Author: National Museum of the Philippines

17th to early 20th century National Fine Arts Collection “Woman Reading Newspaper” (1939) by Zosimo Flores Dimaano

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

#MuseumFromHome

#BeatCOVID19

#ZosimoDimaano

Text by NMP-FAD

Photo by Bengy Toda

© National Museum of the Philippines (2021)

Tsunami in the Philippines (World Tsunami Awareness Day)

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)

Birth anniversary of Carlos “Botong” Francisco

On the 109th 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)

IT’S WORLD JELLYFISH DAY!

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

The mysterious case of the “Darwin Beetle”

For today’s #WildlifeWednesday we would like to take you to a forensic case.

Museum exchanges are a crucial part of the scientific responsibility of natural history museums. These activities ensure that the specimens or information from any museums can be readily shared with colleagues that need these data, thereby promoting the conduct of scientific inquiry. 

The practice of exchanging specimens also aids in the protection and conservation of the legacy of the species as they are housed in multiple institutions that can ensure their protection in perpetuity. 

A museum technician from the Zoology Division, in the course of her sorting during the pandemic “unearthed” from the Zoological Collections a mysterious beetle specimen, Xylothrips macleayi(?), that bears the name Darwin with a striking resemblance in the writing of the name of Charles Darwin. To the immediate shock and excitement of most in the Division, an investigation on the provenance of the specimen was mounted to expose its true origins. 

Scouring old catalog books uncovered that the specimen was not a “Darwin” specimen but rather a specimen collected in the capital city of the Northern Territory in Australia (Darwin, Australia). Further investigation and correspondence with curators from the South Australian Museum revealed that the specimen may be a product of a Pacific exchange of natural history materials by a former researcher with an interest in the biogeography of the Pacific during the 1960s. 

Although the specimen did not turn out to be a specimen collected by the famous Charles Darwin, the importance of such a find underscores the importance of collecting specimens that could be used by future researchers in the quest to understand the distribution of life in our world.

#TheDeadTellsItsTale

#ReferenceCollectionsAreCool

Text and video from NMP Zoology Division

Undas 2021 (Atang)

Undas 2021 (Atang)

  • November 2 – Undas (Atang) B

  • November 2 – Undas (Atang) A

In the continuing observance of #Undas2021 with our Filipino brothers and sisters today, All Souls’ Day, our #MuseumFromHome series features the tradition of atang, or offering of food for the dead, practiced by the Ilocanos in the Ilocos region. 

Atang is usually done during Undas and on other occasions. This act of offering food for the dead is also practiced as alay among Tagalogs, and halad among Cebuanos.

Plates of food prepared for an atang consist of delicacies such as suman, dudul, linapet, baduya, patopat or balisongsong (snacks made from sticky rice or rice flour); busi (caramelized popped rice); linga (black sesame seeds); sticky rice with coconut milk; and bagas (uncooked rice) shaped in a crucifix and topped with fresh eggs. The food may also be accompanied by bua ken gawed (betel nut and piper leaf), apog (lime powder), basi (fermented sugarcane wine), and tabako (tobacco). These offerings are placed in front of a photo of the departed and/or image of Jesus, Mary, or the Holy Family during wakes and anniversaries in homes or in front of the graves, after which the family and/or mourners of the deceased may also offer prayers. 

Ilocanos believe that the soul has not yet left the world of the living during the wake and still needs sustenance, hence the offering of food as they transcend onto the afterlife. It is also believed that the soul returns to the land of the living after the 9-day wake and must be welcomed back. In instances when the deceased appears in a dream or when a family member suddenly experiences unexplainable sickness, atang is performed as an appeasement ritual for the deceased who may have been offended or disturbed. It is also interpreted as asking the deceased to intercede for their loved ones, and thanking them for warning against bad omen through dreams. Clearly, the significance of the atang for the Ilocanos goes beyond the remembrance and honoring of the dead loved ones. It connotes their view of life after death and the relation of the living to the departed.

While visiting graves during Undas are not allowed this year due to precautions against COVID-19, traditions such as atang, remind us of how much Filipinos value their relationship with their loved ones, which is still carefully maintained even as they transcended to the afterlife. 

#Atang
#Undas2021
#AllSaintsDay
#AllSoulsDay

Text by the NMP Ethnology Division and photos from MLI Ingel and MP Tauro

© National Museum of the Philippines (2021)

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