with this, he also worked on some abstract pieces
but his main focus remained on using art as a social commentary. Manansala held
his first solo exhibition in the year 1951 at the Manila Hotel. His work had an
immense influence on the next generation of painters which included Manuel
Baldemor  and  Angelito Antonio. The Honolulu Museum of Art, the Lopez Memorial
Museum, Manila and the Philippine Center in New York hold some of his most famous
works. He was posthumously awarded the Order of National Artists of the Philippines
in Visual Arts (Painting) in the year 1981.

Masterpiece:- Madonna of the Slums  (1950)

 Madonna of the Slums (1950) – Vicente
Manansala
Other Famous Works:-

The Bird Seller (1976)

Jeepneys (1951)

#4 BENEDICTO CABRERA
 Benedicto Cabrera
Born: April 10, 1942

Benedicto Reyes Cabrera, is regarded as the bestselling painter of his generation of

Filipino artists. He was introduced to art by his elder brother Salvador, who
was also an established painter. While studying at the University of Philippines, he
explored various forms of art which
included printmaking  and  photography. He eventually established his own unique
form of painting. Cabrera’s work is essentially figurative and he uses fabrics and
patterns to bring  to  life the figures in his paintings. His work is majorly focused on
women, but sometimes also depicts men. In the year 1963, he won the first prize in
a student competition for one of his oil painting which is known as the talipapa  or
a market. His first exhibition of paintings was held in Mabini in the year 1965. After
that, he has had exhibitions in New York, London, Paris  and in various other cities.
Cabrera was awarded the Order of National Artists of the Philippines in Visual Arts
(Painting) in the year 2006. He is perhaps the most famous living artist in the
Philippines.

Masterpiece: Sabel in Blue  (1969)

 Sabel in Blue (1969) – Benedicto Cabrera
Other Famous Works:-

Edo Gesture (1981)

The Oriental Fan (1982)

#3 GUILLERMO TOLENTINO
 Guillermo Tolentino
Lifespan: July 24, 1890 – July 12, 1976

Guillermo Estrella Tolentino, is most famous for his work The Bonifacio Monument,

which became the symbol of the freedom struggle of the Philippines. He was said to be
a product of the Filipino Art’s revival period of the early and mid-20th  century. He was
also credited for making the statues of President Quezon and various other life-size
busts and marble statues of important figures in the history of Philippines. Some of
his smaller sculptors are kept and displayed at the National Museum of Fine
Arts.  Tolentino designed the seal of the Republic of the Philippines and has also been
recognized for designing the gold and the bronze medal for the Ramon Magsaysay
Award. He was awarded the Order of National Artists of the Philippines in Visual Arts
(Sculpture) in 1973. Along with this, he had also won the UNESCO Cultural Award in
Sculpture in 1959, Patnubay ng Sining at Kalinangan Award  in 1963, the Republic
Cultural Heritage award in 1967 and the Presidential Medal of Merit in  1970.

Masterpiece: Bonifacio Monument  (1933)

 Bonifacio Monument (1933) –
Guillermo Tolentino
Other Famous Works:-

Oblation (1931)

Pax: Statue (1919)

#2 JUAN LUNA

Juan Luna
Lifespan: October 24, 1857 – December 7, 1899

Juan Luna de San Pedro y Novicio Ancheta, who was more commonly known as Juan
Luna, is regarded as one of the first internationally renowned Filipino artist. Along with
being an artist, he was also a widely known political activist of the Philippine
Revolution of the late  19th century. Luna was as one of the first recognized painter and
artist in the Philippines. His work was focused on the European academics of his time
and therefore, included a lot of depiction of historical and literary scenes. Along with
this, there was an underlining of political and social commentary in his works which is
highlighted by a slight touch of Romanticism. Theatrical scenes and dramatic
poses were also on the forefront of Luna’s work. His paintings are
generally pronounced, conspicuous  and  vigorous. One of his most famous
paintings, Spoliarium (1884), was taken to Exposición Nacional de Bellas Artes in
Madrid, where Luna was the first recipient of the three gold medals awarded in the
exhibition.

Masterpiece: Spoliarium  (1884)
Spoliarium (1884) – Juan Luna
Other Famous Works:-

The Blood Compact (1886)

The Death of Cleopatra (1881)

#1 FERNANDO AMORSOLO
 Fernando Amorsolo
Lifespan: May 30, 1892 – April 24, 1972

Fernando Amorsolo spent his childhood in a small town which became the

foundation for his artistic career. Having lost his father at the age of 11, his mother
worked to make ends meet. At 13, Amorsolo became an apprentice to De la
Rosa and from there he began his painting career. He is most famous for
his mastery over playing with light. Thus his  most well-known style and technique of
painting includes illuminated landscapes, which were used to portray the culture,
history and the native life of Filipinos. Amorsolo is credited for inventing the
‘backlighting’ technique  which he used to  highlight the natural light in his
paintings. This technique became his trademark and is considered one of his greatest
contribution to the Filipino painting culture. Along with this, Amorsolo also
made sketches, historical paintings  and  portraits. During and after the Second World
War, his primary style of painting shifted from landscapes to portraying the
gruesome nature of war and  its  devastating effects on the lives of Filipino people. Some
of his awards and achievements include the Outstanding University of Philippines
Alumnus Award in 1940, a gold medal by UNESCO National Commission  in 1959 and
the Republic Cultural Heritage Award in 1963. Fernando Amorsolo is the most famous
artist from the Philippines.

Masterpiece: Rice Planting (1951)

 Ric
e Planting (1951) – Fernando Amorsolo
Other Famous Works:-

Fruit Gatherer (1950)

Sunday Morning Going to Town (1958)