Carlos Botong Francisco

Carlos Modesto Villaluz Francisco, popularly known as Botong, was a muralist from Angono, Rizal.
Born: November 4, 1912, Angono, Philippines
Died: March 31, 1969, Angono, Philippines
Education: University of the Philippines
Artwork: Bayanihan, Portrait of Purita, The Martyrdom of Rizal, More
Parents: Felipe Francisco, Maria Villaluz
Cause of death: Tuberculosis

Early Life And Career

Francisco was a most distinguished practitioner of mural painting for many
decades and best known for his historical pieces. He was one of the first
Filipino modernists along with Galo Ocampo and Victorio C. Edades who broke
away from Fernando Amorsolo's romanticism of Philippine scenes. According
to restorer Helmuth Josef Zotter, Francisco's art "is a prime example of linear
painting where lines and contours appear like cutouts."
His great works include Blood Compact, First Mass at Limasawa, The
Martyrdom of Rizal, Bayanihan, Magpupukot, Fiesta, Bayanihan sa Bukid,
Sandugo, Portrait of Purita, The Invasion of Limahong, Serenade, and Muslim
Betrothal. Some of his murals have suffered damage over the years. The
"Pageant of Commerce" emerged from several years of restoration in
2000.His murals in the lobby of the Philippine General Hospital were restored
for the 3rd time in 2007.

He was also responsible for the discovery of the now famous Angono
Petroglyphs in 1965. He was also involved in Costume Design in Philippine
cinema.

Fernando, Amorsolo
Fernando Cueto Amorsolo is one of the most important artists in the
history of painting in the Philippines. Amorsolo was a portraitist and painter
of rural Philippine landscapes.
Born: May 30, 1892, Paco, Manila, Philippines
Died: April 24, 1972, Manila, Philippines
Artwork: Planting Rice, Fruit Gatherer, Dalagang Bukid
Children: Sylvia Amorsolo Lazo, Luz Amorsolo
Awards: National Artist of the Philippines
Parents: Pedro Amorsolo, Bonifacia Amorsolo
Education: Liceo de Manila, University of the Philippines, Real Academia de Bellas
Artes de San Fernando

Biography
Fernando Amorsolo was born on May 30, 1892 in the Paco neighborhood,
when Manila was still under Spanish sovereignty, to Pedro Amorsolo, a book
keeper, and Bonifacia Cueto. Amorsolo spent his childhood in Daet,
Camarines Norte, where he studied in a public school and was tutored at
home in Spanish language reading and writing. After his father's death,
Amorsolo and his family moved to Manila to live with Don Fabin de la Rosa,
his mother's cousin and a Philippine painter. At the age of 13, Amorsolo
became an apprentice to De la Rosa, who would eventually become the

advocate and guide to Amorsolo's painting career. During this time,

Amorsolo's mother embroidered to earn money, while Amorsolo helped by
selling water color postcards to a local bookstore for ten centavos each.
Amorsolo's brother, Pablo Amorsolo, was also a painter. Amorsolo's first
success as a young painter came in 1908, when his painting Leyendo el
peridico took second place at the Bazar Escolta, a contest organized by the
Asociacion Internacional de Artistas. Between 1909 and 1914, Amorsolo
enrolled at the Art School of the Liceo de Manila, where he earned honors for
his paintings and drawings.

Abad, Pacita
Born: October 5, 1946 Basco, Batanes, Philippines
Died: December 7, 2004 (aged 58) Batan Island, Philippines
Education: Corcoran School of Art, Art Students League of New York
Works: underwater scenes, tropical flowers and animal wildlife.

Biography
Abad earned a BA in political science at the University of the
Philippines in 1967. In 1970, she went the United States intending
to study law, but instead earned a degree (MA) in Asian History at
Lone Mountain College (University of San Francisco) in 1972.
While in California, she married a Stanford MBA student, Jack
Garrity, who became an international development economist.
Abad studied painting at the Corcoran School of Art in
Washington, D.C. and The Art Students League in New York City.
She lived on 5 different continents and worked in more than 80

countries, including Guatemala, Mexico, India, Afghanistan,

Yemen, Sudan, Mali, Papua New Guinea, Cambodia and Indonesia.

Luna, Juan y Novicio

Juan Luna y Novicio was a Filipino painter, sculptor and a political activist of the
Philippine Revolution during the late 19th century. He became one of the first
recognized Philippine artists.
Born: October 23, 1857 Badoc, Ilocos Norte, Spanish East Indies (now Philippines)
Died: December 7, 1899 (aged 42) Hong Kong
Spouse: Maria de la Paz Pardo de Tavera (m. 18861892)
Siblings: Antonio Luna
Works: Spoliarium etc

Biography
Born in the town of Badoc, Ilocos Norte in the northern Philippines, Juan Luna
was the third among the seven children of Don Joaquin Luna de San Pedro y
Posadas and Doa Laureana Novicio y Ancheta. In 1861, the Luna family
moved to Manila and he went to Ateneo Municipal de Manila where he

obtained his Bachelor of Arts degree. He excelled in painting and drawing,

and was influenced by his brother, Manuel Luna, who, according to Filipino
patriot Jos Rizal, was a better painter than Juan himself.
Luna enrolled at Escuela Nautica de Manila (now Philippine Merchant Marine
Academy) and became a sailor. He took drawing lessons under the illustrious
painting teacher Lorenzo Guerrero of Ermita, Manila. He also enrolled in the
Academy of Fine Arts (Academia de Dibujo y Pintura) in Manila where he was
influenced and taught how to draw by the Spanish artist Agustin Saez.
Unfortunately, Luna's vigorous brush strokes displeased his teacher and Luna
was discharged from the Academy. However, Guerrero was impressed by his
skill and urged Luna to travel to Cubao to further pursue his work.

Cesar Legaspi
Cesar Torrente Legaspi is a Filipino National Artist in painting. He was also an art
director prior to going full-time in his visual art practice in the 1960s. Wikipedia
Born: April 2, 1917, Tondo, Philippines
Died: April 7, 1994, Manila, Philippines
Period: Cubism
Artwork: Tree Planting, Morning dance, Man and Woman
Children: Celeste Legaspi
Education: Acadmie Ranson, University of the Philippines

Biography
Legaspi was born to Manuel Legaspi and Rosario Torrente in Tondo, Manila.
He took up painting for one term at the University of the Philippines School
of Fine Arts before he decided to take commercial art courses instead. There
he received medals for perspective and illustration projects. He earned his

Certificate of Proficiency in 1936, after which he continued his education in

art under Pablo Amorsolo. He went to Madrid in 1953 and pursued Art
Studies under a scholarship at the Cultura Hispanic until 1954. He also went
to Paris to study at the Academie Ranson for one month under Henri Goetz.
Back in the Philippines, he had his first one-man show at the Luz Gallery in
1963. While this led to an active phase with his major pieces, he also worked
as a magazine illustrator and artistic director at an advertising agency. He
finally left the agency in 1968 to focus on his painting
During his career as an artist, he had the opportunity to be part of several
exhibits abroad, including the First Plastic Arts Conference in Rome in 1953,
the So Paulo Biennial in Graphic Arts in 1967 and 1969, and the Wraxall
Gallery in London with Filipino artists Mauro Malang Santos and Benedicto
Cabrera in 1982.

Leynes, Nestor
Nestor Garcia Leynes is a Filipino hyper realistic painter. Leynes is regarded as one of
the leaders of the "Magic Realist" movement of the Philippines. He was born Santa
Cruz, Manila.
Born: February 26, 1922 (age 93), Santa Cruz, Manila, Philippines
Period: Hyperrealism
Education: University of the Philippines
Biography

Leynes was born in February 26, 1922 in Santa Cruz, Manila. His parents were Ricardo
Leynes, a doctor, and Enriqueta Garcia, a REGISTERED nurse. He had three brothers
and a sister. Leynes' parents owned several paintings, including some by the Filipino
master painter Fabin Cueto de la Rosa, a distant relative of the family. Probably
influenced by his environment, Leynes already expressed the desire to be an artist from
a young age. His parents discouraged this ambition, fearing a life of hardship for him.
Nevertheless, Leynes was already taking art lessons in grade school and highschool. He
graduated from the Arellano High School and entered the College of Fine Arts of the
University of the Philippines. His studies were cut short in his fourth year by the
Japanese invasion of the Philippines in World War II. Two days after the bombing of Pearl
Harbor, he married Amalia Alcantara, a childhood neighbor and sweetheart.
Being already married, Leynes never returned to school after the war and thus never
graduated. He found work as an illustrator for Ramon Roces Publications. He created
illustrations for magazines like Liwayway and Philippine comics. He was hired as a staf
artist for the Philippine Advertising Counsel. Later on, he became the executive vice
president for the art department of the J. Romero and Associates Advertising Agency.
Leynes resumed painting full-time after retiring in 1980 at the age of fifty eight.

Gorospe, Paco
Francisco "Paco" Gorospe was a Filipino painter, called the "Picasso of the
Philippines". Paco Gorospe is one of the famous painters of the Philippines.
He was born in Binondo, Manila. Wikipedia
Born: July 10, 1939, Binondo, Philippines
Died: September 22, 2002

Artwork: Sabongero, Mending Fishing Nets, The Fish Seller

Biography
Francisco "Paco" Gorospe (July 10, 1939 September 22, 2002) was a Filipino
painter, called the "Picasso of the Philippines".
Paco Gorospe is one of the famous painters of the Philippines.[1] He was born
in Binondo, Manila. He was inspired by the simple and colourful lifestyle of
native tribes from the south of the country such as the Yakans, the Bogobos
and the Tausugs.
He joined a local group of artists in Ermita, Manila and sold his paintings
locally, gradually gaining recognition. Paco started with crayons, later using
water colours but finally shifted to oil paintings.
Gorospe's first major exhibition took place in 1962 at the Washington State
Fair. US sales increased and in 1964 his works were chosen to represent the
Philippines at the 1964 New York World's Fair.
Other foreign exhibitions followed including Okinawa, Japan (1972), BadenBaden, Germany (1989), Switzerland and Denmark.
In 1990, his work Sabungeros ("cockfighting") was chosen by Philippine
Airlines for the cover of their playing cards given to passengers

Fabin de la Rosa

Don Fabin Cueto de la Rosa (May 5, 1869 December 14, 1937) was a
Filipino painter. He was an uncle and mentor to the Philippines' national
artist in painting, Fernando Amorsolo, and to his brother Pablo.[1] He is
regarded as a "master of genre" in Philippine art.
Born: May 5, 1869 Paco, Manila, Spanish East Indies

(Now Philippines)

Died: December 14, 1937 (aged 68) Quiapo, Manila, Philippines

Notable work(s): Women Working in a Rice Field (1902) Transplanting Rice (1904) The
Death of General Lawton (1904)
Biography

Fabin de la Rosa was born in Paco, Manila to husband and wife Marcos de la
Rosa and Gregoria Cueto. It is believed that he is the nephew of another
painter, Simn Flores y de la Rosa. He married Gorgonia Tolentino.

Amorsolo, Pablo
Pablo Cueto Amorsolo was a Filipino painter. He was the younger brother of the
Philippine National Artist Fernando Amorsolo.

Born: June 26, 1898, Daet, Camarines Norte

Died: 1945, Antipolo
Parents: Bonifacia Amorsolo
Education: University of the Philippines
Siblings: Fernando Amorsolo
Biography
Pablo Amorsolo was born in Daet, Camarines Norte to husband and wife Pedro
Amorsolo, as a book keeper and Bonifacia Cueto. When he was still eight years old, his
family moved to Manila.
During World , Amorsolo was captured by Filipino troops.
He was sentenced and executed by firing squad in the hands of guerillas. He died in
this manner at the Antipolo, Rizal in 1945

Benedicto Cabrera

Benedicto Reyes Cabrera, better known as "BenCab", is a Filipino painter

and was awarded National Artist of the Philippines for Visual Arts in 2006.
He has been noted as "arguably the best-selling painter of his generation
of Filipino artists."
Born: April 10, 1942 (age 72), Malabon
Education: University of the Philippines
Artwork: Yellow Confetti, The Oriental Fan, Portrait of Caroline
Biography
BenCab was born to Democrito Cabrera and Isabel Reyes in Malabon,
Philippines on August 27, 1942. He was the youngest of nine children.
BenCab's first exposure and discovery of the arts happened through his
elder Brother Salvador, who was already an established artist during
Bencab's childhood.
He went on to study at the University of the Philippines College of Fine
Arts, where he explored diferent art visual forms - photography,
draftsmanship, printmaking - while honing his chosen craft as a painter. He
received his bachelors degree in Fine Arts in 1963.