UNIT VIII.

HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENT OF PHILIPPINE ART

Overview

This unit covers the progress of Philippine Arts from its indigenous beginnings to its
contemporary status. It would also tackle the different art forms that are present uniquely in the
Philippines. This unit aims to provide the readers with concrete and tangible things why Filipinos
should be proud as Filipinos. The unit presents both the material and immaterial parts of our culture
that explains and concludes our identity as a people

Learning Objectives
At the end of this unit, I am able to:

 Trace and summarize the development of the arts, art appreciation and aesthetics in
contemporary practice.
 Appreciate better the history and development of Philippine arts.
Lesson Proper
PERIODS IN PHILIPPINE ART

1. NEOLITHIC AGE, METAL AGE

a. Angono Petroglyphs
 One hundred twenty-seven human figures scattered on the wall were made
by engraving lines using a piece of stone on the surface of the rock shelter.
 These are symbolic, not decorative.

b. Manunggul Jar
 Found in Manunggul Cave, Lipuun Point, Palawan, is dated to the late
Neolithic Period, about 890-710 BC.
 On top of the jar cover is a boat with two human figures representing two
souls on a voyage to the afterlife.

c. Anthropomorphic Pots
 These are earthenware pots found in Ayub Cave, in Sarangani Province.
 Each of 29 jars covers found in the site was unique.
 These were used to cover secondary burial jars.

2. PLUTOCRATIC PERIOD

a. Banton Cloth
 This was the earliest known warp ikat (tye-resist dyeing) textile in Southeast
Asia.
 This is found in a wooden coffin that also contained blue and white ceramics
in Banton Island, Romblon.
 b. Chieftains And Sultanates
 Multiple Chieftains and Sultanates existed in the Philippines prior to the
arrival of Spanish conquistadors.
 Pottery, textile, weaving, wood carving, and metalwork are among the
earliest artistic expressions.
 Domestic architecture and shipbuilding are also among the utilitarian yet
artistic endeavors of early Filipinos.

c. Butuan Ivory Seal

 An ivory stamp seal associated with a shell madden dated 9th-12th century
was found in Libertad, Butuan City in Agusan del Norte.
 Inscribe in the seal is the word “Butban” presumed to the Butwan since “w”
and “b” were used interchangeably then.

d. Tattoo Art
 The Spaniards called the Visayans “pintados” because they were covered
with tattoo all over their bodies.
 Tattoos a symbol for male valor only applied after winning battles.
 A full body tattoo is like an armor.
 A man covered with tattoos all over the body intimidated enemies as well as
townsfolk.
 As time progressed, our perception of the tattoo changed.

3. PRE-HISPANIC PERIOD

a. Balangay (Balanghai) Or Butuan Boat

 An edged-pegged plank type of boat

 Hard wood like doongon was used to create the plank
 The balangay can seat 25 people
 Built to withstand long-distance voyages
 These prehistoric boats were uncovered in Butuan, Agusan Del Norte in
1978

b. Bulol Or Ifugao Rice God

 A carved human statue wherein a certain class of anito is said to incorporate

itself when worshipped
 Usually placed in the house or granary and are commonly made in pairs
 Believed to contain spirits capable of ensuring abundant harvests, increasing
rice yields, and protecting them against catastrophes
 Carved from red sandalwood and narra trees believed to be lucky

c. Lingling-O

 Kind of ear pendant made from green nephrite(jade)

 A ring with a slit in one side to fit the pierced earlobe
  Double-headed pendant found in Duyong Cave of Palawan is one of the
finest jade ornaments found in the Philippines

d. Arnis (Kali And Eskrima)

 The unique traditional fighting technique of the ancient warriors of the

Philippines
 Now hailed as the national sport and fighting style of the Philippines
 The method of fighting can be without weapons or by using sticks, knives,
and any other bladed weapon in dealing with the opponent

e. Batok Or Batek

 Kind of indigenous tattooing of the Kalinga people in the Cordilleras

 Cordillerans or Igorots believed tattoos held spiritual powers and magical
qualities, which could give them strength and protection
 Used to distinguish or reward a warrior after a successful headhunt
expedition and to mark the people’s social status within their community
 Whang-Od was the most renowned tattoo artist in the country and who has
been considered the last mambabatok. Also, awarded the Haraya Award for
Intangible Cultural Heritage by the National Commission for Culture and the
Arts(NCCA) in June 2018

f. Kampilan

 The Maranao Kampilan or sword is a single-edged bicuspid weapon that has

an intricate handle made of brass and ivory
 Greatly known that the Maranaos utilized this sword as a weapon to cut off
heads and to split the body from top to toe
 Used as a symbol of the power, wealth, and
status of the Datu and Sultan and is made
purely as a commercialized item

g. Kubing

 A type of jaw harp made from a hand-carved piece of bamboo

 Can create a vast number of sounds and timbres in the hands of a good
player
 It is known by so many different names according to the culture that uses it
o Kubing -Mindanao tribes
o Kulaing -Cotabato
o Subing -Visayas
o Barmbaw -Tagalogs
o Kollibaw -Negritos
o Kinaban -Hanunoo Mangyans
o Afiw -Bontocs
o Coding -Ibaloys and Kalinga
4. EARLY SPANISH COLONIZATION

a. Religious Art

 In the 16th century, Spanish colonization sought to replace indigenous

culture with one in the image and likeness of the west.
 The Church is the sole patron of the art, thus art practice was limited to
religious forms (altar pieces and prayer book engravings).

b. Bahay Na Bato

 Type of house developed during the Philippines’ Spanish Colonial Period

 An upgraded version of the conventional bahay-kubo
 Brought about by the socio-economic developments of the time when Manila
was opened to international trade in 1834
 Described as a house with wooden legs
and a stone skirt.

c. Baroque Churches

 The UNESCO World Heritage List in 1993 included the four Spanish Colonial
period churches in the Philippines.
 All four churches are designed and known to be of the Baroque style, mixed
with European church design
 The four churches that were built by the Spaniards are located in Manila;
Santa Maria Ilocos Sur; Paoay; Ilocos Norte; and Miagao, Ilo-ilo
 The Baroque Churches of the Philippines were the four Roman Catholic
churches made between the 16th and the 18th centuries
 They are adorned specifically with features, such as retablos or altars of high
Baroque style, as seen in San Agustin Church, Intramuros, in the volutes of
contrafuertes or buttresses and in the pyramidal finials of wall facades, as
seen in Paoay Church

d. Sculpture

 Upon the coming of the Spaniards, new art forms were introduced by the
Spanish friars, but the natives took to sculpture of the saints
 The santos were utilized for the church altars and retablos
 The santos replaced the anitos in the altars of the
natibes homes while retablo or the
“cabinet of saints” housed the tabernacle
and the image of the town’s patron saint
 The most ornate ratablos could be seen in
San Agustin Church, Intramuros

e. Fiesta

 The Spanish word for party or festivity, turned pista in the local dialect.
 It is an acknowledged national traditional occasion.
  It as a momentous occasion when communities come together in gratitude
for another passing year.
 The word fiesta in the minds of Filipinos creates images of banderitas
(flaglets), carrozas (processional
carts), marching bands, and a lot of food.

f. Philippine Dance In The Spanish Period

 The hispanization infiltrated even the musical and choreographic practices

of the people
 Even Native dances took on the tempo and temper of the European forms,
like the noted Tinikling and the Itik-itik acquired the tempo of the jota and
the polka.
 The Spaniards not only modified our ritual, occupational, and imitative
dances, but also brought in their own dances. The most-known was the jota,
which later on took on
numerous regional variations
 The Spanish dances flourished and stayed for
all social occasions.

g. Graphic Art

 The Dominicans published the La Doctrina en la Lengua Espanola y Tagala in

the 1590’s. It was the first book printed in the country. On the cover was a
woodcut engraving of St. Dominic by Juan de Veyra, a Chinese convert.
 Printing presses were owned and governed mostly by the various religious
orders because only prayer books and estampas
were allowed by the ruling colonial government.
 Estampas featured portraits of saints and known religious
pictures.
 The introduction of lithography facilitated the printing
of newspapers and periodicals in the country.

h. Painting During the Hispanic Period

 In the first centuries of Spanish colonization, painting was only for the
creation of religious icons
 Josef Luciano Dans, one of the known pioneer painters in the Philippine art
history, has two notable works displayed in the church of Paete, Laguna.
 The two famous artworks
 Langit, Lupa at Impierno- first painting and featured Christ, the holy trinity,
the seven blessed sacraments, the mother of God, Mary, and the realistic
description of Hell
 Purgatorio- second painting, vividly described the agony of souls while
passing the eight types of punishment as a form of purification before finally
reaching heaven
5. 19TH CENTURY PHILIPPINE ART

a. Rise Of Ilustrados

 In 19th Century, the port of the Philippines was open to trade, and the
inauguration of Suez Canal allowed for more economic change.
 Instead for purely religious purposes, art was secularized.
 A new elite class, called Ilustrados, emerged and they assumed for the
position for patrons for the arts.

b. Miniaturismo

 Portraits of women were executed in a style, miniaturismo, known for the

artist meticulous attention details of costume and accessories indicative of
wealth and power.

c. Tipos Del Pais

 Country types representing ranges of social hierarchies dressed in typical

costumes of their occupation and class, were made by Justiniano Asuncion.

d. First Art Academy In The Philippines

 Academia Dibujo y Pintura, the first secular art school, opened in Binondo
in the first quarter of the 19th century.

e. Filipino Artist Abroad

 Juan Luna and Felix Resurreccion Hidalgo won on the Madrid exposition
1884 for their large work in style of 19th century salon painting.

6. AMORSOLO TRADITION AND MODERN ART

a. Americans As The New Patron

 The arrivals of the Americans defined new education and value formation
according to the “American way of life”.
 Public school created a demand for illustrations for textbooks and
publications.

b. Fernando Amorsolo And His Painting Tradition

 Fernando Amorsolo and his colleagues from the School of Fine Arts of the
University of the Philippines gave rise to the academic portraiture catering
to the needs of the Americans, the new patrons of art.

c. Challeged Of The Modern

 The Amorsolo School was challenged by the modernist as early as 1928.

  Among the artist of modern art were Victorio Edades, Carlos “Botong”
Francisco, and Galo Ocampo.

d. Art Associations

 After the WWII, art institution with the role supporting the arts was
founded.
 Art Association of the Philippines (AAP) and the Philippine Art Gallery (PAG)
were founded.

7. MARTIAL LAW ERA

a. Under The Guise of Cultural Program

 Marcos had to convince the people of his right to rule.

 Marcos together with Imelda created a cultural program aligned with the
building of Bagong Lipunan (The New Society).
 The native cultural program was based on the rebirth of the long lost
civilization of the Malay people.
 Representation of Ferdinand as the benevolent father of the nation, with
Imelda as the mother was found into paintings during their regime.
 This cultural program was just not the fabrication of a mythical past, but it
was so coupled with ideas of modernization, development, progress, and
cosmopolitanism.

b. Marcos as Monumental

 Ferdinand Marcos commissioned architects to build structures that created

the impression that he was monumental.
 He pushed for the same monumental impression in the construction of the
architecture around Metro Manila.

c. Edifice Complex

 The Marcoses wielded architectures as a weapon to assert power and

maintain public support.
 These structures were symbolic of progress and prosperity despite the
poverty surrounding them.
 “Edifice Complex plagues the nation with an obsession and compulsion to build
edifices as a hallmark of greatness or as a signifier of national prosperity”.

d. Preference of Imelda

 An internationalist abstraction was favored by Imelda.

 This was in line with the modernized and cosmopolitan philosophy of the
cultural program they engineered into the New Society.
 e. Artist Responded to Martial Law

 The proclamation of Martial Law curtailed many freedoms, among them is

the freedom of expression.
 Artist used art as a mechanism to rally the cause against the dictatorship and
its atrocities.

f. Theater Arts During Martial Law

 Theater artist went to streets, plazas, factory sites, and open fields, to
commune for the people they were fighting for.
 The language of theater, previously English, was changed to Filipino for
theater to become accessible.

g. Artists Groups

 Among the group of artist which were actively engaging with the issues of
the societies during this Martial Law was Kaisahan, a group of social realist
visual artist.

8. CONTEMPORARY PHILIPPINE ART

a. Incorporation Of Historical Ang Traditional

 Historical theme mingled with folk imagery reconfigured the worked of

artist such as Brenda Fajardo and Ofeli Gelvazon-Tequi.
 Traditional art communities from the provinces dwell on rural life, folk
legends and traditions.

b. Environmental Awareness

 In 1980’s, awareness of environmental issues emerged in the trend of using

indigenous vernacular materials.

c. Incorporation Of Traditional Material

 Kenneth Cobonpue is an internationally famed designer who incorporates

local and natural materials in his furniture (rattan, buri, abaka, etc.) giving
them a distinct Filipino style.

d. CONCEPTUAL VALUES TAKE CENTER STAGE

 Installations and mixed-media works have a central aspect of discursiveness

in which conceptual values become the center of the work.
 Installations art also include performative interactivity between the artist,
viewer and the public, and the worked itself.
 e. RENEWED MUSEUMS AND GALLERIES

 Museums and galleries welcomed new development and mounted

installations that depart from conventional exhibition format.

f. Art Competitions As Platforms

 Art competitions provide encouragement for emerging artists and raised

artistic standards.

g. Participation In Biennals And Triennals

 Opening of regional and international biennials and triennials bring together
artists and writers from all pars of the world.

References
FrontLearner
Panisan, W. K., Ferrer, M. C. D., Mangahas, T. L. S., Ta-a, R. C., Antonino, M. T. M. (2018). Art
Appreciation. Mutya Publishing House, Inc.