Painting (Connects To A Part of History) Activity

Instruction: Select one painting and connect it to a part of history and share techniques as a teacher how
are you going to share to class this piece of art.
Submitted by: Kristian Nikko C. Geangan – MAEd CulEd 2
Filipino Struggles in History by Carlos "Botong" Francisco
Photo credit by Harvay Galbo and Kristian Nikko Geangan
“Filipino Struggles in History” at the Old Senate Session Hall, National Museum of Fine Arts, Manila.
ABOUT THE PAINTING
Filipino Struggles in History, alternatively known as the History of Manila, is a series of paintings
that depicts select events from Philippine history.
In 1964 Francisco was commissioned by the City of Manila to do a historical mural for the
Bulwagang Katipunan. The series of large-scale paintings was called Kasaysayan ng Maynila (History of
Manila). This depicts in a visual narrative the history of Manila from Tondo’s valiant rajahs through the
Spanish colonial period and the Philippine Revolution of 1896, the American regime, the Japanese
occupation, and the postwar years to the 1960s. Each episode is represented by a major event.
Kasaysayan ng Maynila has later renamed Filipino Struggles in History and is now on display at
the Senate Hall of the National Museum. Francisco died in March 1969, a few months after completing
the paintings. He was posthumously awarded the National Artist for the Visual Arts in 1973. Filipino
Struggles in History was declared a National Cultural Treasure in 1996.
REFLECTION
It is my first to visit the National Museum of Fine Arts in
Manila last December 27, 2022. My experience was like a “time
travel,” and a “look back to history.” Visiting the National
Museum is a tremendous joy since it is a place where the youth
may learn about and admire historical paintings and artworks.
Every painting in every gallery in the National Museum is

well preserved and most paintings have complete details and
information. But there’s one enormous Western-like room, which
is the Old Senate Session Hall, that caught my attention. As I
entered, there is this very long painting displayed around the
corner of the said room, which is Carlos "Botong" Francisco’s
Filipino Struggles in History. At first glance, I am really in awe
seeing every detail of the painting. It was like traveling in the past,
and I was literally crying when I saw it at first glance. When you
see the whole picture, they are in chronological order like a
timeline beginning with the pre-colonial Philippines through Philippine Independence. A huge salute to
the National Artist for this work of art.
Photo credit by Harvay Galbo
APPLICATION FOR THE CLASS
My experience during my visit to the National Museum of Fine Arts in Manila is one of the best
highlights of my life, and it made me more appreciative and proud as a Social Studies teacher. For that
reason, it motivated me to share my knowledge and I want to impart my whole experience to my
students and integrate my lesson in my class for the subject Araling Panlipunan and Contemporary
Philippine Arts from the Regions in Senior High School.
One of the topics to be discussed for the subject Araling Panlipunan is Philippine History, while
the subject Contemporary Philippine Arts from the Regions is about the National Artists of the
Philippines. For both topics in my lesson, I will introduce the painting of Carlos "Botong" Francisco’s
Filipino Struggles in History. I will prepare a printed illustration of the said painting that has been cut into
pieces and turned into a puzzle. Then, I will ask five students who want to volunteer to solve the puzzle.
This will be my 5-minute class motivation for this lesson. After they
have solved the puzzle, I will group the whole class into five and the
five students who volunteered will be the leader of each group. Since
the whole picture of this masterpiece is a representation of the
country’s history, for this activity, their task is to figure out what
major event is depicted in each episode of the painting. They will try
to list down and trace shreds of evidence in every detail of the
artwork and interpret what major event in our history is represented.
After they have collected and listed down their answers, each group
must have one reporter to share in front of the class to explain their
answers and each correct answer will give them a point. The duration
of this activity is 20 minutes, and 5 minutes for each group for the reporting. And lastly, a short
reflection of the students will follow after the whole activity.
Photo credit by Harvay Galbo

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Instruction: Select one painting and connect it to a part of history and share techniques as a teacher how

are you going to share to class this piece of art.

Submitted by: Kristian Nikko C. Geangan – MAEd CulEd 2

Filipino Struggles in History by Carlos "Botong" Francisco

Photo credit by Harvay Galbo and Kristian Nikko Geangan

ABOUT THE PAINTING

Every painting in every gallery in the National Museum is

APPLICATION FOR THE CLASS

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