A Visit to The National Museum (IA#4)

The last time I visited the National Museum was in 2014. Back then I wasn’t very appreciative of Art yet, so I was definitely excited to be visiting again!

It was the Museum of the Filipino People I visited last time. So as a newbie in the National Art Gallery, a picture with the Spoliarium is a must!

Trivia: Spoliarium is Latin for basement. It is where the body of fallen Romans were thrown. (source: National Museum website).

“Rizal interpreted the Spoliarium as a symbol of ‘our social, moral, and political life: humanity unredeemed, reason and aspiration in open fight with prejudice, fanaticism, and injustice.”” (source: likas-pilipinas.org)

Federico Aguilar Alcuaz’s tapestries

My favorite room was the gallery of tapestries by Alcuaz. Some of his works displayed in the museum are part of the Government Service Insurance System Collection. His abstract works were really inviting because of how black, as the base color, worked well with shapes and splashes of other colors. It’s very pleasing to look at and at the same time, intriguing.

Manansala Collection

Another favorite of mine was Vicente S. Manansala’s paintings! These were part of the Philippine-American General Life Insurance Company (Philam Life) Collection. I loved how his works depicted the rural life in such a colorful manner. The play of colors definitely enticed me. I can’t help but stare! They were so warm to look at.

Other Favorites:

I was so intrigued when I saw this painting. It feels wrong that I felt some horror vibes towards this picture. Hahaha! I wanted to know the story behind this painting so badly. I tried Googling it but nothing came up. Where is the girl going? What’s in that room? Why is she looking back? What is up with the look on her face? (Man, I just want some answers! Haha).

I am a BIG fan of art. I try not to judge because we’ll never know what triggered the artist to paint or draw or create such masterpieces. A handful of works got us like:

(And yes I just needed a reason to post this picture of ours. HAHAHA. My blog, my rules).

Other than the artworks, let’s also give credit to the museum itself for being — as the millennials would call it — ‘instagrammable’ or ‘IG worthy’.

This trip to the National Museum will definitely be not forgotten. It was nice to jump from genre to genre — seeing different themes of the works and trying to make stories in my head of how the artworks came about. The thing I love about Art is it lets you play with your imagination. Seeing some of the artists’ works gave me the chance to picture how the past was and at the same time, gives hint of what kind of personality the artists possess. It’s like getting to know a place, a person, a thing just by looking at the art itself.

I know a lot of people who doesn’t appreciate Art as much as I do so I am thankful that I’m blessed with friends who is just as appreciative as I am.