U.P. Oblation by Guillermo Tolentino
The popular statue of The University of The Philippines. When you say U.P. the first thing that pops into your mind would be that fully naked guy statue with his arms open wide. That’s the UP oblation by Guillermo Tolentino.
The statue is a symbol for Jose Rizal’s Mi Ultimo Adios. According to him, and I do quote “The completely nude figure of a young man with outstretched arms and open hands, with tilted head, closed eyes and parted lips murmuring a prayer, with breast forward in the act of offering himself, is my interpretation of that sublime stanza.” That stanza being Rizal’s 2nd stanza in his Last Farewell. It symbolizes also all the unkown heroes who fell to free our country from the Spaniards. This statue for me really captures the symbolism of being free.
The Formal Elements used in this statue is Organic Shape as it takes the shape of a human and Tactile texture as you can touch it and feel the bronze like skin.
Principles of Design used would be Unity as the whole thing looks whole, Balance as it supports itself upright and the body is symmetrical, Emphasis cause it’s the first thing you see when you go to UP, Rhythm because it gives you a certain emotion and lastly is Scale and proportion as it gives you a hierarchical scale of an person and it’s proportionate to everything. The style used would be Realistic art cause its shows realism without idealization or distortion. The form is of a three dimensional statue.
