Author: Keith Reburiano

The #NationalMuseumPH celebrates the 95^th birth anniversary of cartoonist and modernist painter Mauro Malang Santos #OnThisDay in 1928.

Mauro Malang Santos (1928-2017) belonged to the group of artists who took inspiration from folk art and whose works are characterized by geometric shapes, simplified figures, festive colors, and decorative forms. The National Fine Arts Collection has four of his works. One of these is an undated serigraph entitled “Sampaguita Vendor (93/249)” which depicts a simplified figure of a woman portrayed with long black hair dressed in a blue blouse with white sleeves and a red skirt. The woman holds a bagful of flowers and stands under the opening of an arched structure with a cross at its summit. In the background are images of houses, plants, trees, and a mountain at the end using solid geometric shapes. This work by Malang was donated to the National Museum in 2018 by Ms. Dora C. Afable.

Malang was born on January 20, 1928, in Santa Cruz, Manila. His artistic training started when he took drawing lessons from Teodoro Buenaventura (1863-1950). He later continued his studies at the University of the Philippines School of Fine Arts. Malang’s talent was recognized when he won awards in art competitions organized by the Art Association of the Philippines, the Society of Philippine Illustrators and Cartoonists, and the Art Directors Guild. He was also awarded the Gawad CCP Para sa Sining in 1995. Mauro Malang Santos, who signed his works with Malang, passed away on June 10, 2017, leaving behind a legacy of works representing his artistic style and his contribution to Philippine art. 

You may view his artworks at the Pillars of Philippine Modernism (Gallery XVIII) and The Philippine Center New York Core Collection: A Homecoming Exhibition (Galleries XXVII and XXVIII) at the National Museum of Fine Arts. For visitor guidelines, please visit https://bit.ly/3pqZ2iJ. You may also view the 360 degrees virtual tour of selected NMFA galleries on the link https://www.nationalmuseum.gov.ph/nmfa360/HTML5/NMFA360.html. See you at your National Museum!

#MauroMalangSantos #OnThisDay

Text and photo by NMP-FAD

© 2023 National Museum of the Philippines

The #NationalMuseumPH celebrates the 87th birth anniversary of National Artist Abdulmari Asia Imao, the first National Artist from Mindanao who was born #OnThisDay in 1936.

For his birth anniversary, we are featuring his bronze sculpture, The Bust of Antonio L. Tambunting (1908-1976), completed in 2009, which is the newest addition to the National Fine Arts Collection. Ambassador Jesus P. Tambunting and his family donated this sculpture in 2022. The donor, Ambassador Jesus P. Tambunting, commissioned National Artist Imao to create a bust of his father, Antonio L. Tambunting. The figure used to be displayed in the Head Office of Planters Development Bank, where Ambassador Tambunting served as the board’s first chairperson. You may view the bust at the Antonio and Aurora Tambunting Gallery entrance at the National Museum of Anthropology.

NA Imao was a sculptor, painter, photographer, ceramist, filmmaker, researcher, and writer. He was born in Siasi, Sulu. He earned his fine arts degree at the University of the Philippines. He pursued graduate studies at Kansas University, Rhode Island School of Design, and Columbia University. He produced several photojournalistic and research work about the people of Mindanao. He also studied and promoted indigenous brass casting techniques. His works displayed the indigenous okir or ukkil, sarimanok, and other motifs from Southern Philippines. In 2006, Imao was declared a National Artist for Visual Arts. He passed away on December 16, 2014, at the age of 78 years old. 

The National Fine Arts Collection holds five other artworks of NA Imao. Found in the exhibition galleries at the National Museum of Fine Arts are the following: Sarimanok (1975, acrylic on canvas), Sarimanok (1969, bronze), Fishes (1976, bronze, two pieces), and Sarimanok (1996, pounded brass).

You may view these artworks when you visit the #NationalMuseumPh! We are open Tuesdays to Sundays, from 9 AM to 6 PM. Entrance is free!

Text by NMP-FAD

Photo by NMP-EEMPSD

©National Museum of the Philippines (2022)

The #NationalMuseumPH celebrates the 93^rd birthday of modernist painter Juvenal Sansó.

Born in 1929, Sansó is a Spanish artist who has lived all his life in Manila. He is a multi-faceted artist who has worked with various media such as oil, acrylic, ink and dry brush, textile, printmaking, and photography. Aside from being a visual artist, he has also ventured into production design by creating set and costume designs for operas in France and the Philippines. Immediately after World War II, his art was affected mainly by his traumatic experience resulting in his Black Period.  It is characterized by works representing surreal bouquets of faces and heads in black and white. This period was later replaced by his colorful and genuine bloom series which gained popularity and admiration.

One of these bloom series is an acrylic on canvas created in 1965 entitled “Blue Floral.” It shows an arrangement of bright red flowers nestled in leaves of various sizes and shades of green and blue against a soft blue background. The painting, which is on loan from the Government Service Insurance System collection, can be viewed at the National Museum of Fine Arts, Gallery XIV, as part of the “Pillars of Modernism I ” exhibition. This exhibition features works created between the 1920s to 1970s by modernist painters such as National Artist Victorio Edades (1895-1985), Manuel Rodriguez, Sr. (1912-2017), Galo Ocampo (1913-1985), Diosdado Lorenzo (1906-1984) and Juvenal Sansó (b. 1929).

Sansó was born on November 23, 1929, in Reus, Catalonia, Spain. His family moved to Manila when he was five years old, where they started their wrought-iron business. However, this business fell through during World War II when his father refused to work for the Japanese war effort. After the war, he enrolled as a special student at the University of the Philippines School of Fine Arts from 1948 to 1951 where he was taught by National Artist Fernando Amorsolo (1892-1972) as well as by Dominador Castañeda (1904-1967) and Ireneo Miranda (1896-1964). Aside from this, he also took special classes at the University of Santo Tomas. 

In 1950, he was awarded first prize in the watercolor category of the Art Association of the Philippines Annual Art Competition for his work entitled “Incubus.” He won the first prize again in 1951 but this time in the oil category for his work “Sorcerer.” The same year, Sansó went to Rome to study at the Academia di Belle Arti. It was followed by further studies in Paris at L’Ecole Nationale Superieure des Beaux Arts from 1953 to 1961. He held his first solo exhibition in Paris in 1956 and then his first solo exhibition in Manila in 1957 at the Philippine Art Gallery. These exhibitions were followed by more solo exhibitions in Italy, the United States, England, and Mexico. In 1964, his work entitled “Leuers” was awarded the Print of the Year award by the Cleveland Museum of Art, sharing the distinction with previous winners like Henri Matisse and Salvador Dali. 

Sansó was awarded the Presidential Medal of Merit on May 20, 2006, for his significant contributions to Philippine art. As a way of giving back to the Philippine art community, he has found ways to encourage young Filipino artists by serving as an artist in residence for the Art Interaction program of the Shell National Students Art Competition from 2008 to 2009 and through his museum, Fundacion Sansó, which was launched in 2015. 

The National Museum of Fine Arts is now open for walk-in visitors! For visitor guidelines, please visit www.nationalmuseum.gov.ph. You may also view the 360 degrees virtual tour of selected NMFA galleries on the link https://www.nationalmuseum.gov.ph/nmfa360/HTML5/NMFA360.html. See you at your National Museum!

#JuvenalSansó
#OnThisDay

More Gifts to the Nation for the National Fine Arts Collection!

Yesterday, we welcomed patrons, friends, and guests to the reception and ceremonial turnover of two art pieces from the Tambunting Family at the Spoliarium Hall of the National Museum of Fine Arts. 

Added to our growing collections are The Bust of Antonio L. Tambunting (2009, bronze) by National Artist Abdulmari Asia Imao, donated by Ambassador Jesus P. Tambunting and Family, and “The Portrait of Aurora P. Tambunting, (1956, oil on canvas) by National Artist Fernando C. Amorsolo donated by the Family of Antonio L. and Aurora P. Tambunting. 

The Bust of Antonio L. Tambunting is exhibited at the Antonio and Aurora Tambunting Gallery entrance at the National Museum of Anthropology. The donor of the bust, Ambassador Jesus Tambunting, has supported the NMP through his endowment of a gallery honoring his parents and where this bronze bust of his father is now exhibited. 

Antonio Lauengco Tambunting was born in Binondo, Manila on June 1, 1908.  He was educated at Letran College. Mr. Tambunting joined his father’s pawnshop business in 1932, opening the first chain of pawnshop branches in the city of San Juan.  During the Japanese occupation of the Philippines, amid the war and crisis of inflation in the country, Mr. Tambunting continued to provide financial support to the residents of Manila through his pawnshops.  After the war, Tambunting Pawnshop expanded to other cities around the country.  In 2010, Ambassador Jesus P. Tambuning commissioned National Artist Abdulmari Asia Imao to create a bust for his father, Antonio. The bust used to be displayed in the Head Office of Planters Development Bank where Mr. Tambunting served as the board’s first chairman. 

National Artist Abdulmari Asia Imao (1936-2014) was a sculptor, painter, photographer, ceramist, filmmaker, researcher, and writer.  He was born in Siasi, Sulu. He earned his fine arts degree at the University of the Philippines, and pursued graduate studies at Kansas University, Rhode Island School of Design, and at the Columbia University in the USA. He produced several photojournalistic and research works about the people of Mindanao. He also studied and promoted indigenous brass casting techniques. His works displayed the indigenous okir or ukkil, sarimanok, and other motifs from Southern Philippines. In 2006, Imao was declared as National Artist for Visual Arts, and was considered the first Muslim artist to be conferred with such distinction.

Aurora Paraiso Tambunting was born in Lumbang, Laguna on March 8, 1910. She was educated at St. Scholastica’s College. Mrs. Tambunting married Antonio L. Tambunting on June 12, 1926.  They had seven children and 22 grandchildren. She was a devoted wife, mother, and grandmother with innate business acumen.  She was a generous woman who supported charity and church causes.  She was one of the main benefactors of the Ina Ng Laging Saklolo Parish in Bagong Silang, Caloocan City, and Elsie Gaches Village in Muntinlupa. The Portrait of Aurora P. Tambunting may be viewed inside The Early 20^th Century Philippine Portrait Hall, Gallery IX, of the National Museum of Fine Arts. 

The artist, Fernando Amorsolo y Cueto, the first National Artist, was born in Paco, Manila on May 30, 1892. He studied at the Liceo de Manila and the University of the Philippines School of Fine Arts (UPSFA). Entrepreneur Enrique Zobel de Ayala assisted him in securing a scholarship to study art at the Real Academia de Bellas Artes de San Fernando in Madrid, Spain in 1916.  After the war, his career went so well that his works portraying Philippine landscapes, everyday scenes (genre), and portraits were very in-demand. Commissions from institutions and prominent families poured in, such as this Portrait of Aurora Tambunting.

The #NationalMuseumPH, on behalf of a grateful nation, expresses our sincere appreciation and gratitude to the Tambunting Family for their invaluable gifts to the Nation.

Article by NMP Fine Arts Division. With contributions from Ms. Victoria Tambunting Alfonso 

Photos by NMP Museum Services Division

© National Museum of the Philippines (2022)

At school, we were taught that the most significant contribution of the Spaniards to the country is religion, thus tangible representations of this are seen in the vast number of Catholic churches in the country. Often when we talk of heritage structures, Spanish colonial structures such as churches and Bahay na Bato comes to mind. Structures built during the American colonial period were often unrecognized. Hence, for today’s #builttraditionthursday we will showcase the Benitez Hall of the U.P. College of Education, one of the first academic buildings constructed in the University of the Philippines- Diliman campus.

Also known as the twin building of the Malcolm Hall of the U.P. College of Law, the Benitez Hall was constructed in anticipation of the official transfer of the University of the Philippines from its original location at Calle Isaac Peral, which is now known as the United Nations Avenue in downtown Manila, to the present-day Quezon City campus.

Named after Francisco Benitez, the College’s first dean and one of the pillars of Philippine education, the design of the Benitez Hall is credited to the brilliance of Filipino architect Juan M. Arellano, whose professional career exhibited a wide range of architectural styles. During the time when he designed the Benitez Hall, Arellano was keen on creating architecture that exemplifies the culture of Filipinos which was best showcased in his design of the indigenized Art deco style of the Metropolitan Theatre. 

In his early works, however, like the Benitez Hall in U.P. Diliman, Arellano’s preference leaned towards adapting the Spanish mission-revival style which served as a transitional style that orchestrated the fusion of locally derived architectural forms, and neo-classical idioms dramatizing the encounter and existence of two cultures. 

As with any other colonial architecture, the style of the three-story Benitez Hall leans towards some degree of eclecticism wherein Neo-classical and Palladian elements such as the column capitals, equilateral arches, pedimented central façade, and configuration of spaces were combined. 

Historical accounts suggest that when Juan Arellano was commissioned to design the building, the axial arrangement of the Neo-Baroque served as its model, and the location of the Benitez Hall was thoughtfully selected considering the natural valley on the site which is now known as the ‘Sunken Garden’. 

Over time, the land use plan for the campus was developed, changes were made, and more structures were built. Today, the U.P. Diliman campus is characterized by the diversity of its architectural styles, an indication of the many layers of its history as an academic institution. From being surrounded by vast lands, the classical form of the Benitez Hall is now bordered by post-war and modern-style buildings such as the Vinzons Hall, the Lagmay Hall, and the Gonzalez Hall.

The 6,430 square meter structure is now geographically located at 14°39’13.1″N 121°04’19.7″E, and stands on a relatively flat soil, that is bounded by Roxas Avenue on the North; Quirino Avenue on the South; A. Ma. Regidor Street on the East; and Africa Street on the West. 

Under the Republic Act of 10066, or the National Cultural Heritage Act, the Benitez Hall is a Presumed Important Cultural Property and is protected by law from any form of alteration, modification, or destruction.  

Article by Architect Marvin Belgica. Illustrations and photos by Ar. M. Belgica, Ar. G. Aycardo & Ar. M. Luna

References

Aycardo, G., Belgica, M., Luna, M. (2022) Preserving an Icon: Conservation Management Plan (CMP) for the Benitez Hall

Aquino, B., (1991). The University Experience: Essays on the 82nd Anniversary of the University of the Philippines. Quezon City: University of the Philippines Press Diliman

Klassen, W. (2010). Architecture in the Philippines: Filipino Building in a Cross-Cultural Context Revised Edition. Cebu City: University of San Carlos Press

The #NationalMuseumPH celebrates the 110th birth anniversary of National Artist for Painting Carlos Villaluz Francisco (1912-1969), also known as ‘Botong.’ Born #OnThisDay in Angono, Rizal, Botong is famous for his large-scale historical paintings. 

Today we feature an oil painting of Carlos ‘Botong’ Francisco entitled “The First Mass in Limasawa.” In 1965, the Philippine Government commissioned Francisco to create this work of art to commemorate the 400th year of the introduction of Christianity in the country. It is currently on exhibit at the Pillars of Philippine Modernism Hall at the National Museum of Fine Arts.

This painting depicts the first mass celebrated in Limasawa Island in present day-Southern Leyte, officiated by Fr. Pedro Valderrama, the official chaplain of the Magellan expedition. He led the first mass as requested by Ferdinand Magellan in an improvised altar and a platform made of bamboo. Fr. Valderrama is depicted in this painting raising his hands in prayer. Magellan, in the foreground with a sword or a saber, piously bows his head. With Magellan is Antonio Pigafetta, his official chronicler, kneeling in prayer and adoration. The chieftain of the Island, Rajah Kolambo, and his brother, Rajah Siagu also joined in the mass. 

National Artist for Painting Carlos ‘Botong’ Francisco made some of the most significant large-scale paintings in the Philippines for nearly three decades. As a scenographer for a major film studio in the Philippines, he was well-acquainted with rendering Philippine festivals, customs and traditions, and important historical events. In 1973, the government conferred him the National Artist for Painting.

Some of Carlos Francisco’s works may be viewed at Gallery XIX, Pillars of Modernism, and at the Old Senate Session Hall of the National Museum of Fine Arts.  The #NationalMuseumPH is open to the public for free.  You may also visit the link for the 360-degrees virtual tour of the select nine galleries at the National Museum of Fine Arts: http://pamana.ph/ncr/manila/NMFA360.html

#BotongFrancisco
#CarlosFrancisco
#PH500
#FirstMassInLimasawa
#MuseumFromHome
#VictoryAndHumanity

Article by NMP Fine Arts Division. Photo by Bengy Toda

© National Museum of the Philippines (2022)