Fernando Amorsolo was born on May 30, 1892 in the Paco neighborhood, when Manila was still under Spanish sovereignty, to Pedro Amorsolo, a book keeper, and Bonifacia Amorsolo née Cueto. Amorsolo spent his childhood in Daet, Camarines Norte, where he studied in a public school and was tutored at home in Spanish language reading and writing. After his father's death, Amorsolo and his family moved to Manila to live with Don Fabian de la Rosa, his mother's cousin and a Philippine painter. At the age of 13, Amorsolo became an apprentice to De la Rosa, who would eventually become the advocate and guide to Amorsolo's painting career. During this time, Amorsolo's mother embroidered to earn money, while Amorsolo helped by selling water color postcards to a local bookstore for ten centavos each. Amorsolo's brother, Pablo Amorsolo, was also a painter. Amorsolo's first success as a young painter came in 1908, when his painting Leyendo el periódico took second place at the Bazar Escolta, a contest organized by the Asociacion Internacional de Artistas. Between 1909 and 1914, Amorsolo enrolled at the Art School of the Liceo de Manila, where he earned honors for his paintings and drawings.
After graduating from the Liceo, he entered the University of the Philippines' School of Fine Arts, where De la Rosa worked at the time. During college, Fernando Amorsolo's primary influences were the Spanish people court painter Diego Velázquez, John Singer Sargent, Anders Zorn, Claude Monet, Pierre-Auguste Renoir, but mostly his contemporary Spanish masters Joaquín Sorolla Bastida and Ignacio Zuloaga. Amorsolo's most notable work as a student at the Liceo was his painting of a young man and a young woman in a garden, which won him the first prize in the art school exhibition during his graduation make money during school, Amorsolo joined competitions and did illustrations for various Philippine publications, including Severino Reyes' first novel in Tagalog language, Parusa ng Diyos ("Punishment of God"), Iñigo Ed. Regalado's Madaling Araw ("Dawn"), as well as illustrations for editions of the Pasion. Amorsolo graduated with medals from the University of the Philippines in 1914.
Fruit Gatherer, 1950, Oil on artist's board. Depicts Amorsolo's mastery of realism, impressionism and the use of "Chiaroscuro", an Italian term describing contrast between light and dark, to achieve a sense of three-dimensionality, especially in regards to the human figure.
After graduating from the University of the Philippines, Amorsolo worked as a draftsman for the Bureau of Public Works, as a chief artist at the Pacific Commercial Company, and as a part-time instructor at the University of the Philippines (where he would work for 38 years). After three years as an instructor and commercial artist, Amorsolo was given a grant to study at the Academia de San Fernando in Madrid, Spain by Filipino businessman Enrique Zobel de Ayala. During his seven months in Spain, Amorsolo sketched at museums and along the streets of Madrid, experimenting with the use of light and De Ayala's grant, Amorsolo was also able to visit New York City, where he encountered postwar impressionism and cubism, which would be major influences on his work.
Amorsolo set up his own studio upon his return to Manila and painted prodigiously during the 1920s and the 1930s. His "Rice Planting" (1922), which appeared on posters and tourist brochures, became one of the most popular images of the Commonwealth of the Philippines. Beginning in the 1930s, Amorsolo's work was exhibited widely both in the Philippines and abroad. His bright,optimistic, pastoral images set the tone for Philippine painting before World War II . Except for his darker World War II-era paintings, Amorsolo painted quiet and peaceful scenes throughout his career.
Antipolo by Fernando Amorsolo, depicting Filipinos celebrating a town fiesta.
Amorsolo was sought after by influential Filipinos including Luis Araneta, Antonio Araneta and Jorge B. Vargas. Amorsolo also became the favourite Philippine artist of United States officials and visitors to the country. Due to his popularity, Amorsolo had to resort to photographing his works and pasted and mounted them in an album. Prospective patrons could then choose from this catalogue of his works. Amorsolo did not create exact replicas of his trademark themes; he recreated the paintings by varying some elements.
His works later appeared on the cover and pages of children textbooks, in novels, in commercial designs, in cartoons and illustrations for the Philippine publications such The Independent, Philippine Magazine, Telembang, El Renacimiento Filipino, and Excelsior. He was the director of the University of the Philippine's College of Fine Arts from 1938 to 1952.
During the 1950s until his death in 1972, Amorsolo averaged to finishing 10 paintings a month. However, during his later years, diabetes, cataracts, arthritis, headaches, dizziness and the death of two sons affected the execution of his works. Amorsolo underwent a cataract operation when he was 70 years old, a surgery that did not impede him from drawing and painting. Two months after being confined at the St. Luke's Hospital in Manila, Amorsolo died of heart failure at the age of 79 on April 24, 1972 .
Four days after his death, Amorsolo was honoured as the first National Artist in Painting at the Cultural Center of the Philippines by then President Ferdinand Marcos.
Amorsolo was a close friend of the Philippine sculptor Guillermo Tolentino, the creator of the Caloocan City monument to the patriot Andres Bonifacio. BiographyFabián de la Rosa was born in Paco, Manila to husband and wife Marcos de la Rosa and Gregoria Cueto. It is believed that he is the nephew of another painter, Simón Flores y de la Rosa. He married Gorgonia Tolentino.
BiographyFabián de la Rosa was born in Paco, Manila to husband and wife Marcos de la Rosa and Gregoria Cueto. It is believed that he is the nephew of another painter, Simón Flores y de la Rosa. He married Gorgonia Tolentino.
Training He received his first training in painting when he was still ten years old, from an aunt, Mariana de la Rosa. He also received training from Agustin Saez while studying at the Escuela de Bellas Artes y Dibujo (School of Fine Arts and Portraits), although he only stayed at that school for three years. He also received training from Lorenzo Guerrero and Miguel Zaragoza. In 1908, he was given the opportunity by the Germinal Cigar Factory to become a scholar in Europe, where he was able to study at the Académie Julian in Paris, France. ExhibitionTogether with his wife, de la Rosa went back to Europe in 1928, where he painted in Paris for four months. He also traveled to Munich, Germany, Geneva, Switzerland, and Rome. Upon reaching Madrid, Spain, he held an exhibit of his works at the Ateneo de Madrid.
Some of his worksWomen Working in a Rice Field, 1902
Transplanting Rice, 1904
The Death of General Lawton, 1904
Un recuerdo de la Villa Borghese (A Remembrance of the Villa Borghese), 1909
Planting Rice, 109.2 x 190.6 cm, oil on canvas, 1921, National Museum Collection
ANITA MAGSAYSAY HO
Born 1914 in Manila. UP Fine Arts under tutelage of Fabian dela Rosa, Amorsolo and Miranda. In NY at Art Students League and at the Cranbook Academy of Arts.
Winner of numerous awards in local and foreign art competitions. Exhibited her works in leading Manila galleries. Extensive travels abroad including Tokyo, Hongkong, Canada, Brazil and Washington.
Well-known works depict figurative abstracts of women at work. Her nude in charcoal are also bestsellers. Once ventured into commemorative plate painting on the subject of the Madonna and Child.
Broke price records for Asian artists with the phenomenal price paid for her painting at a recent Christie's Auction in Singapore.
MAURO MALANG SANTOS
SANTOS, MAURO MALANG aka Malang b. Santa Cruz, Manila 20 Jan 1928. Painter. He is the son of Dan
Santos and Juliana Malang. He is married to Mary San Pedro. They have four children, two of whom are
painters-Stevesantos and Soler Santos. At the age of 10 he studied drawing under Teodoro Buenaventura.
When he was 19 he decided to stop schooling and joined the staff of the Manila Chronicle art department under
noted cartoonist Liborio (Gat) Gatbonton. He created for the evening Chronicle the country's first English
daily comic strip Kosme, the Cop, Retired. In 1955 he set up together with Gat, Larry Alcala, Hugo Yonzon,
and Elmer Agustan the only gallery specializing in cartoons called the Bughouse. In 1972 he studied at the Otis
Art Institute under a special grant. Malang was first known as a cartoonist before he became a renowned
painter. Among his works is Barrio Fiesta, an oil on canvas measuring 12.7 x 40.16 cm which was
commissioned in 1958 by the Ayala Corp for the FGU-Insular Life Building.
In 1966 together with other prominent painters, Malang launched "Art for the Masses," which allowed art,
through reasonably priced prints, to be made available to a wider audience.
In 1957 Malang was included in the list of "Twelve Artists in the Philippines-Who's Who" by Lyd Arguilla,
founder of the Philippine Art Gallery. The following year he received the Award for Editorial Design from the
Art Directors Guild of the Philippines. He has consistently won in the competitions held by the Society of
Philippine Illustrators and Cartoonists, which named him artist of the year in 1964.
Malang won awards in the Art Association of the Philippines annual art competition: second prize, Street
Fight, 1951, third prize, Traffic, 1953; honorable mention, The Yellow Sky, 1959; second prize, Quarter
Moon; and an honorable mention for Gate to Intramuros, 1963. He was a Ten Outstanding Young Men of the
Philippines awardee also in 1963. He received the Patnubay ng Sining at Kalinangan from the City of Manila
in 1981.
TalambuhayIpinanganak si Tolentino noong [Hulyo 24], 1890 sa Malolos, Bulakan kay Isidro Tolentino at Balbina Estrella. Siya ay mag-aaral ni Gng. H. A. Bordner na siyang unang nagturo sa kanya ng pagguguhit sa Paaralang Intermedyaryo ng Malolos. Nagtapos siya ng mataas na paraalan sa Mataas na Paaralan ng Maynila. Dahil sa kanyang sariling pagsisikap, nakapagtapos siya ng kurso ng pinong sining sa Pamantasan ng Pilipinas noong 1915. Lumakbay papuntang Mga Nagkakaisang Estado noong 1919 at pinagkalooban siya ng iskolarsyip ni Bernard Baruch, isang Amerikanong milyonaryo sa Paaralan ng Sining Beaux, Lungsod ng Bagong York at tinapos niya na may mga gawad noong 1921. Sa taong din iyon, lumakbay siya sa Europa, pumupunta sa mga tanyag na museo at galerya sa Londres at Paris. Noong 1922, siya ay pumasok sa Regge Istituto di Belle Arti, nakapagtapos ng pag-aaral nang bahagya sa pamamagitan ng lingap ng kolonyang Italyanong sa Maynila. Sa Roma, gumanap ang kanyang unang pang-isahang eksibisyon kung saan kabilang ang Saluto Romano (Saludong Romano). Sa paligsahang pang-iskultura na ginanap sa Lungsod ng Walang Hanggan, ang kanyang Apat na Mangangabayong Apokalipsis na napanalunan niya ng ikalawang gantimpala. Umuwi sa Pilipinas noong 1924 at nagsarili sa loob ng isang taon. Noong 1926, siya ay inatasan bilang guro sa Paaralan ng Pinong Sining ng Pamantasan ng Pilipinas at kinalaunang naging propesor, kalihim, at sa huli tagapamahala. Namuno siya ang Paaralan mula sa 1953 hanggang sa kanyang pagreretiro bilang Emeritong Propesor noong 1955. Noong 1932, siya'y lumagay sa tahimik kay Paz Raymundo at nagkaroon ng pitong anak.
Mga parangalGawad Iskultura ng Taon (Linangan ng mga Arkitekto ng Pilipinas) (1955)
Gawad ng Merito (Komisyon ng Mga Nagkakaisang Bansa ng Pilipinas) (1959)
Gawad Rizal na Maka-Patria (1961)
Gawad Patnubay ng Sining at Kalinangan para sa Iskultura (Lungsod ng Maynila) (1963)
Gawad Pamanang Pangkultura ng Republika (1967)
Medalya ng Merito ng Pangulo (1970)
Gawad Diwa ng Lahi (1972)
Pambansang Alagad ng Sining para sa Sining Biswal (Iskultura) (1973)
Napoleon V. Abueva
Sculpture (1976)
At 46 then, Napoleon V. Abueva, a native of Bohol, was the youngest National Artist awardee. Considered as the Father of Modern Philippine Sculpture, Abueva has helped shape the local sculpture scene to what it is now. Being adept in either academic representational style or modern abstract, he has utilized almost all kinds of materials from hard wood (molave, acacia, langka wood, ipil, kamagong, palm wood and bamboo) to adobe, metal, stainless steel, cement, marble, bronze, iron, alabaster, coral and brass. Among the early innovations Abueva introduced in 1951 was what he referred to as "buoyant sculpture" - sculpture meant to be appreciated from the surface of a placid pool. In the 80's, Abueva put up a one-man show at the Philippine Center, New York. His works have been installed in different museums here and abroad, such as The Sculpture at the United Nations headquarters in New York City.
Some of his major works include Kaganapan (1953), Kiss of Judas (1955), Thirty Pieces of Silver , The Transfiguration (1979)-Eternal Garden Memorial Park, UP Gateway (1967), Nine Muses (1994), UP Faculty Center, Sunburst (1994)-Peninsula Manila Hotel, the bronze figure of Teodoro M. Kalaw in front of National Library, and murals in marble at the National Heroes Shrine, Mt. Samat, Bataan.
Eduardo De Los Santos Castrillo (born October 31, 1942) is an award-winning Filipino sculptor. He was born in Santa Ana, Manila, the youngest of five children of Santiago Silva Castrillo, a jeweler, and Magdalena De Los Santos, a leading actress in Zarzuelas and Holy Week pageants in Makati, Philippines. Castrillo was a Republic Cultural Heritage awardee. He is also a jewelry artist and designer.
Major worksLa Pieta 1971, Loyola Memorial Park, Paranaque
Fate of the Oppressed 1971
Spirit of Pinaglabanan 1974, San Juan, Metro Manila
The Redemption 1974, Loyola Memorial Park, Marikina
Pagbubungkas 1975, Philippine Heart Center of Asia
Rajah Sulayman 1976, Malate
Mag-Ilusyon 1976, Legazpi City, Albay
The Redemption 1977, Metrobank Plaza, Makati
Cry of Tondo 1978, Isla Puting Bato †onDo
The Heritage of Cebu 1995, Cebu City, Cebu
Virginia Castillo (born 1974) writes chick lit romances with Latina heroines. A graduate of the University of Southern California, Castillo once considered medicine as a career thinking it would allow her to one day retire and write novels. She now considers herself fortunate to have had the good sense to follow an impossible dream and tell stories with courageous and smart heroines. Her novel, Hot Tamara was Cosmopolitan Magazine's Red Hot Read in April 2005. Also in 2005, Castillo was also named one of the "Hot 25" by OC Metro magazine.Novels and novellas
Hot Tamara, ISBN 0-06-073989-4.
In Between Men, ISBN 0-06-076682-4.
"My Favorite Mistake" in Friday Night Chicas (ISBN 0-312-33504-0).
"Till Death Do Us Part" in Names I Call My Sister (ISBN 0-06-089023-1).
Switchcraft
Solomon SapridFrom WikiPilipinas: The Hip 'n Free Philippine Encyclopedia
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Solomon Saprid (13 March 1917- 28 September 2003) was a modern Philippine sculptor who became known for his works in bronze which he created by welding scraps of metal, producing a characteristic jagged effect. His Tikbalang Series, which he began in 1971, is particularly acclaimed.
[edit] Some of his accomplishments
Represented the Philippines in the 1971 Indian Triennale and the 1973 Australian Biennial
Won the Araw ng Maynila award in 1970
First one-man show at the Solidaridad Galleries (1969)
First Prize, International Christmas Card Contest, World Literacy and Christian Culture (1961)
Ramon Orlina was born in Manila, Philippines. After completing his architectural degree at the University of Santo Tomas in Manila, he practiced architecture until 1974. He then began his career in art painting, eventually turning to sculpture. Drawing from his experience as an architect, Orlina chose to create sculptures from glass which he felt at that time had most potential in expressing his visual imagery. Exploring forms though glass cullets or crystal blocks, the artist continue to exploit their translucent quality and smooth finish produced from months of reshaping and grinding.
His abstract sculptures are composed of a series of angles through creating sharp edges or sleek bends that denote movement and fluid lines. By playfully manipulating varying qualities of light entering and trapped at different angles, his sculptures are never static masses. They are not
only 3-dimensional, sculpture-in-the-round objects, but multi-dimensinal constructions with no front or back orientation. One can view his pieces from any point of view and interpret them beyond the artist's intended form.
In this sense, Orlina's achievement is in freeing the viewers to see his sculptures in anyway they choose. He also frosts sections of the surfaces with figurative motifs by etching directly onto the glass while leaving most parts of it polished and smooth. The illusions created through the various prisms intensify the viewer¹s imagination.
A multi-awarded glass sculptor, Orlina¹s reputation extends to art circles and patrons in Singapore, Malaysia, Hong Kong, Japan, U.S.A. and the former Czechoslovakia. He has represented the Philippines in the XVII Grand Prix Internationale D' Arte Contemporaine de Monte Carlo in 1977; the Bienale Internationale de Arte, Valparaiso, Chile in 1987; the Suntory Prize Exhibition, Japan in 1994; the Toyamura International Sculpture Biennale, Japan in 1995 , the 9th Asian International Art Exhibition, Taipeh, 1994; the Osaka Sculpture Triennale, Japan in 1992 and 1995. The artist has been commissioned for public art sculptures and has exhibited extensively.
He was conferred the ASEAN Awards for Visual Arts in 1993 by the ASEAN Committee on Culture and Information (COCI) in Brunei and in 1994, he received the 3rd ASEAN Achievement
Awards for Visual Arts in Kuala Lumpur from the ASEAN Business Forum. From 1992 to the present time he has led the Art Association of the Philippines as its president.
The year 1999 marked a high point in Orlina's career with his winning the "Mr. F Prize" of the prestigious Toyamura International Sculpture Bienale, '99 in Hokkaido, Japan. This biennial attracted 956 entries from 65 participating countries competing in all mediums. The winning piece of Orlina was a dazzling white optical glass sculpture called "Silvery Moon".
In the turn of the Millennium, Ramon Orlina has pondered on the multi-faceted nature of his work, and decided to augment it with the introduction of tubular stainless steel, a phase first
suggested in "Basketball Mi Mundo" which won the coveted First Prize in the sculpture category of the II International Biennale of Basketball in the Fine Arts held in Madrid in January, 2000.
In his more than 25 years as a sculptor, Ramon Orlina has consistently shown excellence, originality and daring as a sculptor.