The anchors of the galleon San Jose

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  Left image © G. Fournier 1986, right image © R. Savoye 2019

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  Similar anchor was also recovered from the Spanish galleon San Diego in 1992. Image Source: https://www.gilbert-fournier.com/ancres © G. Fournier 1992

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  Similar anchors were also recorded from the East India Company, the Earl Temple shipwreck in Pag-asa Island. Image Source: https://www.gilbert-fournier.com/ancres, © G. Fournier 1996

How do you spend your Sunday? This week’s #ArtStrollSunday series which focuses on the 17th to early 20th century art from the National Fine Arts Collection (NFAC) features “Woman Reading Newspaper” (1939), an oil painting by Zosimo Flores Dimaano.

This painting shows a middle-aged woman reading the newspaper in her living room, a Sunday habit that seems to be an uncommon sight these days with the rise of digital newspapers and other reading materials accessible online. This painting is a rare genre (everyday scenes) painting of the artist in the NFAC who was known for his still life and landscape paintings. “Woman Reading Newspaper” was registered as a government property on November 10, 1998, and has been in the custody of the #NationalMuseumPH for 23 years. 

The artist Zosimo Flores Dimaano (1895-1942), born in Pagsanjan, Laguna, graduated from the University of the Philippines (UP) School of Fine Arts in 1919. He worked as a designer at Pacific Commercial in 1920 with Fernando Amorsolo, and in the photoengraving section of the Bureau of Printing from 1921 to 1922. He completed this artwork in 1939 when he was around 44 years old. He held his first solo exhibition at UP in 1939, in the same year this painting was finished.

We are now open! Book your visit, or view the 360 virtual tours of this exhibition gallery.  Download the digital copies of our publications for free, and check other features and services of the Museum through this website.

#ArtStrollSunday

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#BeatCOVID19

#ZosimoDimaano

Text by NMP-FAD

Photo by Bengy Toda

© National Museum of the Philippines (2021)

Today is #WorldTsunamiAwarenessDay. 

A tsunami is a series of large waves brought about by sudden violent movements in the ocean. On any given day, the ocean typically has waves, but these waves are only wind-generated waves. A tsunami wave is usually caused by earthquakes or other events like ocean floor landslides, volcanic eruptions, or a meteoric impact. 

In the Philippines, the worst tsunami event in history is the 1976 Moro Gulf Tsunami in Western Mindanao. The tsunami devastated the coastal provinces bordering the Moro Gulf and the northern Celebes Sea. Tsunami waves were reported to be as high as 9 meters in Lebak, Sultan Kudarat. This tsunami was caused by a magnitude 7.9 earthquake with an epicenter about 96 km off the coast of Cotabato. This tragic tsunami happened just after midnight when most people were already asleep.

Follow the link to learn more about tsunamis: https://bit.ly/3bvSXKu 

Geologic evidence of tsunamis, although quite difficult to interpret and establish, is still present. A recently published study by the National Institute of Geological Sciences in UP Diliman documents the evidence of a potential tsunami deposit of the 1976 Moro Gulf Tsunami. The possible geologic evidence of the event was observed in a mangrove swamp and a coastal plain in western Mindanao. The preserved wash-over deposits from the observed study areas are characterized by a predominantly coarse sand-sized sediment with mud rip-up clasts, magnetite, and lamina. The base of the deposited layer is reportedly erosive in many of the observed deposits.

The geological evidence of a modern or a prehistoric tsunami offers a more thorough understanding of these extreme wave events. In a country frequented by earthquakes, this new information could be utilized for a better prepared community against tsunami threats. 

Click here to read the full paper: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.margeo.2021.106535 

#DignayanBiyernes

#TsunamiDay   

Text and image by the NMP Geology and Paleontology Division

© National Museum of the Philippines (2021)

On the 109^th Birth anniversary of National Artist Carlos “Botong” Francisco, the #NationalMuseumPh features this unique watercolor on paper work by the artist born #OnThisDay in 1912. 

This rare and undated watercolor on paper by Botong is entitled “Lost in the Forest.” It depicts a young woman and a boy clinging to each other, seemingly disoriented, lost, and scared amid the tall and wild trees and creatures in the forest. In Philippine mythology, a forest spirit, or a “diwata” can be seen above the two, emanating light. Diwatas are believed to be guardians of natural creations such as forests and mountains. This painting is currently on display at the Pillars of Philippine Modernism exhibition in Gallery XVIII of the National Museum of Fine Arts.

Botong, as the artist is fondly called, is one of the most celebrated artists of Angono, Rizal. As he grew up in this small town in Rizal, east of Manila, his works are hugely influenced by his beloved hometown’s sceneries and lush landscapes. He studied Fine Arts at the University of the Philippines under National Artists Fernando Amorsolo and Guillermo Tolentino from 1930 until 1935. One semester short of graduation, Botong left formal schooling and worked as an apprentice for the Philippine Herald, the Tribune, and La Vanguardia.  

In 1934, he, together with Galo Ocampo, was recruited by Victorio Edades to work on several commissions. The trio was later referred to as the Triumvirate in Filipino Modern Art, who worked in the modernist idiom. Edades then identified Botong as one of the Thirteen Moderns in 1938 to advocate for the acceptance of modern art in the country. 

After the war, Botong taught Fine Arts at the University of Santo Tomas while working with Manuel Conde (1915-1985) as a film researcher, actor, and costume and set designer. 

He was considered the foremost muralist who revised the forgotten mural art in the country, and remained its most distinguished practitioner for three decades. His notable works include “The Filipino Struggles Through History” and “The Progress of Medicine in the Philippines” from the collections of the City Government of Manila and the Philippine General Hospital, respectively. These works, impressive in both scale and significance to Philippine art and history, are displayed at the National Museum of Fine Arts.

Botong passed away in 1969 and was posthumously conferred the Order of National Artist for Painting in 1973.

Text by the NMP Fine Arts Division

Photo by Bengy Toda

#CarlosFrancisco

#OnThisDay

#MuseumFromHome

#BEATCOVID19

© National Museum of the Philippines (2021)

As your #NationalMuseumPH joins the observance of #WorldJellyfishDay, we want to share with you a marine animal we commonly fear but plays a vital role in our marine ecosystem, the jellyfish.

In general, jellyfish belongs to phylum Cnidaria — a Greek word that means “stinging nettle”. Groups of jellyfish are called a bloom, smack, or swarm and could contain over 100,000 individuals.

Do you know what Box jellyfish are?

Box jellyfish live in warm waters, but the most dangerous kinds are found near the coasts of northern Australia and the Indo-Pacific region. It has a box-like body with lots of tentacles covered in venom-filled stingers. The different species of box jellyfish are divided into two types: cubozoans and carybdeids.

Cubozoans have more than one tentacle hanging from each corner or pedalia, which are muscular pads at the bottom and inside of the bell. The carybdeids, on the other hand, have only one tentacle per pedalia. As of 2018, there are 51 species of box jellies that have been recorded and grouped into two orders and eight families. In the Philippines, the box jelly Chironex cf yamaguchii can be found in its waters. They are omnivore feeders (eating both plants and animals). Its color is translucent or has a vibrant array of one or more colors. 

Box jellies actively hunt their prey (small fish) rather than drifting as exhibited by true jellyfish. The venom of this species is distinct and is mainly used in catching its prey and for self-defense against predators like crabs, fishes, and marine turtles. Unlike other kinds of jellyfish, box jellyfish can swim and see. They mainly eat shrimp and small fish. 

The Australian box jellyfish is the biggest and most venomous species and has tentacles up to 10 ft long. If you accidentally brush against a tentacle, the stingers pierce into the skin and produce venom, which then enters the bloodstream and can be fatal. 

Remember that jellyfish use stingers to protect themselves and kill prey. Stings from box jellyfish with more than one tentacle at each corner are more dangerous to humans. Give respect to this beautiful marine animal and avoid any possible contact. If you see one while swimming, give distance between you and the animal. 

#MuseumFromHome

#BoxJellyfish

Text by the NMP Zoology Division 

Photo credit to Dr. Sheldon Rey Boco