Lesson 2: A Brief

History of
Philippine Art
• In art historical terms, we refer to art before the coming
of the first colonizers as “pre-conquest”. In stylistic
terms, we refer to as “indigenous” to emphasize the idea
that our ancestor have been making art even before
colonization. It is also described in cultural terms as
“pre-colonial” as a term to use for the general way of life
before colonization. Although the terms are
interchangeable, it is also useful to keep these distinction
in mind when studying the art of the past.

I. PRE- CONQUEST
• Everyday expression were all integrated within rituals
that marked significant moments in a community’s life,
like planting and harvesting, rites of passage, funerary
ceremonies, weddings, among others . Aside from the
communal functionality of indigenous art, creative forms
such as pottery, weaving, carving, metalwork ,and
jewelry also embody aesthetic, technological, and ritual
values that exist in various forms with present

“ART” BEFORE
COLONIZATION
• Our ancestors, just like all other in the world during those
times, were hunter gathers. The pre-colonial Filipino
hunted food and game that were shared among members
of a community in a gathering where they told stories
about the hunt. They imitated the movement of animals
and prey, and the sounds that they made. In this simple
activity alone evolved ritual, music, dance, theater and
literature.

“ART” BEFORE
COLONIZATION
• The Mayvanuvanua in Batanes
• The Caῆao o Kanyaw is found in the Cordillera
Autonomous Region. Officiated by a shaman or
mumbaki, the caῆao is also involves animal sacrifice,
where the entrails are read through a process of
divination that is performed either for healing, to
announce the birth of child, or a coming of age, during
wakes, weddings, and the burial ceremonies.

“ART” BEFORE
COLONIZATION
• In lake Lanao in Mindanao, a Kashawing ritual to ensure
abundance during rice planting and harvesting is still
observed and performed.
• In Palawan, the Tagabanwa believe that every thirteen
moon, three goddnesses descend from the heaven to bless
the planting of rice.

“ART” BEFORE
COLONIZATION
• Long before the coming of the Spaniards, the pre-colonial
peoples of the Philippines already possessed a varied nd
vibrant musical culture. The country’s indigenous
cultures through the existence of ethnic musical
instrument such as pipes, flutes, zithers,drums,various
string instrument like Kudyapi a three stringed guitar, the
Kulintang an array of bossed gongs , the gansa or flat
gong, bamboo percussion instruments, and the agung– a
large boosed gong.

“ART” BEFORE
COLONIZATION
Kudyapi
Kulintang
Gansa / Flat Gong
Agung
• This wealth of ethnic musical instrument is further
compliments by native dance forms whose movements
often imitated the movements of animals, humans, and
elements from the nature.
• The Pangalay from the Sulu archipelago is mimetic of
the movement of seabirds

“ART” BEFORE
COLONIZATION
Pangalay from the Sulu
• The Mandaya’s Kinabua, The banog-banog of the
Higaonon and of the B’laan communities, and the man-
manok of the Bagobos of Mindanao imitate the
movements of predatory birds.
• The Talip dance of the Ifugaos is used in courtship and is
mimetic of the movement of wild fowls,
• The Inamong of the Matigsalugs, and the Kadaliwas
dance of the T’bolis represent the comedic movements of
monkeys.

“ART” BEFORE
COLONIZATION
Talip/ Salip dance of
Ifugaos
the Kadaliwas dance of
the T’bolis
• The Tinikling, a popular Tagalog folk dance often
showcased for tourist, is evocative of the movements of
the crane, balancing itself on stilt-like legs or Flitting
away from the clutches of bamboo traps.
• Pre-colonial Filipinos have been making images before
colonization. This is exemplified by the country’s rich
tradition in carving. People of the Cordilleras carve the
bulul, regarded as a granary God that plays an important
role in rituals.

“ART” BEFORE
COLONIZATION
The Tinikling, a popular
Tagalog folk dance
People of the Cordilleras
carve the bulul / Bul ul
• The Ifugaos also produce the hagabi, a wooden bench
that marks the socioeconomic status of the owner.
• On the other hand, Christianized communities in Laguna
and Pampanga are known for carving santos or sculptures
of saints as well as other wooden sculpture of secular or
non-religious orientation.
• Paete, Laguna is recognized for its carving tradition: and
the town of Betis, Pampanga remains active today despite
the many challenges posed to contemporary practice.

“ART” BEFORE
COLONIZATION
The Ifugaos also
produce the hagabi
• In the Southern Philippines, curvilinear decorations
called the okir (termed ukkil in Tausog/Samal/Badjao) are
employed in woodcarving.
• Mythical sarimanok
• The naga or serpent, and the pako rabong or fern. Okir
design can also be found in the panolong or protuding
beams of the Sultan’s hoouse called the torogan.

“ART” BEFORE
COLONIZATION
the Southern Philippines, curvilinear
decorations called the okir (termed ukkil in
Tausog/Samal/Badjao)
Mythical Sarimanok
The Naga serpent
pako rabong or fern
• The ubiquity of okir is evident in its diverse application,
form ornament in musical instruments and sheaths; to
grave markers called sunduk, as well as marking
ceremonial boats.
• Some of the ancient forms are made out of terracotta.
The Monunggul Jar , discovered at Manunggul Cave,
Lipuun Point, Palawan is dated to the late Neolicthic
period (890-710 BC.) it is sedcondary burial vessel,
where buried and exhamed bones are placed.

“ART” BEFORE
COLONIZATION
to grave markers called sunduk, as well as marking ceremonial
boats.
The Monunggul Jar
• Other forms of Pottery that remain in use are the palayok
for cooking, and containers such as the bangga and
tapayan for fermenting food or keeping liquids. The
traditional pagbuburnay in Vigan thrives and is currently
valued in Ilocos as part of its creative industry.

“ART” BEFORE
COLONIZATION
• Another cherished living tradition is weaving. According
to respicio, textile weaving has a long history that
Philippines ethnological groups have rich textile. Textile
are import knowledge about people beliefs system.
• In traditional weaving the fibers are gathered from plants
like cotton, abaca, and pineapple leaves while the
pigments are extract from clay, roots, and leaves of
plants.

“ART” BEFORE
COLONIZATION
• A backstrap loom or a pedal loom is used to weave
design that hold special meaning for a particular culture
group. Examples of woven textiles includes the pis
siyabit , a headpiece woven by the Tausug of Sulu and
malong with exquisite panels called langkit woven by the
Maranao of Lanao del Sur.
• The colorful double-layered tepo mat of the sama of Tawi
Tawi made of pandan leaves is a remarkable example of
everyday object with high artistic value .

“ART” BEFORE
COLONIZATION
tepo mat of the sama of
Tawi Tawi
• In Itbayat, Batanes, ovaloid baskets made of nito and
bamboo are used as a head sling to carry harvest. In the
Ilocos region, sturdy bamboo strips are woven to create
fish traps called bubo.
• The tendency toward ornament could also be seen in the
way early Filipinos adorned their bodies. In the 16th
century, the illustrated manuscript called the Boxer Codex
featured representation of various ethno linguistic groups.
• An upper class Tagalog couple was portrayed wearing gold
jewelry while the Visayans are shown fully covered in
tattoo, that referred to the Visayans as “Islas de los
Pintados”.

“ART” BEFORE COLONIZATION

In Itbayat, Batanes, ovaloid baskets made
of nito and bamboo
fish traps called bubo in
Ilocos
the Boxer Codex
• As with Jewelry, painstaking attention to detail is
manifested in metalwork, such as the latoans or betel nut
boxes of various shapes, made of brass or bronze
produced chiefly by the Maranao of Lanao del Sur.
• The design is achieved through a special technique of
metal casting called the lostwax cire or perdue process
which involves the use of moulds filled with liquefied
metal that eventually hardens.

“ART” BEFORE
COLONIZATION
the latoans or betel nut
boxes
lostwax cire or perdue
• Other Vessels that employs the same techniques are the
brass kendi and the gadur, which are used in ceremonies
and are cherished as status symbols are as heirlooms
pieces.
• Kendi is a vessel used for pouring liquids. It has a round
body with no handle;
• Gadur is a container with a tapered top, a round body,
and a flared based.
Kendi
Gadur
End of Pre-Conquest
Islamic Colonial (13
th

century to the present)

• Islam was said to have gained
significant grounding in Sulu as
early as the 13th century. However, it
was in the arrival of Sayyid
Abbubakar of Arabia in the 15th
century that led to a significant turn
of events.
He married Princess Piramisuli
daughter of Rajan Baguinda. When
father-in-law died, Abubakar
succeeded the throne and established
the Sultanate of Sulu.
• Aside from introducing holy test via
the Holy book Quran and building a
house of prayers, Abubakar was
recognized for building a religious
school, also known as the madrasa
that facilitated the teaching of Arabic
writing in the 16th century.
Quran
the Madrasa
Tausug
Maranao Tribe
Maguindanao
Yakan
Samal
Badjao
The main beliefs of Islam that influence
the ways art is made and interpreted.
• Central to the Islamic faith is the doctrine of
Tawhid or unity of God
This belief emphasizes the
impermanence of nature and the
incomprehensible greatness of the divine
Being.
According to Prof. Abraham Sakili, we can then
relate this with two aspects of reality

• One is the object perceived by the ordinary

sense, while the other is the sense of
nothingness, a space or a void empty of all
things; to evoke that God is above and beyond
all things. In Islamic art, we can observe how
artist are influenced by the notion of the
Tawhid.
Considering the goal of negating materiality, we
will find that interior of mosques are covered with
elaborate patterning in the form of reliefs to draw
the attention away from the concrete object, in the
other words away from human forms and nature
“toward the contemplation of the divine unity is
expressed through abstract forms and patterns that
compel the believer to engage in mental
concretion
How Phillipine Muslims organize space in
architecture is also telling of their adherence to
the Tawhid and other Islamic beliefs.
• For example, parts of the mosque like the
mihrab or niched and the Qibla wall are
oriented toward the west--- may it be in Sultan
Kudarat or in Quiapo, Manila-- in order to
fulfill the requirements that all Islamic
Buildings must be oriented toward Mecca as an
expression of oneness with the larger Islamic
community.
 Seeking al Tawhid

Hanging wall art Tawhid

• For is in Mecca where we find the
Great Mosque of Mecca and its
bulbous dome, which is characteristic
of Islamic architecture. The dome tells
us about how to order of the universe
is imagined.
The dome tells us about how to order of the
universe is imagined. As a central feature of
the Mosque, the dome relates to “all levels
of cosmic existence”, the Octagonal base
symbolizes the spirit, while the four-sided
main base refers to the earth or material
world.
the mihrab or niched and the Qibla wall are
oriented toward the west
Mecca
• While the South remained resistant to Spanish
colonization, the colonizers gained inroads in the central
part of the islands whose inhabitants we now refer to as
“Lowland Christians.”
• art that flourished during the Spanish colonial period
conformed to the demands of the church and the
colonial state. Religious orders were dispatched to
convert the natives to Catholicism as part of the larger
project of colonization.
• The art forms from that period are referred to
stylistically and culturally as religious art, lowland
Christian art, or folk art.
• To carry out the project of
colonization and Christianization,
the natives were forcibly resettled
in town structured according to
the plaza complex.
• This relocating became a means of
organizing and gaining control of the native
populace. The complex was designated as
the town center and consisted of the
municipio or local government office and
the church.
• During this period, cruciform churches
following the shape of the Latin cross were
built.
• The plaza as a historical and cultural
space. ... The plaza complex
consisted of an open space, usually
rectangular or square in shape, a
chapel or church, a convent, a
municipio or tribunal, a market place,
a cemetery, and the residences around
it.
The baroque style was predominantly employed:
they were characterized by grandeur, drama, and
elaborate details that purposely appealed the
emotion.
Examples of baroque churches that have
survived to this day are the San Agustin Church in
Manila, Morong Church in Rizal, Paoay Church
in Ilocos Norte and Sto.Tomas de Villanueva
Church in Miag-ao, Iloilo.
• The use of adobe, limestone, or bricks and the
construction of thick buttress or wing-like
projection reinforce the structure to make it more
resistant to earthquakes.
• In other words, the results is a fusion of both
native and European elements, prompting some
art historians to refer to the style as colonial
baroque or Philippine or tropical baroque.
• Image the saints and interpretation of biblical narratives were
considered essential to worship. Under the strict watch and
patronage of the church, images were produced through
painting, sculpting, and engraving. The friars brought with them
western models for local artist to copy. Made of ivory or wood,
the imagery of the Santo would be based on classical and
baroque models. During the 17 th century, Chinese artisans, under
Spanish supervison were engaged in making icons or saints or
santos in wood and ivory; building churches and houses; as well
as making furniture. They were spread throughout centers of
creative production such as Cebu, Batangas,Manila, and Ilocos.
Their involvement resulted in works that drew upon Chinese
feature and techniques. An example is a painting of Nuestra
Seῆora del Rosario in Bohol, the image of which was said to be
inspired from kuanyin, the deity of mercy in East Asian
Buddhism.
• the retablo integrates architecture and sculpture and is often
embellished with rosettes, scrolls, pediments and solomonic
column which may be glided or polychromed. The Via Crucis is
an important inclusion in colonial churches which are presented
either as a series of 14 painting or relief sculpture depicting
Christ’s crucifixion and resurrection. Image of the Holy Family,
the Virgin Mary, and the four evangelists proliferate in the
ceilings and the walls of the church, sometimes in the ornate
manner of trompe l’eoil as seen at the Taal Basilica in Batangas
or at the St. James the Apostle Parish in Betis, Pampanga.
• Church altars are sometimes decorate with carved figurative
protrusions on the surface called relleves; or with the organic
designs of hammered silver or the plateria . The plateria
techniques is also applied in the body of carroza, where the
santos are paraded during town processions.
• Via crucis (Die 14 Stationen des
Kreuzwegs) is a work for mixed choir,
soloists and organ (also harmonium or
piano) by Franz Liszt. The work is
devoted to the Stations of the Cross. It
is one of the last works of Liszt.
• Trompe-l'œil (French for "deceive
the eye", pronounced [tʁɔ̃p lœj]) is an
art technique that uses realistic
imagery to create the optical illusion
that the depicted objects exist in three
dimensions. Forced perspective is a
comparable illusion in architecture.
CARROZA
• With the coming of the Spaniards, who brought western
musical instruments like pipe organ, the violin, the guitar,
and the piano Philippines musical forms also took on a
very European flavor.– with new rhythms, melodies and
musical forms, that Filipinos proceeds to adopt them and
make their own.
• Catholic liturgical music was introduced in 1742 when
then Archbishop of Manila, Juan Rodriguez Angel,
established a singing school of the Manila Cathedral that
taught western church music. Its curriculum was
patterned after that of the Madrid Conservatory of Music.
• The Santo Domingo and San Agustin convents would
soon teach choral music to young boys and would soon
create Filipino composer like Marcelo Adonay (1848-
1928). Outside the Manila, a musical forms based on the
Catholic faith would emerge in the pasyon or pabasa as it
is sometimes called –or the biblical narration of Christ’s
passion chanted in an improvised melody. It is a tradition
that has survived to this day. Atonal and repetitive,the
melody is sometimes read and chanted to the tune of love
songs popular with younger readers who would otherwise
sparks up this activity in the other ways as this could last
for the entire length of Holy Week. This practice is
evident in areas like Sampaloc,
• Among the lowland Christians communities of Pampanga,
Ilocos, Bicol, and Iloilo, secular forms such as the awit
and the corrido soon flourised. These were musical forms
that were chanted stories based on European Literature
and history and were popular even among the peasantry
who learned the verses purely by rote. At this time, the
kundiman and the balitao, balitao-sentimental love songs
and lullabies also involved. During the latter half of the
19th century when revolutionary sentiments began to
develop, the kundiman which usually spoke of
resignation and fatalism, became a vehicle resistance .
For all intents and purpose, the lyrics were that of
unrequited love, except that the love object was the
Philippines who would be cleverly concealed as a
beautiful woman.
• A kundiman which became a feature of protest action
against Martial Law during seventies, and the still
popular bayan ko (My Country), a kundiman which
experienced renewed popularity during EDSA People
Power Revolution of 1986.
• Among Mangyans who inhibited the islands province of
Mindoro, bamboo poles are cut into smaller nodes and
are etched with Baybayin script used to compose short
poems that tell of courtship and other emotional
concerns. In the town of Ticao, located in southern
province of Leyte, a huge stone was discovered that
contained Baybayin writing believed to be an invocation
for a safe journey by sea.
• Spanish Colonization brought with it printing technology.
Printed literature came in the form of catechism and
prayers books in Spanish that were used not only to teach
the local inhabitants to read and write, but more so to
evangele.
• Local theater forms would develop earlier that literary
fiction. The shamanistic rituals, dances, and chants of
pre-colonial Philippines which were probably the earliest
form of theater; were replaced by the pomp and
pageantry of religious processions that were introduced
by the Spanish colonizers, complete white highly
embellishes carrozas containing religious tableaus of
Catholic saints and scenes from the Bible
• During 19th century, a popular form of musical theater
was imported from Spain. The zarzuela or sarsuwela
was an operetta which features singing and dancing
interspersed which prose dialogue which allowed the
story to be carried out in song. The 1st zarzuela that were
staged in the Philippines were entirely Spanish and
featured a European cast. Local playwrights later wrote
librettos in the local language, hence the term sarsuwela.
Severino Reyes and Hermogence Ilagan, who wrote
sarsuwela in Tagalog were the most distinguished
playwriters on their day with Honorata “Atang” dela
Rama (National artist for theater and Music awarded
1987).
• The first senakulo or Passion play was written in 1704
by Gaspas Aquino de Belen. Its narrative was culled
entirely from the biblical account of Christ’s passion and
death on the cross, adapted into verse from and translated
into the local language. It is performed during lent and in
some cases, may last for tree days. In some areas, the
senakulo was tweaked to convey Christ’s suffering as a
metaphor for the suffering of Filipinos under Spanish
colonial rule.
• The komedya is another local theater form that emerged during this
period. The komedya depicts the conflict between the Muslims and
Christians. There were two main types of the komedya. One type was
the komedya de santo or religious komedya. It centers on the life of
Christ or any saint. It is usually seen during church celebration. The
actors move in a stylized way, have extravagant costumes and
elaborately choreographed was scenes. Another type is the secular
komedya . The Moro-moro is a type of secular komedya. The word
‘Moro’ is derived from the spanish word for Moor or the North
African Arabs who ruled parts of Spain from the eighth to 15th
century. A typical moro-moro story would usually involved a love
story between a Christian hero and Islamic heroine or vice-versa.
Dialog would be done in verse, in the vernacular language, and
clashes between Christian and Muslims were done in dance,
ultimately resulting in the conversation and baptism of the leading
Muslim character, and ending with a Christian wedding and the
protagonist living happily ever after.
• Today, there are several groups that still performs.
 Santa Ana in Metro Manila and San Diosio, Paraῆaque-
Senakulo and Komedya
 Pampanga and Tarlac- Senakulo (Crucifixion)
 Nueva Ecija-the Senakulo is called araguio or arakyo
(performed 7 days of holy week)
 Iligan- Comedia de San Miguel is still performed (San
Miguel or Saint Michael , Patron of the City)
• Centuries of the galleon trade between Mexico and the
Philippines also served not only as a means of
government for Spain. the Trade and the viceroyalty
arrangement also brought Mexicans influence in the
Philippine folk music and dance. Folk dance such as the
Cariῆosa,pandanggo or fandango, polka, dansa and the
rigodon carry traces of the habaῆera,jota and tango
dances from Spain and its colonies.
• In visual arts, paintings served an instructive function
through visual interpretation of biblical text central to
Catholic devotion. An example is Heaven Earth, and Hell
(1850), a mural by Jose Dans In Paete Church Laguna. A
map of the universe features a terrifying depiction of hell.
The painting seems to warn that a sinful life one earth
would lead to torment and eternal damnation.
• The more restrained depiction of the saint was painted on a
wooden panel. It was discovered later on that this version
concealed an earlier work of the same subject, painted
directly on the wall (fresco). Prof. Brenda Fajardo proposes
that the friars might have disapproved the fresco so it was
covered with a more acceptable portrayal of the saint
• Image making during the period generally conformed to
the preference of the patron and not just solely the
interest and preference of the artist’s. such relation are at
work is the Basi Revolt, a series of 14 painting by
Esteban Villanueva. It chronicles the defeat of Ilocanos
who rebelled against the spanish givernmen’t, the
painting illustrate the bloody consequwnces of insurgent
actions, on overt reminder of the might of Spain over its
colony.
• The reprographic art of printmaking was introduced in the
philippines as early as the 16th century. Applying the
technique of xylography or woodcut printing, Doctrina
Christiana (the Teaching of Christianity) was printed in
1593 in Spanish and in Tagalog by Dominican priest.
Doctrina is the first printed book in the philippines
compiling song lyrics, commandmants, sacraments, and
other catechetical material.
• Aside from prayer booklets called estampas and its
smaller counterpart estampitas, printmaking, particularly
engraving, was developed to produce secular or non-
religious works.
• During the period, the Spain crown commissioned
scientist and artist to produce maps and other sources of
classification.
• Although religious art predominated during the Spanish
colonial period, some of the other best forms of art that
flourished were non-religious or secular. In 1734, the
Jesuit priest Fr. Pedro Murillo Velarde collaborated with
homegrown talents, the artist Francisco Suarez and the
engraver Nicolas de la Cruz Bagay to produce Carta
Hydrographica de las Yslas Filipinas, the first scientific
map of the different