Category Archives: Metropolitan Manila

Carve, Mold, and Assemble: Modern Sculptures in the Philippines (National Museum of Fine Arts, Manila)

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Carve, Mold, and Assemble: Modern Sculptures in the Philippines

Carve, Mold, and Assemble (Lilok, Hulma at Tipon): Modern Sculptures in the Philippines, a permanent exhibit at the fourth floor of the National Museum of Fine Arts,  is dedicated to Philippine Modern Sculptures.

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Gallery entrance

Featured here are notable works of Abdulmari Asia Imao (1936-2014), National Artist for Sculpture in 2006; Arturo R. Luz (1926-2021), National Artist for Visual Arts in 1997; and Jerry Elizalde Navarro (1924-1999), National Artist for Visual Arts in 1999.

Sarimanok (Abdulmari Imao, 1996)

Imao wanted to improve, revitalize and popularize the sarimanok (an ornate chicken-like figure or a decorative bird notable in Maranao Art and considered to be as old as their epics) style and he produced a number of artworks of the indigenous motif from the Southern Philippines in various media.

Fishes (Abdulmari Imao, 1976, bronze)

His 1996 brass sculpture, entitled Sarimanok, a  2 m. high sculpture work of art, was given, through the Magbassa Kita Foundation, Inc., as a gift to the Filipino people by the family of the Late National Artist on July 23, 2015.

Sarimanok (Addulmari Imao, 1969, bronze)

Also in this exhibition gallery are his three bronze sculptures, two sculptures entitled as Fishes, dated 1976, and another Sarimanok (1969).

Study of Figura in Red (Arturo Luz, 2012, steel and acrylic paint)

Study of Homage to Antoni Tapies in White (Arturo Luz, 2012, steeland acrylic paint)

The works of Arturo R. Luz on display at the gallery are his experiment with sculptural abstraction using metal, concrete and wood which began in 1969.

Study of Homage to Eusebio Sempere (Arturo Luz, 2012, steel and acrylic paint)

Study of Homage to Fernando Zobel in Red (Arturo Luz, 201, steel and acrylic paint)

Study of Homage to Gerardo Rueda in Red (Arturo Luz, 2012, steel and acrylic paint)

As with his paintings, he continued the Neo-Realist themes and the linear simplicity and geometric form in his geometric sculptural work.

Study of Modula for the National Museum (Arturo Luz, 2012, stainless steel)

Study of Tribal in Rust (Arturo Luz, 2012, steel and acrylic paint)

The sculpture of Jerry Elizalde Navarro, an avid experimenter and versatile craftsman, are actually assemblages constructed out of found objects and discarded machine parts.

Desparecido (Jerry Elizalde Navarro)

Man and Woman (Jerry Elizalde Navarro)

His linear sculptures use rods, pipes and mixed media using plexiglass sheets. His wife, Virginia Ty-Navarro (1924-1996), is also an artist whose bronze and brass sculpture Taurus (1975) is also on display in the gallery.

Idiot Box (Jerry Elizalde Navarro, 1964, wood)

Taurus (Virginia Ty Navarro, 1975, bronze and brass)

Works of other renowned artists are also on display here.  Lamberto R. Hechanova (1939-2014), reputed  as an incubator of Modernist sculpture in the 1960s, introduced the combined use of aluminum with wood and plexiglass in his massive and innovative sculptures and assemblages.

Space Aura (Lamberto Hechanova, 1963, oil paint and various metal)

Allegory in Aluminum (1968, aluminum and glass), by Lamberto Hechanova, landed first place at the First Exhibition of Philippine Sculptors in 1968

Cestae III (Lamberto Hechanova, 1969, oil paint and various metals)

Renato Rocha (1937-2001) used acacia, molave and narra in sculpting abstracted figures of animals, family, women and other free forms as they were stylishly economical, glowing with mellow warm patinas and strong and lasting in character.

Air Flight (Renato Rocha, 1973, wood)

Two Figures (Renato Rocha, ca. 1964, wood)

Federico D. Estrada (1915 – 1999), a lesser known contemporary of Vicente Manansala, was the first Filipino to work at the atelier of Pietro Amberti.

Affection (Federico Estrada, 1963, narra wood)

World Brotherhood (Federico Estrada, ca. 1960, wood)

Holy Family (Federico Estrada, 1963, narra wood) bears three faces – the Mother, Father and Son.

Pietri taught him the secrets of synthetic marble, floating strips, spray dotting, molding and general sculpturing from 1932-1940. 

Ramon Orlina glass sculptures. L-R: Lumba-Lumba (1988, carved green glass), Community of Joy (2020, carved peach amber glass), Gothic (1988, carved green glass) and Elegance in Simplicity (2020, carved green glass)

Ramon Orlina (b. 1944), who transfigured glass into art, was the first to carve figures out of blocks of glass using the cold method, cutting, grinding, and polishing his work with improvised tools and instruments,  a feat at that time yet unreplicated even in highly industrialized countries.

Paglalakbay (Rey Paz Contreras, 1990, molave wood)

Rey Paz Contreras (1950 – 2021) worked with urban refuse and environmental materials as artistic media.  He was inspired by the indigenous Filipino culture and created visual forms of contemporary images that explore a distinct Filipino aesthetics.

Supine (Ting Ping Lay, ca. 1995, bronze)

Early Spring (Ting Ping Lay, ca. 1990, plaster of paris)

Filipino-Chinese sculptor Ting Ping Lay’s (1927 – 2021) simple, minimalist, and semi-abstract works features figures that are quietly and gently contorted, placed in poses that are restrained, dignified, and mature. His two sculptures (Early Spring and Supine) were donated by his son Lionel Ting on December 18, 2020.

Eshu (1997, cold-cast marble and volcanic cinder), a floor piece by Agnes Arellano, was created for the Sixth Biennial of Havana and was exhibited there. Eshu, the “Lord of the Crossroads,” the mediator between men and the gods, is shown with two pairs of feet and three hands. He holds a cigar, a trident and a wine bottle.

Agnes Arellano (b. 1949) works primarily in plaster, making life-size figure sculptures. Her work explores women’s issues relative to the portrayal of women in traditional Asian sculpture by reinterpreting local myths.

Mother and Child Fusion MSeries’19 (Jose Datuin, 2019)

Gemini (Jose Datuin,undated, wood and brass)

Jose F. Datuin (b. 1956) is known for his ability to use lightly visualized symbolism with stainless steel as his material. He is also known for circular abstractions which demonstrate unity, both in material and form.

Balut Vendor (Idefonso Marcelo, 1982, adobe)

Father and Child (Idelfonso Marcelo, 1982, adobe)

Ildefonso Marcelo (b. 1941) is known for using blocks of stone in creating figures that connote strength and permanence.

Doxology (Julie Lluch, terracotta and acrylic) consists of two life-size works representing the two selves of the same woman. One is sprawled on the ground, cold and lifeless, while the other is alive.

Julie Lluch (b. 1946), a self-taught sculptor, became seriously involved in art in 1976. Working in terracotta, stone, ceramic and bronze, she is known for her life-size portraits and groups that present satirical commentaries on the relationship between the sexes.

Portrait of Celia Molano (Julie Lluch, 1996)

Eduardo Castrillo (1942 – 2016), considered to be the most avant-garde sculptor in the Philippines, he created, with the help of a group of assistants, sculptures by hammering, cutting and welding metal, especially brass, bronze and steel.

Success (Eduardo Castrillo, 1980, bronze)

The Martyrdom of Dr. Jose Rizal (Eduardo Castrillo, 1991, bronze)

He also incorporated other materials (wood, plastic, plexiglass, ivory, neon lights, etc.) into his works and his oeuvre included free-standing abstract pieces, functional art pieces, art jewelry, body sculptures and liturgical art.

Jade Carrier (Solomon Saprid, 1989, metal and jadeite)

Solomon Saprid (1917 – 2003) was best known for his Brutalist School bronze sculptures. He welded scraps of metal together and the intricately sculpted brass details produced a characteristic jagged effect.

Poseidon (Solomon Saprid, 1981, black metal)

Duddley Diaz (b. 1947) created a powerful body of work that defies categorization, with sculptures that challenge notions of identity, sexuality, culture, and history.

Pagsilang (Duddley Diaz, 2006, wood and acrylic)

Departing from the impersonal and rationalist aesthetic of academic art, his work daringly combines the values of classical Renaissance sculpture with atavistic sources of inspiration in the figures of ancient mythology and Christian liturgical art.

Bloom (Rosario Bitanga Peralta, 2005, stainless steel and resin)

Rosario “Charito” Bitanga Peralta (b. 1934) is the Philippines’ first and foremost woman abstract artist.​ Her creative sculpture, consisting of metal and terracotta pieces, was predominantly inspired by the 1950s Abstract Expressionism and Minimalism.

Mother and Child (Francisco Cruz, 1967, adobe)

Excessive Machine (Ruben de Vera, ca. 1969, wood)

Bust of Edgar Allan Poe (Ricaredo Demetillo, 1969, adobe)

Other artists featured include Francisco Cruz, Rosalio Alcala, Jr., Ricaredo Demetillo (1920 – 1998), T. Rivera, Roberto Balajadia (b. 1945) and Ruben De Vera (b. 1942).

Weight and Balance (T. Rivera, undated, adobe)

Modernization of Manila (Rosalio Alcala Jr., undated, adobe, cement, concrete and metal)

Homage to Botong (Roberto Balajadia, 1989, adobe)

Carve, Mold, and Assemble: Modern Sculptures in the Philippines: Gallery XXIX, Philippine Modern Sculpture Hall, 4/F, National Museum of Fine Arts (NMFA), Padre Burgos Avenue, Ermita, Manila 1000, Metro Manila. Tel: (632) 8527-1215 and (632) 8298-1100.  Email: inquiry@nationalmuseum.gov.ph.  Website: nationalmuseum.gov.ph.  Open Tuesdays to Sundays, 9 AM – 4PM. Admission is free.  Coordinates: 14°35′13″N 120°58′52″E.

Old Senate Session Hall (National Museum of Fine Arts, Manila)

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Old Senate Session Hall

The historic Old Senate Session Hall, considered the core of the then Legislative Building (now the National Museum of Fine Arts), was home to members of the Philippine Senate from 1926 to 1996.  It had been a silent witness to history as senators, from various eras, debated and charted the future of the Philippines, from the country’s growing clamor for full independence from the United States in the 1930s to its rejection of a new US bases treaty in 1992. Directly below the Senate Session Hall is another hall once used by members of Congress. It has since been converted to a gallery displaying Juan Luna’s “Spoliarium.”

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Ceiling and entablature with garlands and relief sculptures

The old Senate Session Hall was designed by American architect Ralph Harrington Doane (part of the team of architect and urban planner Daniel Burnham and a consultant to the Bureau of Public Works, a precursor of the Department of Public Works and Highways) as a high-ceiling reading room. Heavily damaged during the American liberation of Manila in 1945, the Legislative Building was in near ruins but, for some reason, the Session Hall remained intact, with only its intricately carved hardwood ceiling blown off.

Plaque installed by National Historical Institute

When the newly independent postwar government worked on rebuilding the structure, it was able to restore much of the Session Hall to its original state.

Bust of Manuel L. Quezon

Here, then Senator Benigno “Ninoy” Aquino Jr. and his allies in the opposition delivered privilege speeches during the run-up to martial law in 1972.  When martial law was declared, it was closed and later turned into one of the National Museum’s galleries during the remainder of the Marcos years. During the Marcos era, the Batasan Pambansa in Quezon City housed the parliament.

When democracy was restored after the People Power Revolution in 1986, the Senate and Congress returned to their old homes in the Legislative Building. In 1996, after the Senate moved to its new home at the GSIS Building in Pasay City, the old Session Hall was closed again.

In April 2010, work on the Session Hall’s (Php20 million) two-year restoration started, with funding coming from 2011 National Museum endowment fund (Php6 million) of the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. (PAGCOR), and Php14 million from the museum’s 2012 budget. They also tapped the expertise of the museum’s four heritage architects led by Evelyn Esguerra.

During the in-house restoration project, the National Museum’s Jeremy Barns (director) and Ana Labrador (assistant director) pored over old pictures in their attempt to produce a newly restored Session Hall that’s as close as possible to the original. Its prewar look became the peg of the restoration work. Barns and Labrador chose the 1930s, because it was during this period that the country’s independence movement started to intensify.

Relief Sculptures by Isabelo Tampinco

However, in the absence of detailed pictures of the original, they left the venue’s less ornate postwar ceiling intact. Workers searched in vain for murals (painted by architect Juan M. Arellano), between the overhead concrete fretwork, that might be hidden underneath layers of old paint. In the end, the pair decided to simply give both the ceiling and spaces between the statues a fresh coat of the standard, rich color paint for nearly all public buildings during the Philippine Commonwealth period paint (which Barns described as a “Bureau of Public Works cream”).

Relief sculptures by Isabelo Tampinco

The already structurally unsound wooden parquet flooring on the first level, not part of the Session Hall’s original design, was also removed.  In keeping with the Session Hall’s original look, they decided to go for vibrant red floors (sealed with epoxy) and baseboards. A series of damaged concrete balustrades that bore the weight of a wooden floor that bisected the 15 m. high Session Hall was replaced with faithful reproductions crafted by House of Precast.  The team also replaced the venue’s lighting system and had a more modern, energy-efficient air-con system installed.

Filipino Struggles Through History by Carlos “Botong” V. Francisco

Windows that were permanently locked from the outside (because of a concrete barrier) were replaced and opened up. Workers also had to fashion, upon Barns’ instructions, a French-type window that leads to an outdoor veranda. On October 29, 2012, during a celebration of the museum’s 111th anniversary, the refurbished hall was opened.

Filipino Struggles Through History by Carlos “Botong” V. Francisco

Currently a venue for events that are of national importance, the Old Senate Session Hall features modern and contemporary Philippine art from the 20th to the 21st centuries. All the ornamentation and decoration in this Hall were done by leading Filipino prewar sculptor Isabelo Tampinco who created these figures with the help of his sons, Angel and Vidal, who inherited their father’s artistry and skills.

Filipino Struggles Through History by Carlos “Botong” V. Francisco

These exceptional, restored masterpieces make up an entablature of garlands and Filipinized, classical relief sculptures of great lawmakers, moralists, philosophers and various historical figures in history, from Biblical times to the 20th century, such as Apolinario Mabini, Pope Leo XIII, Woodrow Wilson, Moses, Hammurabi, Ramses the Great, and Charlemagne.

Filipino Struggles Through History by Carlos “Botong” V. Francisco

This hall also features seven of the ten panels of “Filipino Struggles Through History” (also known as “History of Manila”), the monumental series of paintings by National Artist Carlos “Botong” V. Francisco (1912-1969) commissioned in 1968 for the Manila City Hall by Mayor  Antonio J. Villegas.  The last three panels, depicting Mayor Antonio J. Villegas‘ vision for the city of Manila, are exhibited at Gallery XIII, within the same museum’s Vicente and Carmen Fabella Hall.

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Commemorative plaque of the “Filipino Struggles Through History,” by Carlos “Botong” V. Francisco, being declared as a National Cultural Treasure

The artwork was declared as a National Cultural Treasure by then National Museum director Gabriel S. Casal on April 8, 1996. They collectively measure 2.7 m. (8.9 ft.) high and 79.4 m. (260 ft.) wide.

National Museum of Fine Arts: Padre Burgos Avenue, Ermita, Manila 1000, Metro Manila. Tel: (632) 8527-1215 and (632) 8298-1100.  Email: inquiry@nationalmuseum.gov.ph.  Website: nationalmuseum.gov.ph.  Open Tuesdays to Sundays, 9 AM – 4PM. Admission is free.  Coordinates: 14°35′13″N 120°58′52″E.

Gallery XXII (National Museum of Fine Arts, Manila)

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Gallery XXII (International Rice Research Institute Hall)

Gallery XXII, a permanent exhibit at the third floor of the National Museum of Fine Arts (NMFA), features two large-scale paintings by National Artist Vicente S. Manansala (1910-1981) from the collection of the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI).

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Gallery entrance

These paintings were commissioned by the institute to depict Filipino life, labor, and leisure, and were completed in 1962. Initially, they were put on display on the walls of the dining hall and cafeteria of the IRRI headquarters in Los Baños, Laguna.

The two Manansala murals

Through a partnership between IRRI and the National Museum of the Philippines, and to protect and preserve the masterpieces, the paintings were transferred to the IRRI Hall, an art exhibition of the  National Museum of the Philippines in the historic Legislative Building. The two large paintings were elevated from Important Cultural Properties, to National Cultural Treasures (the first Manansalas to gain such status), on May 14, 2015.  That same day, an official heritage marker announcing the recognition was installed by the National Museum of the Philippines and the IRRI Hall opened for public viewing.

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The figures are rendered in trademark Manansala, with overlapping transparent polygonal cells that play up the two-dimensionality of the painting.

They are some of the most important examples of his work exploring his technique on transparent cubism in which, instead of breaking down the picture plane, Manansala devised figurative angular forms that uses, as reference, layered colors of stained glass windows, as well as the translucence of capiz shell windows and piña fabrics.

Watercolor studies

 

The two Manansala murals are a lighthearted narration of Filipino rural life. One is a joyful, pastel-colored medley of labor.  Flanking the two sides are scenes of fishing and rice-planting while, at the center, as focal point, is a woman bathing a child.

Kalabaw (Vicente S. Manasala, 1979, watercolor on paper)

The second painting, a spectacle of small-town festivities, depicts a game of sipa, the national sport, on the left while, on the right, are two men competing in a carabao race. The stretch of canvas is lined with a crowd of people watching two roosters in a midair cockfight.

Study of a Family Praying Before a Meal (Vicente S. Manansala, 1960, watercolor on paper)

Also on display are studies in watercolor for this series, which Manansala made for the IRRI commission, where his technique is perceptible.

Study for IRRI (1) (Vicente S. Manansala, ca. 1962, watercolor on paper)

Study for IRRI (2) (Vicente S. Manansala, ca. 1962, watercolor on paper)

Also featured in this gallery is “Philippine Folklore,” a large-scale, 1,536 cm. (50 ft.) long narra wood relief by renowned sculptor Jose P. Alcantara (1911-2005), Manansala’s childhood friend, from the Philam Life Collection which previously adorned the wall of the then newly constructed, 780-seat Philam Life Theater at United Nations Ave. in Ermita, Manila.

Jose Alcantara’s “Philippine Folklore” narra wood relief

It was made with the aid of his 4 sons and wood carvers from Paete.  It is composed of many wood panels, with gaps built together.

Women pounding rice while a guitarist serenades them

This is the second installation of his monumental work at the NMFA. Another, across the 1953 four-panel painting “The Progress of Medicine in the Philippines” by National Artist Carlos V. “Botong” Francisco (1912-1969) loaned from the Philippine General Hospital in 2012, was installed last March 14, 2019 at Gallery XVI.

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Women harvesting the rice crop

It shows a continuous scene where Christians and Muslims are doing their own festivities while staying connected to each other. Four of the smaller, decorative narra wood reliefs, of rural life and folklore, are installed in Gallery XXIV.

A farmer plowing the field with a carabao

Both the IRRI murals and these Philam Life reliefs bear the themes of rice cultivation and the culture that surrounds it, including rituals, festivals and belief systems.

A northern Cordillera harvest festival

Gallery XXII: International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) Hall, 3/F, National Museum of Fine Arts (NMFA), Padre Burgos Avenue, Ermita, Manila 1000, Metro Manila. Tel: (632) 8527-1215 and (632) 8298-1100.  Email: inquiry@nationalmuseum.gov.ph.  Website: nationalmuseum.gov.ph.  Open Tuesdays to Sundays, 9 AM – 4PM. Admission is free.  Coordinates: 14°35′13″N 120°58′52″E.

Visitors shall be limited to 100 per museum per session. Visitors are required to pre-book online at https://reservation.nationalmuseum.gov at least a day before the visit. Confirmation of booking will be sent through email. Group reservations are limited to five (5) persons only.  Walk-in visitors will NOT be accommodated.

Spoliarium Hall (National Museum of Fine Arts, Manila)

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Spoliarium Hall

When you enter the National Museum of Fine Arts, from Padre Burgos Ave., the first exhibit, at Level Two, you’ll see is the Spoliarium Hall.  Guarding its entrance is the reinforced concrete, 2.9 x 1.2 m. winged statue Diwata (a gift from the heirs of Hermogenes Reyes and Teodora Tantoco Reyes), sculpted by National Artist for Sculpture Guillermo Tolentino sometime in the 1950s.

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Diwata (Guillermo Tolentino)

The Spoliarium Hall was formerly the House of Representatives Session Hall, site of the 1934 Constitutional Convention.  It is home to Filipino painter Juan Luna’s Spoliarium.  The largest painting in the Philippines, it measures 4.22 m. high and 7.675 m. wide.

Working on canvas and upon the instigation of Francisco de Paula Redoreda, it took Juan Luna eight months to paint this enormous and massive multi-figure mural which was rendered in frenzied fin de siecle brushstrokes. In 1884, this renowned painting was awarded, by the elitist Salon des Beaux Arts,  the first gold medal (grande prix), out of three, at the Exposición Nacional de Bellas Artes in Madrid.

Spoliarium (1884, oil on canvas) of Juan Luna

It depicts a despoiling scene in a Roman circus where dead gladiators, being mourned by relatives, are stripped of weapons and garments. Jose Rizal identified it as an allusion to the exploitation of the country by Spain.  This art achievement underscored the ability of Filipinos to compete with Europeans at their backcourt.  It was also a subtle affirmation of the Filipino’s capability to run affairs back home.

The author

In April 1884, together with other works of the Spanish Academy, the Spoliarium was on exhibit in Rome. In 1885, after being exhibited in Rome, Madrid and Paris, the painting was sold to the provincial government of Barcelona (Diputación Provincial de Barcelona) for 20,000 pesetas.

Detail

In 1887, it was transferred to the Museo del Arte Moderno in Barcelona where it was in storage until, in 1937, the museum was burned and looted during the Spanish Civil War. Under orders of Generalissimo Francisco Franco, the damaged painting was sent to Madrid for restoration, where it stayed for 18 years. In the 1950s, calls for the painting’s transfer to Manila by Filipinos and sympathetic Spaniards, led to Gen. Franco’s orders to finish the painting’s restoration and eventual donation to the Philippines.

Dying gladiators being dragged away

After the restoration work was completed in late 1957, the painting was broken up into three pieces because of its size, with each piece going into its own shipping crate. In January 1958, the painting was turned over to Ambassador Manuel Nieto, Sr. as a gift from the government of Spain.

Mourning relatives of gladiators

The painting was mounted on a wooden frame at the then Department of Foreign Affairs building (as of June 2020, currently the Department of Justice building) along Padre Faura Street.  Carlos da Silva, as head of the Juan Luna Centennial Commission, chose artist Antonio Dumlao to perform relining and cleaning of the painting. Carlos da Silva did the mounting, framing and architectural work. In December 1962, the newly restored Spoliarium was then unveiled in the Hall of Flags of the Department of Foreign Affairs.

Jandy

In 1982, the painting was cleaned by Suzanno “Jun” Gonzalez and, in 2005, another restoration was made by Art Restoration and Conservations Specialists Inc., headed by painter June Poticar Dalisay.

Across it is the equally violent The Assassination of Governor Bustamante and His Son (El asesinato del Gobernador Bustamante), the most extensive work by another Filipino 19th century master painter, Félix Resureccion-Hidalgo (February 21, 1855-March 13, 1913), Luna’s contemporary and friend, who won the silver medal for his Las Virgenes Cristianas Expuestas Al Populacho at the same Exposición Nacional de Bellas Artes in Madrid.  Circa 1853, it is also known under the more controversial title La Iglesia contra el estado (The Church against the State).

The 412 cm. (13.5 ft.) high and 338 cm. (11 ft.) wide oil on canvas painting, commissioned by Don Antonio Ma. Regidor (who never took hold of it), a Filipino nationalist, shows 18th century halberds (the 19th century halberds may have become more elaborate compared to those featured in this historical painting of the event that took place in 1719) being used by the Alaberderos (a special unit of bodyguards) belatedly coming to the rescue of the fallen Governor-General Fernando Manuel de Bustillo Bustamante.

The Assassination of Gov.Bustamante(Felix Resureccion-Hida (4)

In 1905, this painting was first exhibited at the St. Louis Exposition in the United States of America where it won a gold medal. The painting remained in Barcelona until 1914 when the painting was brought back to the Philippines by one of Regidor’s relatives. In 1965, the painting came into the possession of Mr. Manuel Lazatin Garcia and, in 1971, it was transferred to the residence of architect Leandro Locsin for safekeeping.  In 1974, in time for the celebration of Museum Week, the painting was unveiled at the National Museum.

Both paintings were declared as National Cultural Treasures.   Perpendicular to these two iconic paintings is the Arthur Walsh Fergusson Monument and the Battle of Mactan by Elmer Borlongan.  The former, the grandest and only monument in the Philippines dedicated in honor of an American bureaucrat, was completed in Madrid and Barcelona in 1912 by the eminent Spanish sculptor Mariano Benlliure (1862-1947) and was formally inaugurated in Manila on November 15, 1913.

Known for his Neo-Classic public monuments in Madrid and elsewhere, Benlliure, and his brother Jose, were classmates (from 1881 to 1884) of Filipino artists Juan Luna, Félix Resurreccion-Hidalgo and Miguel Zaragoza at the Spanish Academy in Rome.

Arthur Walsh Fergusson Monument

Fergusson, a Spanish-speaking colonial bureaucrat, served as secretary of the First Philippine Commission and later as secretary to a succession of governors-general from 1901 until he died from cardiac arrest in 1908. This bronze monument, on a Carrara marble plinth monument, was originally located in a small plaza (then known as Plaza Fergusson) fronting Ermita Church.

The monument was  replaced by a bronze representation of the Virgin of Ermita, by the late Eduardo Castrillo, and the name of the plaza was changed to Plaza del Nuestra Señora de Guia (later renamed Plaza Guerrero to honor the Filipino poet Fernando Ma. Guerrero). The Fergusson Monument was given to the US Embassy who loaned it to the National Museum of the Philippines for preservation and access to the public.

The large-scale (2.4 x 4.8 m.) Battle of Mactan” was painted by contemporary visual artist Elmer “Emong” Borlongan (who used predominantly red and blue pigments for this artwork) in 2021 to mark the 500th Anniversary of Ferdinand Magellan’s circumnavigation of the world and arrival in the Philippines.

The Battle of Mactan (Elmer Borlongan, 2021, acrylic on canvas)

Also on display are two halberds, the only examples of their kind known to exist in the country.  Officially used in the service of the Governor and Captain General between 1874 and 1898, they were taken as souvenirs by American troops and brought to the US, eventually entering the collection of Parkin Archaeological State Park (Arkansas) who, in 2016, donated them  to the National Museum of the Philippines. 

One of the two halberds of the Guard of the Captain General (1)

Spoliarium Hall: 2/F, National Museum of Fine Arts (NMFA), Padre Burgos Avenue, Ermita, Manila 1000, Metro Manila. Tel: (632) 8527-1215 and (632) 8298-1100.  Email: inquiry@nationalmuseum.gov.ph.  Website: nationalmuseum.gov.ph.  Open Tuesdays to Sundays, 9 AM – 4PM. Admission is free.  Coordinates: 14°35′13″N 120°58′52″E.

Bahay Nakpil-Bautista (Quiapo, Manila)

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Bahay Nakpil Bautista

Our Quiapo Heritage Walk ended at the stately and elegant Bahay Nakpil-Bautista (Nakpil-Bautista House), one of the old heritage houses found in the district of Quiapo, Manila. As it was still open, Jandy and I, as well as other participants of the Quiapo Heritage Walk, decided to explore it.

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The house is typical of its period,with wood and stone as primary construction materials.  Typical of many Manila houses of the period, it had two entrances–a large wooden street door (postigo) and a large iron gate that leads to the Estero de Quiapo behind.

Estero de Quiapo

A perfect example of “adaptive reuse” (where old structures find new life and new uses so they remain relevant to the present time), Bahay Nakpil-Bautista was a bahay na bato built in 1914 by Arcadio Arellano (architect of the Gota de Leche Building) for Dr. Ariston Linpingco Bautista (1863 – 1928), a known physician, patriot (he was a member of the Propaganda Movement), philanthropist and patron of the arts.

Check out “Gota de Leche Building: A Heritage Conservation Success Story”

Ariston Bautista

Dr. Ariston Bautista was also one of the first professors in the University of the Philippines College of Medicine. He discovered a treatment similar to paregoric, which helped end the cholera epidemic that plagued the country in 1880.  He was also the founding President of Germinal Cigar and Cigarette Company. His wife, the painter and jewelry designer Petrona Nakpil, was one of the first women artists in Quiapo.

National Historical Institute (NHI) Plaque

Originally, there were two houses sitting on two lots (with a total area of 500 sq. m.). On August 25, 2011, the National Historical Commission of the Philippines declared the house as a National Historical Landmark.

The Tahanan ng mga Katipunero exhibit at the zaguan

Today, the house is a museum showcasing items of the Katipunan, paintings, among others. After a long closure due to the COVID pandemic, the museum reopened last November 30, 2021.  The exhibits were set up by architect Dr. Mary Ann Venturina-Bulanadi, a UST interior design professor, interior designer and cultural heritage restorer.

The zaguan or garahe

We first entered the lower storey of the house, with its thin (21 cm.), narrow, brick walls pressed together by wooden studs.It now houses the Tahanan ng mga Katipunero, a permanent exhibition which was curated and opened in 2014, during the 100 years celebration of the house. Before that, the house used to be a dorm, a halfway house and even a pansiteria.

The altar housing the replica of the Nazareno.  At the back is the old workshop (plateria)

Upon paying the admission fee, we were assigned a lady volunteer guide for our 45-min. tour.  The cavernous zaguan or garahe (parking area for horse-drawn carriages and, later, cars) has flooring made of piedra china (stones used as weights in trade ships that disembarked in Manila).  A mirror, a traditional innovation (similar to a modern-day CCTV camera), was propped on the ceiling (near the wooden guide), enabling the house occupants to see anyone standing outside the door.

Replica of the Black NNazarene

On the farthest side was a replica of the original Black Nazarene (Nazareno) statue of Quiapo Church which was brought to the zaguan areaof Nakpil-Bautista House during the bombings of World War II to prevent it from being destroyed or looted.  Behind the statue was the plateria (old workshop for designing jewelry).

The old plateria (workshop)

Bahay Nakpil-Bautista was the home of fine jewelry makers (Plateria Nakpil). Before World War II, he atelier’s artisans handcrafted outstanding pieces of gold-and-diamond jewelry (such as Art Deco, flower-inspired pieces set in white gold) which were highly prized by Manila society from the 1900s until it closed in the 1960s.

Puente de Claveria, Tuberias and Tranvia, El Renacimiento and La Quinta

Visual aids also illustrate the history of Quiapo and its notable landmarks, some still existing and others long gone, such as the Quiapo Church, Puente de Claveria, Tuberias,Tranvia, El Renacimiento, La Quinta,schools, the Enriquez and Santiago Houses, Golden Mosque, Life Theater and Main Theater.

Julio Nakpil

Ariston and Petrona were a childless couple so they invited her brothers Julio and Ramon, with their families, and Francisco (a life-long bachelor) to share the house.  Francisco Nakpil (1865 – 1906), an expert platero (silversmith), was a member of the reform movements La Liga Filipina and Cuerpo de Compromisario.

Machuca Tiles

Machuca tiles from Mexico led us to a short flight of stairs going up to entresuelo (raised area or mezzanine floor) whose the cuarto (bedroom), sala (living room) and patio served as the residence of musical composer Julio Nakpil (1877 – 1960)

Antesala leading to Julio’s and Gregoria’s quarters

Julio was the president of the Northern Council of the Katipunan who was a pianist who composed Marangal ng Dalit ng Katagalugan (“Noble Hymn of the Tagalog Nation,” this would have been the national anthem had Andres Bonifacio lived to be president).

Gregoria de Jesus

After Bonifacio’s death, he married his widow Gregoria de Jesus (1873 – 1943), organizer of the women’s chapter of the Katipunan (nicknamed Oryang, she was the “Lakambini” or First Lady of the Katipunan).

Julio and Gregoria’s bedroom

Gregoria and Julio had six children.  The children’s room, with persiana (sliding louvered panels), has now been converted into an activity area for local kids where they can read books and listen to stories.

Children’s Room

Juan Felipe Nakpil (1899 – 1980), their son and godson of Francisco, was the architect of Quiapo Church after the 1929 fire.  In 1973, he became a National Artist for Architecture. At the southern side of the zaguan, a staircase leads to another suite of apartments where Ramon, Julio’s youngest sibling, lived with his family.

Juan Nakpil- National Artist for Architecture

Angel Nakpil

According to our guide, the house was not called Tahanan ng mga Katipunero because it was a meeting place of the Katipuneros.  Instead, it was called such because it was the home of these key figures in Philippine history. Other prominent people who lived there include Angel Nakpil (1914 – 1979), the first cousin of Juan, who was the architect of the National Press Club Building and the Picache Building (Manila’s first skyscraper).

Grand Staircase

Visual aids at the zaguan also tell the story of these famous house residents. After our tour of the ground floor, we all proceeded to the descanso (main stairway landing), then went up to the caida (hall) of the second floor (measuring 22.45 by 15.9 m. excluding the kitchen and azotea) which was built with wood (to resist earthquakes), aired by large calados and shaded by sufficient media aguas. Two orchestras (the doctor loved to throw parties) could play in the public rooms.

Top of the staircase

In the past, ladies who ascended the stairs would have to carry the extended hems and frills of their saya over their arms.  Upon reaching the top steps of the caida, they would make their grand entrance by letting down (incidentally, the word caida means “fallen”) the trains of their dresses and then wait at the ante sala (anteroom) before they could proceed to the sala or comedor.

The Red Roof (1971, crayon on collage) by Fernando N. Zialcita, son of Mercedes Nakpil-Zialcita, daughter of Julio

Two Forest Birds (1964, print woodblock) by Milagros Sy Faustino, daughter of Caridad Nakpil Santos-Viola,

The house is also decorated with contemporary works of art by Ral Arogante, Egai Roxas, Fidel Sarmiento, and Manny Garibay as well as Nakpil descendants such as Assunta Nakpil, Mark L. Mallari, Caridad Nakpil Santos-Viola, Fernando N. Zialcita,  Arlene de Castro, Francisco J. Nakpil, Tapales, Maria Milagros Sy Faustino and Dominic Sy Faustino.

Exhibit of Ding Royales paintings. In the foreground is “Sueno Eterno” while on the left is Cefiro, 1888 (15 x 20, mixed media – collage)

One room displays a number of paintings of Marcos Antonino “Ding” Royales XI, a volunteer artist for Bahay Nakpil-Bautista since 2013.  He also conducts art classes there.  

Sala (Living Room)

The hall had doors on all four sides leading to the surrounding rooms – the comedor (dining room), sala (living room) and the two suites of cuartos (bedrooms).

Two sets of doors slide, like Japanese shoji screens, on sills, to be pushed on the sides, creating a wide room with a series of doorways opening vistas extending from street to the estero behind the house.

The wide exterior window, made of Philippine hardwood with capis shell panes, brought in plenty of light. Ventanillas allow air to circulate at feet level.

A butaka

Juan Luna’s celebrated Impressionist painting, “The Parisian Life,” a gift of Juan Luna to Dr. Ariston Bautista, was originally displayed on the wall of the sala. The original painting, formerly displayed at the GSIS Museum, is now at the National Museum of Fine Arts.

Replica of “The Parisian Life” of Juan Luna

Today, in its place, a reproduction hangs in the same spot while a life-size cut-out of the lady in the painting, identified as a courtesan or prostitute (representing “fallen womanhood”), is seated at the sofa.

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Life-size cut out of the seated courtesan featured in “The Parisian Life”

The comedor houses an antique 24-pax dining table and display cabinet with fine china.  It leads to azotea overlooking the estero where, during formal dinners, the children had their own table.

The Comedor (Dining Room)

The nearby pantry houses  an antique, hand-cranked coffee grinder and hand-carved kitchen utensils such as kutsaron (small dipper), sandok (medium dipper), sandok sa kawa (large cauldron dipper), sandok (ladle), panghalo (cauldron ladle), palu-palo (mallet), paleta (spatula) and a salaan (srainer), all belonging to Oryang.

The antique, hand-cranked coffee grinder of Oryang

Here, one could simply shout out to peddlers on passing provincial cascos (merchant boats) when interested in buying their goods. Oryang would also fish at this then clean and abundant Pasig River estuary.

China cabinet at Comedor (Dining Room)

The Dambana ni Oriang has three oil on paper paintings, done by Fred Esquilo, of Gregoria de Jesus-Nakpil.

Dambana ni Oriang

The first painting, Ang Rebolusyonara (The Revolutionary), highlights her role as a revolutionary and keeper of the Katipunan’s documents.

Ang Rebolusyonara (The Revolutionary)

The second painting,  Ang Dalawang Kasal (The Two Marriages), highlights her role as wife to Andres Bonifacio and Julio Nakpil.

Ang Dalawang Kasal (The Two Marriages)

The third painting, Ang Ina (The Mother), highlighted her role as a doting mother who loved to cook.

Ang Ina (The Mother)

It was said that she could recreate a dish after she had tasted it just once. Framed reproductions of hand-written recipes of her morcon are hung on the wall.

Oryang’s payneta, an ornamental, tortoise shell hair comb

She is also portrayed reading to her grandchildren stories from Mga Kuwento ni Lola Basyang (published in Liwayway Magazine) at the azotea of their house.

The library, now the Bulwagan ng Katipunan,  with flags of the Katipunan and a portrait (left) of Andres Bonifacio on the wall.  The table doubled as the Katipunero’s ballot box.

The library, now the Bulwagan ng Katipunan, displays paintings, by the Contempo group, of Katipunero soldiers; vitrines showcasing the Kartilya ng Katipunan,  a collection of Katipunan flags, documents written in blood, a vintage safe, a sky roof; plus other memorabilia of the revolutionary movement.

Vitrines showcasing Ang Kartilya ng Katipunan

A timeline cabinet here shows the Philippine Revolution vis-a-vis the democratic revolutions in the West and Asia .

Paintings of Katipunan Soldiers (Contempo Group)

Furniture within includes an interesting table which doubled as the Katipunero’s ballot box, and three chairs where Andres Bonifacio, Apolinario Mabini and Jose Rizal sat when the La Liga Filipina was founded in 1892. 

An antique wall safe

Dr. Bautista inkwell and jewelry case of Petrona.

The Joyeria Nakpil (southwest corner room), the oficina (office) next to the library, used to be the office for the Nakpil’s jewelry business.  Here, Petrona , who handled customer relations and sales for Plateria Nakpil, would meet clients in this special room.

Joyeria Nakpil

During our tour of the second floor, we met and chatted with Ms. Ma. Paz “Bobbi” Nakpil Santos-Viola, current president of Bahay Nakpil-Bautista Foundation, Inc., who now manages the house.  She used to work at the United Nations (UN) headquarters in New York City, USA but decide to return to the Philippines over 10 years ago.

The author with Ms. Bobbi Nakpil Santos-Viola

She is also the middle daughter of Caridad Nakpil Santos Viola, the youngest daughter of Gregoria de Jesus and Julio Nakpil.  Her father, Carlos Santos Viola, the nephew of Maximo Viola, is known and recognized for his Gothic-inspired Iglesia ni Cristo houses of worship.

JJandy with Ms. Bobbi Nakpil Santos-Viola

The house does not have ornate decorative details. Its inspiration is the Vienna Secession, a 1900s European art movement style with a contemporary character not well known in the Philippines during this time. The Austrian version of Art Nouveau, it was made known by Gustav Klimt and Otto Wagner. It encouraged plurality and favors clean lines, symmetry and geometry.

Natural forms, such as vines and flora, were reinterpreted in a very linear manner and abstract fashion than the representational, curvilinear forms of the Art Nouveau preferred by Filipinos. After Ariston Bautista and Petrona received a gift, from the Prieto family, of Secession furniture (high-backed chairs, low sala table, a desk, vitrines and glass-walled cabinets to display porcelain and crystalware), Ariston asked Arellano to designed their entire house around the furniture motifs.

Vienna Succession-inspired grille

The window grilles, overlooking the estero, have vertical floral stems with flowers sized to small squares.  The ventanillas (grilles) facing the street display abstract interpretation of the highly stylized lyres. The upper exterior wooden wall, as well as the wooden stair railings and window grilles, are simply decorated with a band of small, recessed square insets on long vertical bars. On the calado (tracery) of the interior transom walls are abstract interpretations of the kiyapo plant.

Kiyapo-inspired calado

After the house was finished, Dr. Bautista designed new furniture with the same motifs and had them executed by his Pampango carpenter in residence. However, in the 1970s, these original furniture were divided among the heirs. Some of the present pieces were commissioned to suit the museum’s purposes.

Room which could be used for seminars

Today, the Bahay serves as an arts and culture space for select events (Php4,000 for two hours, inclusive of electricity and water), photo shoots and activities for the community, hosting cultural performances, lectures, and discussions on history and heritage, and art exhibits.  The type of event to be held is studied to ensure that it is respectful to the house’s history.

Bahay Nakpil-Bautista: 432 A. Bautista St.(formerly Barbosa St.), Quiapo, Manila 1001.Tel: (632) 8731-9305. E-mail: info@bahaynakpil.org. Website: www.bahaynakpil.org. Mobile number: (0917) 851-7455.  Open Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays (except holidays), 9:30 AM to 4:30 PM.   Admission: Php80 (Php50 for senior citizens and students).  Coordinates: 14.598404°N 120.984739°E.

How to Get There: Board a jeepney bound for Quiapo and get off at the corner of Hidalgo St. and Quezon Blvd.. Walk towards Hidalgo St. (east side going to the Minor Basilica of San Sebastian) and then turn left at A. Bautista St..

Minor Basilica of San Sebastian (Manila)

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Minor Basilica of San Sebastian

The earthquake-proof Minor Basilica of San Sebastian (better known as San Sebastian Church), an example of the Gothic Revival architecture in the Philippines, is the first and only steel building in the Philippines and in Asia, the second in the world after the Eiffel Tower of Paris and probably the first prefabricated building in the world.

The basilica complex

It is the church of the Parish of San Sebastian and also a Shrine of Our Lady of Mount Carmel (Nuestra Senora del Monte Carmelo) and is under the care of the Order of Augustinian Recollects (who also operate the San Sebastian College-Recoletos adjacent to the basilica).

The author with son Jandy

This church was originally founded by Fr. Rodrigo de San Miguel as a nipa and bamboo church in 1621 (on land donated by Bernardino Castillo, a generous patron and a devotee of the 3rd-century Roman martyr Saint Sebastian). The original structure, made of wood, burned in 1651 during a Chinese Filipino uprising and rebuilt with bricks with a single tower. Succeeding structures, which were built of brick, were destroyed by fire and earthquakes in 1859, June 3, 1863 and July 19, 1880.

The Neo-Gothic facade

In the 1880s, Fr. Esteban Martínez, the parish priest of the ruined church, proposed construction of a new church and approached Spanish Engineer Genaro Palacios y Guerra to build a church that will withstand the earthquakes. Planning to build a fire and earthquake-resistant structure made entirely of steel, Palacios completed a design that fused Earthquake Baroque with the Neo-Gothic style.

Augustinian Recollect Fr. Jesús Pastor Paloma noted that the bottom part of the church was designed to resemble a ship’s hull, so that it would sway during an earthquake.  Palacio’s final design was said to have been inspired by the famed 14th century Gothic Burgos Cathedral in Burgos, Spain.

Side entrance

It has long been reputed that Gustave Gustave Eiffel, the French engineer behind the Eiffel Tower and the steel structure within the Statue of Liberty, was himself also rumored to have been involved in the design and construction of San Sebastián, but this was never confirmed.

One of the twin openwork bell towers with pyramidal spires

However, later on it was confirmed that Eiffel was involved in designing and supplying the metal framework for San Ignacio Church in Intramuros, thus confirming the contribution of Eiffel in Philippine church architecture, if not in the Minor Basilica of San Sebastián.

The church was started by Fr. Gregorio Serma while the 52 metric tons (51 long tons; 57 short tons) of prefabricated steel sections manufactured in Binche, Belgium were ordered from the Societe anonyme des Enterprises de Travaux Publiques in Brussels by Fr. Toribio Minguella, imported, piece by piece, in eight separate shipments (total load: 50,000 tons) from Antwerp to Manila.

In 1888, the first shipment arrived and Belgian engineers supervised the assembly of the church, the first column of which was erected on September 11, 1890 under the supervision of Fr. Bernardo Muros.   To achieve greater stability and regulate the church’s exterior temperature, the walls were filled with mixed sand, gravel and cement.

Historical Reasearch and Landmarks Committee plaque installed in 1934

According to Fr. Paloma, the church was also supposed to have a prefabricated retablo (reredos) altar.  However, it was lost at sea when the ship carrying it from Belgium capsized in a storm so a wooden altar was made locally in its stead. The foundation was done by a French contractor, construction was supervised by a British foreman while the floors were done by Chinese craftsmen.

Plaque installed by the National Museum in 2011 declaring the basilica as a National Cultural Treasure Plaque

The church was finally completed by Fr. Francisco Moreno. On June 24, 1890, it was granted minor basilica status by Pope Leo XIII and, on August 16, 1891, the Basílica Menor de San Sebastián was blessed by Bernardino Nozaleda y Villa , OP, the 25th Archbishop of Manila.

Rust – the number one enemy of steel

Sitting on a 704 sq. m. site, it has central nave 12 m. (39 ft.) from the floor to the springing dome and 32 m. (105 ft.) to the tip of the spires.  The basilica has two openwork towers with pyramidal spires and steel vaulting. The interior, incorporating groined vaults in the Gothic architecture style (permitting very ample illumination from lateral windows), was repainted to make it appear like faux marble.

To give the appearance of marble and jasper, the steel columns, walls and ceiling were painstakingly painted by Lorenzo Rocha (multi-awarded portraitist and royal court painter) and turn-of-the-century artists Isabelo Tampingco and Félix Martínez.

The trompe-l’œil paintings of saints, angels, evangelists and martyrs were done by the students of the Academia de Dibujo, Pintura y Arte headed by Lorenzo Rocha. True to the Gothic revival spirit of the church, the confessionals, pulpit, altars and five retablos were designed by Lorenzo Guerrero and Rocha. The statues of holy men and women were carved by sculptor Eusebio Garcia while the six holy water fonts were each crafted from marble obtained from Romblon.

The beautiful stained glass windows, depicting the life and story of Jesus Christ, were imported from the Heinrich Oidtmann Company, a German stained glass firm (local artisans assisted in applying the finishing touches).

The basilica interior

Inside, on a prominent place above the main altar, is the image of Our Lady of Mount Carmel (Nuestra Señora del Carmen).  A gift of the Discalced Carmelite Sisters from San Jose Monastery in Mexico City, it was brought here in 1617 by Recollect Reverend Fr. Provincial Rodrigo de San Miguel.  The image survived all the earthquakes and fires which had destroyed previous incarnations of San Sebastian Church but, unfortunately, its original ivory head was stolen in 1975.

The main altar with the image of Our Lady of Mount Carmel. At the back you can see the scaffolding used for the Phase 1 restoration

Devotion of this image (feast day on July 16) was propagated in conjunction with the wearing of the scapular which promised the wearer quick deliverance from the suffering of purgatory. During the translacion of the annual Feast of the Black Nazarene in January, the image of Our Lady meets the Black Nazarene in the so-called dungaw.

On August 1, 1973, through Presidential Decree No. 260, it was declared a National Historical Landmark by President Ferdinand Marcos. On August 15, 2011, with the unveiling of the marker on January 20, 2012, the church was declared a National Cultural Treasure by the National Museum of the Philippines.

The vaulted ceiling

On May 16, 2006, on account of its architectural and historical heritage, the Minor Basilica of San Sebastian was included by the National Historical Institute (now the National Historical Commission of the Philippines) in the Philippines’ Tentative List for possible designation as a World Heritage Site. As of 2017, the church is no longer included in the Tentative List.

The intricately designed rose window above the choir loft

In recent years, the steel structure has encountered threats to its structural integrity in the form of rust and corrosion due to sea breezes from nearby Manila Bay. In 1982, when state funding was accorded to the church through the National Historical Institute, restoration was undertaken. Likewise, the Augustinian Recollect community has expended funds for the church’s maintenance and restoration.

During the 2000 and 2010 World Monuments Watch (a global program of the World Monuments Fund), it was placed, along with the Rice Terraces of the Philippine Cordilleras and Santa Maria Church, on the biennial watch list of the 100 Most Endangered Sites. In 2011, after the passage of the National Cultural Heritage Act, all of the sites were taken off the list.

The pulpit designed by Lorenzo Guerrero and Lorenzo Rocha

It used to be in the UNESCO tentative list but, in 2015, was removed due to structural decay. To re-establish the site’s integrity and re-inclusion in the tentative list, the basilica will have to undergo another massive restoration program.

The basilica’s pipe organ which was constructed as a pure pneumatical organ by Walcker in 1914.  After World War II, a new console was added.

After an exhaustive two-and-a-half year diagnostic study (funded by a 2012 grant from the Ambassadors Fund for Cultural Preservation, made possible by the U.S. State Department), using state-of-the-at equipment and science, it was found that there were 300 leaks in the building with up to 3 m. of rainwater collected in the church’s hollow columns.

The Gothic-inspired confessionals also designed by Lorenzo Guerrero and Lorenzo Rocha

Some of the leaks have already been taken care of by a team of hired graduates from Escuela Taller, a craft school for economically challenged youth.  Advanced stages of corrosion have also caused parts of the basilica (around 40 kgs. of steel) to literally fall off.

Scaled model of the basilica

With regards the stained glass windows, some soiling, sagging, missing panes and a few cracked frames were noted.  Talks are ongoing with the Heinrich Oidtmann Company, the German firm that supplied the stained glass, to convince the studio to run a training program to teach Filipinos how to make the colored glass.

Stained glass window depicting scenes from the life of Jesus Christ

The trompe-l’œil ceiling is another concern as corrosion has caused the delicate oil-based paintings on the steel canvas to flake. A varnish treatment on one of the panels done 20 years ago may delay the deterioration of both the panel and its painting.

The San Sebastian Basilica Conservation and Development Foundation is looking to a complete and comprehensive restoration in a little over 10 years. Phase 1 (repairs to the dome and roof), from 2022 to 2026, is now ongoing with some areas sealed off beginning 2021.

Scene depicting Jesus carrying his cross

A 24-m. high, custom-made scaffolding has been installed, allowing assessment and repair of the dome columns and its surrounding area (dome crockets, stained glass windows and original paintings).  Phase 2 is projected for 2027 to 2029 while Phase 3 is scheduled for 2030 to 2033.

Another greater threat looms over the horizon.  On October 1, 2018, it was revealed that Summithome Realty Corporation was planning to construct University Home Recto, a 31-storey residential high rise building beside the historic church.  As the area around the church is integral to the site as a “buffer zone,” it would negatively affect the site’s possible re-inclusion in the UNESCO tentative list.

Check out  my Business Mirror article “Seriously Saving San Sebastian”

With the looming threat of the high-rise building, the site’s inclusion in the UNESCO tentative list is bleak as, without the site managers being initially informed, Summithome was able to acquire a barangay clearance supporting their application for a building permit from the barangay chairman.

Minor Basilica of San Sebastian: Pasaje del Carmen St., Plaza del Carmen (at the eastern end of C.M. Recto Avenue), Quiapo, 1001 Manila.  Tel: (632) 734-8908, 734-8931, 742-3510 and 742-3331.  Fax: (632) 736-1185.  E-mail: sansebastianparish@gmail.com. Coordinates: 14°35′59″N 120°59′21″E.

Gomburza Monument (Manila)

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The day Jandy and I revisited the National Museum of Fine Arts just so happened to be the 150th anniversary of the martyrdom, by garrote, of the Filipino priests Fr. Fr. Mariano Gomez, Fr. Jose Burgos and Fr. Jacinto Zamora, collectively known as Gomburza.  After our visit to the museum (to be continued on another day due to lack of time), we crossed Padre Burgos Ave. (named after one of the priests) to visit the Gomburza Monument.   The commemoration ceremony had already ended and what remained were the memorial wreaths that were laid.

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Gomburza Monument

In a system that favored and Spanish friars lopsidedly over locals, the three secular (diocesan) priests fought for equal treatment among priests. After the failed January 20, 1872 Cavite Mutiny (uprising of around 200 Filipino military personnel of Fort San Felipe, the Spanish arsenal in Cavite),  the Spanish colonial authorities sentenced three priest on false charges of of treason, sedition, and subversion on February 15. Two days later, they were executed by  garrote in Luneta. Their brutal deaths by garrote lit the flame of nationalism. National Hero José Rizal dedicated  El filibusterismo, his second novel, to the three martyrs. His two novels inspired the Philippine Revolution of 1896 leading to the declaration of independence on June 12, 1898.

Across the street, set elegantly against the green field and historic walls of Intramuros, is a low fountain, at the center of which is the stunning and massive bronze sculpture, by Modernist sculptor Solomon Saprid (1917 – 2003), of the three heroes.  The statue, commissioned in the 1970s to honor the three martyr priests, was originally located at Plaza Roma, in front of the Manila Cathedral, where it was inaugurated by then President Ferdinand Marcos on January 17, 1972.

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The bronze statue Gomburza by Solomon Saprid

A major figure in the visual arts, especially in sculpture, Saprid’s significant works can be found in some of the world’s most important institutions such as the 25 ft. long, 15 ft. wide and 9 ft. high “ASEAN Birds” in Chatunchak Park in Bangkok, a 5 ft. x 50 ft. mural in Hong Kong & Shanghai Banking Corporation Building, the “Bull Cancer” fountain at the Triumph International in Germany, the “Statue of Christ” at the Indiana University Museum, and “Mother and Child,” a copper statue for the 1st Australian Biennale in Sydney presently in the collection of Westinghouse in Philadelphia to name a few.

In 1981, the sculpture was moved to its present location by the Intramuros Administration (IA). Soon, however, urban decline set in and the sculpture was vandalized, the pool was used for bathing and washing clothes, and the entire area became a hangout for the homeless, the ambulant vendor, and the occasional street drunk.

In 2017, upon clarification of the jurisdiction of the area, the Intramuros Administration reasserted it ownership over the area and, partnering with the National Museum of the Philippines, undertook a restoration project that would not only clean and improve the site for pedestrians, but also to give three national heroes, a stunning sculpture and its artist the honor and respect they deserve.

On August 2018, with a modest budget of P15 million, the herculean effort to improve the monument was launched to remove all the distractions to highlight Solomon Saprid’s Gomburza. Architect Jose Ramon Faustmann prepared the move by constructing a 20 x 20 m. pool where the sculpture would arise from the center.  The project was completed just before the pandemic began and the lockdown declared in 2020.

The statue and its backdrop – the National Museum of Fine Arts

On February 17, 2021, Saprid’s Gomburza was included in the elite list of National Monuments (only the seventh to be given that honor) by the National Historical Commission of the Philippines.

The plaque installed by the National Historical Commission of the Philippines in 2021

As part of the commemoration of the 150th year of the martyrdom of Frs. Gomez, Burgos, and Zamora, wreaths were laid, a historical marker was unveiled, and its new designation as a National Monument was announced.  Today, the expanse of the plaza, with its simple and clean design, is a safe and well-illuminated space to walk on. This outstanding landmark of Modernist Philippine art is also the perfect position to appreciate the Spanish-era fortification of Intramuros and the Neo-Classical architecture of the impressively restored National Museum of Fine Arts.

Gomburza Monument: Liwasang Gomburza, Padre Burgos Ave., Ermita, Manila 1002

Gallery XXIV (National Museum of Fine Arts, Manila)

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Gallery XXIV (Philam Life Hall)

Gallery XXIV, a permanent exhibit at the third floor of the National Museum of Fine Arts,  features the works of National Artist for Visual Arts (1982) and cubist painter Vicente R. Manansala (1910-1981) and renowned sculptor Jose P. Alcantara (1911-2005) installed at the Philippine-American General Life Insurance Company (Philam Life) Building (designed by National Artist for Architecture Carlos Arguelles) along United Nations Avenue, Ermita, Manila.

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Gallery entrance

The PhilAm Life Manansala Series consists of seven large format paintings (each measuring 1.2 x 2.4 m.) commissioned in 1961 and initially installed in the cafeteria but were, eventually, transferred to its main lobby.

PhilAm Life Manansala Series

Narra Wood Reliefs (Jose Alcantara, 1961)

The building was acquired by commercial developer SMDC in 2012 and the Philam Foundation placed the Manansala murals in the care of the National Museum in 2013, providing a PPhP5 million grant to fund, among other things, a Philam gallery to showcase the murals.  The exhibit was opened on April 3, 2014.

Ang Pamilya sa Oras ng Pagkain (A Family at Mealtime)

Mga Isda (Fishes)

They feature rural themes and local industries during the time of its creation – Mga Manok (Chickens), Mga Magsasaka (Farmers), Ang Pamilya sa Oras ng Pagkain (A Family at Mealtime), Mga Manunugtog (Musicians), Handaan (Feast), Mga Isda (Fishes) and Mga Kalabaw (Carabaos).  These were rendered in the artist’s signature style of “transparent cubism.”

Handaan (Feast)

Mga Kalabaw (Carabaos)

The Jose Alcantara series, made with the help of several hired and trained woodcarvers from Paete (Laguna), features four of the smaller decorative, carved narra wood reliefs of rural life and folklore, which were originally installed at the outside walls of the 780-seat Philam Life Auditorium in 1961.

Mga Magsasaka (Farmers)

Mga Manok (Chickens)

Mga Manunugtog (Musicians)

The series consists of Malakas at Maganda (The First Man and Woman), Mga Kalabaw (Carabaos), Mga Panugtog (Musical Instruments) and Mariang Makiling (The Guardian Spirit of Mount Makiling).  On July 2019, the gallery was closed to give way for the installation of these four reliefs.

Malakas at Maganda (The First Man and Woman)

Mariang Makiling (The Guardian Spirit of Mount Makiling)

Both the PhilAm Life Manansala and Jose Alcantara Series were declared as an “Important Cultural Property” by the National Museum of the Philippines on June 27, 2019.

Mga Panugtog (Musical Instruments)

Mga Kalabaw (Carabaos)

Gallery XXIV: Philam Life Hall, 3/F, National Museum of Fine Arts (NMFA), Padre Burgos Avenue, Ermita, Manila 1000, Metro Manila. Tel: (632) 8527-1215 and (632) 8298-1100.  Email: inquiry@nationalmuseum.gov.ph.  Website: nationalmuseum.gov.ph.  Open Tuesdays to Sundays, 9 AM – 4PM. Admission is free.  Coordinates: 14°35′13″N 120°58′52″E.

Visitors shall be limited to 100 per museum per session. Visitors are required to pre-book online at https://reservation.nationalmuseum.gov at least a day before the visit. Confirmation of booking will be sent through email. Group reservations are limited to five (5) persons only.  Walk-in visitors will NOT be accommodated.

Gallery XXIII (National Museum of Fine Arts, Manila)

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Gallery XXIII (GSIS Northwest Hall)

Gallery XXIII, a permanent exhibit at the third floor of the National Museum of Fine Arts, pays homage to the works of National Artist for Painting Vicente S. Manansala (1910-1981). It contains 16 of his works from the National Fine Arts Collection and the Government Service Insurance System (GSIS) art collection.

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Gallery entrance

Beside the entrance is the Planting of the First Cross, an oil on canvas piece that combines the artist’s mastery of both traditional and modern painting techniques, as well as his unique style of “transparent cubism.”

Planting of the First Cross (1965, oil on canvas)

This historical artwork of Manasala, commissioned by the national government in 1965, in celebration of 400 years of Philippine Christianity, vividly captures the birth of Christianity in the Philippines.  It features Spanish soldiers erecting the country’s first cross (the same one that still stands in Cebu) in 1521 while Filipinos, with intricate tattoos (called pintados), stand with curiosity and interest.

Procession (1948) and Burial (1948)

Man and Rooster (1950, oil on canvas)

The other oil on canvas paintings on display are Burial and Procession, both done in 1948; Man and Rooster (1950) and Birds in Flight (1965).

Bayanihan (1979, oil on jute)

I Believe in God (1948, oil on masonite)

Fish Vendor (1954, mixed media on masonite)

Manansala also painted on jute (Bayanihan, 1979, oil) and masonite (I Believe in God, 1948, oil) and Fish Vendor (1954, mixed media).

Maria Clara, Blumentritt and Celia (1959)

Man and Industry (Study, 1962, tempera, watercolor and collage on paper)

Also hanging on the walls are 3 ink on paper sketches done in 1959 (Maria Clara, Blumentritt and Celia) as well as one charcoal on paper (Abstract Nude – Paris, 1950), one tempera, watercolor and collage on paper (Study – Man and Industry, 1962) and three watercolor on paper paintings – Calesa (1951), Veronica (1957) and Bahay Kubo (1975).

Veronica (1957) and Bahay Kubo (1975)

Calesa (1951,watercolor on paper)

Also on display, at the center of the gallery, is a bronze bust of Vicente Manansala (1998) done by the late National Artist and sculptor Napoleon Abueva.

Bust of Vicente Manasala (Napoleon Abueva, 1998, bronze)

The gallery also showcases the artist’s memorabilia from the Manansala Family Collection.

Manansala easel with a preliminary sketch

In a glass case are Manansala’s paintbrushes and palettes while at one corner of the gallery is his easel with a preliminary sketch.

Palettes of Manansala

Manasala Paintbrushes

Gallery XXIII: GSIS Northwest Hall, North Wing Galleries, Senate Floor, 3/F, National Museum of Fine Arts (NMFA), Padre Burgos Avenue, Ermita, Manila 1000, Metro Manila. Tel: (632) 8527-1215 and (632) 8298-1100.  Email: inquiry@nationalmuseum.gov.ph.  Website: nationalmuseum.gov.ph.  Open Tuesdays to Sundays, 9 AM – 4PM. Admission is free.  Coordinates: 14°35′13″N 120°58′52″E.

Gallery XIX – Pillars of Philippine Modernism (National Museum of Fine Arts, Manila)

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Gallery XIX (Pillars of Philippine Modernism)

Gallery XIX (Pillars of Philippine Modernism), a permanent exhibit at the third floor of the National Museum of Fine Arts, pays homage to the paintings and sketches of National Artists Hernando R. Ocampo (1911-1978), Ang Kiukok (1931-2005), and Benedicto “BenCab” Cabrera (b. 1942).

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An array of H.R. Ocampo paintings

Most of these pieces were completed in the 1950s to 1970s, ranging from the early days of Modernism in the Philippines to the height of its popularity.

Fish Forms (Ang Kiukok, 1965, oil on canvas)

Ang Kiukok, who first attained prominence in the Philippine arts scene in the 1960s, had a distinct style, classified by some as “figurative expressionism,” fused influences from cubism, surrealism and expressionism. He was awarded National Artist of the Philippines for Visual Arts in 2001.

Ink Fish (Ang Kiukok, watercolor on paper)

Towards the Graveyard (Ang Kiukok, 1955, oil on canvas)

The colorful and striking paintings of this renowned Filipino Expressionist portrayed a variety of cubist-like figures such as a mother embracing her infant, grisly crucifixions, tables holding an array of fish and fruit, stray dogs, and screaming subjects.

Watermelon (Ang Kiukok, 1977, tempera on paper)

Ang Kiukok was equally at home on canvas and paper and four of his works are displayed at the gallery – one watercolor on paper (Ink Fish), tempera on paper (Watermelon, 1977) and two oil on canvas paintings (Fish Forms, 1965; and Towards the Graveyard, 1955).

Imaginary Portrait of Isabel (Benedicto R. Cabrera, 1969, oil on canvas)

Sabel (Benedicto R. Cabrera, 2008, oil on canvas)

Benedicto “BenCab” Reyes Cabrera, awarded National Artist of the Philippines for Visual Arts (Painting) in 2006, has been noted as “arguably the best-selling painter of his generation of Filipino artists.

Woman in Distress (Bencab, 2007, acrylic on canvas)

On display at the gallery are two acrylic on canvas paintings (Woman in Distress, 2007; and Self, 1965) and three oil on canvas paintings (Manggagawa – Laborer, 1968; Imaginary Portrait of Isabel, 1969; and Sabel, 2008).

Predestined (Benedicto R. Cabrera, 1967, pen and wash on paper)

Also on display are a series of 9 pen and ink on paper drawings (1968) and a pen and wash on paper drawing (Predestined, 1967).

Untitled – Series of 9 Drawings (Benedicto R. Cabrera, 1968, pen and ink on paper)

Hernando Ruiz Ocampo, a self-taught painter  and a leading member of the pre-war Thirteen Moderns whose abstract works that left an indelible mark on Philippine modern art, was a leading radical modernist artist in the Philippines.  He was awarded National Artist of the Philippines for Visual Arts in 1991.

Ang Pulubi (Hernando R. Ocampo,1946, oil on canvas)

Break of Day (Hernando R. Ocampo, 1948, oil on canvas)

His art, described to be “abstract compositions of biological forms, seemed to oscillate, quiver, inflame and multiply” like mutations.

Abstraction No. 161 (Hernando R. Ocampo, 1978, acrylic on canvas)

Kasaysayan ng Lahi (Hernando R. Ocampo, 1974, acrylic on canvas)

Resurrection (Hernando R. Ocampo, 1978, oil on canvas)

His pen and ink on paper works include Bunker 68 (a series of 2 drawings, 1968), Palayok (clay pot, 3 drawings), Female Figures (series of 4 drawings, 1951 and 1969), Abstract (series of 4 drawings), Flowers (1978) and Parol (1968).

Female Figures – Various drawings (Hernando R. Ocampo, 1951 and 1969, pen and ink on paper)

Bunker 68 – Series of 2 Drawings (Hernando R. Ocampo, 1968, pen and ink on paper)

Also on display are two undated, 3 ft. x 5 ft. oil on canvas paintings  from a series of the Stations of the Cross made by Carlos “Botong” Francisco (1912-1969), both on loan from the GSIS Collection –  Station No. 3 (Jesus Falls the First Time) and Station No. 5 (Simon of Cyrene Helps Jesus Carry the Cross). Botong was awarded National Artist of the Philippines for Painting in 1973.

Angel’s Kiss (Hernando R. Ocampo, 1949, acrylic on paper)

Revelation 8 (Hernando R. Ocampo, 1978, oil on canvas)

Untitled (Hernando R. Ocampo, 1978, oil on canvas)

These two are part of the Don Bosco Chapel Series of paintings (including a gigantic crucifix scene) commissioned by the Salesian Fathers for the small church inside Don Bosco Mandaluyong and painted in barely 5 months in 1960.

Stations of the Cross No. 3 (Carlos V. Francisco, undated, oil on canvas)

To raise funds for various poor and marginalized youth projects, the 14 panels were later sold, by the panel, by the Salesian Fathers .  In the mid-1980s, Station 1-7 was disposed off and Stations 8-14, including the magnificent crucifixion altarpiece, were sold at a higher value.  These stations, minus the altarpiece, are now part of the Cultural Center of the Philippines’ collection.  Stations 1, 2, 4, 6 and 7 are now in the hands of anonymous individuals.

Stations of the Cross No. 5 (Carlos V. Francisco, undated, oil on canvas)

Gallery XIX: 3/F, National Museum of Fine Arts (NMFA), Padre Burgos Avenue, Ermita, Manila 1000, Metro Manila. Tel: (632) 8527-1215 and (632) 8298-1100.  Email: inquiry@nationalmuseum.gov.ph.  Website: nationalmuseum.gov.ph.  Open Tuesdays to Sundays, 9 AM – 4PM. Admission is free.  Coordinates: 14°35′13″N 120°58′52″E.