GEC 07

ART APPRECIATION

Lecture 1.3
THE FILIPINO CONCEPT OF ART

The Filipino concept of art is different

and has no distinction from the Western
concept. In the Philippines, an artist is an
artist. The focus of how an artist is gauged
the standard of his artwork is based on his
talent. This notions can be traced back from
Damian Domingo Gabor, father of
Philippine painting.

He was given a chance to showcase his

talent in painting
because Spaniards
thought that he was a Spanish descent. The said mistake
became his ticket to have commissioned works. He did
not only paint for his patron, Sociedad Economica de los
Amigos del Pais but he also painted images of common
Filipinos. He even made albums of people wearing their
daily costumes. It was said that, he a vision of making art
more accessible to the Filipinos (Indios). Then, later on
founded the first Art School in the Philippines Escuela
Dibujo y Pintura in Tondo Manila in 1821. Also, he
became professor and director of the Philippine Art Academy. This opened
opportunity to other Filipino artists to hone their skills using Western education in
art.

Aside from Damian Domingo, Juan Luna

and Felix R. Hidalgo also placed a remarkable
and firm position in the field of art. Juan
Luna’s Spoliarium won gold medal and Felix
R. Hidalgo’s Las Virgenes Cristianas
Expuestas al Populacho (Christian Virgins
Exposed to the Populace) won silver medal in
Exposicion Nacional de Bellas Artes in 1884.
For Rizal, in his speech, the winning to
expositon had proven that Filipinos were
equal with the Spaniards, so that the Filipinos
deserve the recognition of other people in the world with equal dignity and
respect.
With this,
they
showed
that
Filipinos
are also
great in
the field of
art. They
were able
to showcase that Filipino talents can also
match with other astute artists in other
nations. Filipinos. Futhermore, for Rizal,
Luna and Hidalgo are the pride of Spain as

MARIA GLORIA R. BECO-NADA

Southern Luzon State University
College of Art and Sciences
 GEC 07
ART APPRECIATION

of the Philippines-though born in the Philippines, they might have been born in
Spain, for genius has no country; genius bursts forth everywhere….

The Filipino concept of art has no trace of Western ideals because of the
experiences of Damian Domingo, Felix R. Hidalgo, and Juan Luna that anyone
can become artist. Also, they took advantage of the concepts and ideas that
they learned from Western education. They utilized it to enhance their talents.
Thus, other Filipino artists did the same to maximize their skills in art.

It was said that, it changed the

identity of Philippine art. Filipino
artists subsumed in their artworks
Western concepts and ideas. The
given image of two women, it was
also painted by Luna entitled,
Espana y Filipinas. The woman on
the left side with longer dress is
symbol for Western art, and the
woman on the right side with shorter
dress is symbol for Philippine art.
Filipino artists integrated both
Western art and Philippine art, in doing their artworks which result to magnificent
paintings, sculptures, songs, etc.
As a whole, Filipino identity in the arts harmonized Philippine art to Western
art.

References:
Adams, L. (2011). A History of Western Art. 5th ed. New York: McGraw-Hills Companies, Inc.
Ayala, F. (2010). The Difference for Being Human: Morality. Proceeding of the National Academy of Sciences of the
United States of America. Vol. 107 (2).
Brommer, G. F. (1997). Discovering Art History. 3rd ed. Massachusetts: Davis Publications, inc.
De Leon, F. (2015). “Defining the Filipino Through the Arts,” Philippine Humanities Review.upd.edu.ph/index. php/phr/
article/ download/4737/4273.
Devilles, G. C., R. R. Maiquez and R. B. Tolentino. (2018). Art Sense (Sensing the Arts in the Everyday.Quezon City: C&E
Publishing, Inc.
Estolas, J., C. G. Javier, and N. P. Payno. (2011). Introduction to Humanities (Arts for Fine Living). Mandaluyong City:
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Gabelo, N. (2018). Art Appreciation. Muntinlupa City: Panday-Lahi Publishing House, Inc.
Hodge, (2014). Art: Everything You Need to Know About the Greatest Artists and their Works. New York: Random House
Publishing.
Leano, R. D. and J. M. B. Agtani (2018). Art Appreciaiton for College Students. Manila: Mindshapers Co., Inc.
Legazpi, L. (2013)”Understanding Through the Art” in Literature of the Philippines. Lucban, Quezon: Southern Luzon State
University. .
Martin D. & L. Jacobos. (2008). The Humanities through the Arts. 9th ed. New York: McGraw Hill Companies.
Panofsky, E. (1955). “The History of Art as a Humanistic Discipline ” in Meaning in the Visual Arts. Australia: Penguin
Books, 1955. pp. 1-25.Sanchez, C. A., P. F. Abad, L. O. Jao., and R. A. Sanchez. (2012). introduction to the
Humanities. 6th ed. Manila: Rex Bookstore.

MARIA GLORIA R. BECO-NADA

Southern Luzon State University
College of Art and Sciences