IA#4 National Museum of the Philippines — National Art Gallery
A former legislative building, the National Museum of the Philippines is the country’s national pride in various art pieces and collections made by Filipino artists. By the time you read this, the museum undergoes renovation so some of its collections and pieces are not yet displayed. Regardless, the admission to the museum is free to all visitors. For this article I can show 8 pieces that captivated me during my visit.
The Old House of Representatives Session Hall contains 2 paintings, Spoliarium by Juan Luna and El Asesinato del Gobernador Bustamante (The Assassination of Governor Bustamante) by Felix Resurrection Hidalgo. The painting of Felix Hidalgo captivated me the most because it portrays the feud between the government and the church which led to the death of Governor Bustamante and his son. Until now, clashes between the church and state are common nowadays.
They say that the “Portrait of a Lady” painted by Juan Luna is cursed. Rumour has it that the painting was commissioned during the time when Juan Luna killed his wife and mother-in-law using a shotgun due to his suspicions of infidelity. However, the painting represents the “glamorous cliches” of a woman similarly made by so-called Salon painters. Regardless it captivated my eyes because simply the woman in the painting is remarkable and beautiful.
La Barca de Aqueronte is Felix Hidalgo’s representation of the damned souls that journeying across the River Acheron towards the gates of hell. The boatman in the painting is portrayed by Charon which is depicted as a rapier similar to the book of Dante’s Inferno.
This painting created by Roman Faustino depicts the traditional way of filipinos when courting a woman. Likewise, the art piece shows that a woman should show similar traits like “Maria Clara” and the man should treat a woman with respect and love.
Unknown to the visitors and the museum curators, this piece is painted by an unknown painter. What captivated me about this painting was that this piece depicts the life of Anthony the Great who which endured numerous temptations which he successfully avoided.
This painting entitled Jones Bridge by Emilio Aguilar Cruz reminds me every time I pass by the bridge. There is nothing special about this painting except that it pays homage to the landscape of the old Manila. This captivated me because this shows the beauty of the Jones Bridge. If you compare it to the present bridge, it won’t be the same as before.
This painting created by Jose T. Joya was inspired by the hills of Nikko, Japan. It represents the imperfections of human beings. Each strokes with different colours represent different meanings. Earth colors symbolizes weaknesses and limitations of humanity, the hues of greens and blues represent life and hope and lastly, the white background represents the snow that starts to envelop the mound. All together each strokes of imperfection covers the cycle of life.
This painting created by Carlos V. Francisco represents how Catholicism was brought to the Philippines. The mural depicts Fr. Pedro Valderrama officiating the mass in an improvised altar in front of the natives and Ferdinand Magellan together with his Spanish troops. On the other hand, the painting depicts Magellan who didn’t come here to the Philippines to look for further natural resources and trade routes but rather, he came here to spread Catholicism.
