Rodriguez, Marion Patricia L. 3LM3
Venus Venus by Guillermo Tolentino Tolentino
About the sculptor
Guillermo Estrella Tolentino Tolentino is a product of the Revival period in Philippine art (National Commission for Culture and Arts, 201!" #e represents the National Artist A$ards for %culpture in 1&'" #e is considered as the )*ather of Philippine Arts+ ecause of this famous $or-s li-e the ).onifacio /onument+, $hich smolies the *ilipinos cr for freedom, and the )3P 4lation+, $hich si5nifies academic freedom (6ife and 7or-s of Guillermo Tolentino, 2011!" Tolentino also desi5ned the 5old and rone medal for the Ramon /a5sasa A$ard and the official seal of the Repulic of the Philippines (National Commission for Culture and Arts, 201!"
Guillermo Tolentino $as orn in /alolos, .ulacan on 8ul 29, 1&:0" #is father $as a tailor, $hose onl artistic trait is the love for plain5 5uitar, $hich )/emon5+, as his father called him inherited" /oreover, he $as named as one of the three est plaers of 5uitar durin5 his time" .efore his formal schoolin5, he used to mold horses and do5s in cla, out of the materials from the an-s of the fishponds"
;n 1&11, he made a 5roup dra$in5 of Rial, .ur5os, Antonio and 8uan 6una, Re5idor and others" #is Tata Pepe, $ith $hom he $as livin5, succeeded in interestin5 %everino Rees (a famous famous *ilipi *ilipino no $rite $riter, r, pla$ri5 pla$ri5ht, ht, and direct director or of plas plas $ho used used the pen name name )6ola )6ola .asan5+! to have the dra$in5 litho5raphed (authoried cop of an ori5inal $or- created the artist himself or other s-illed craftsmen!" ;t $as pulished in 6i$a$a, $hose editor $as Re es, under the title )Grupo de *ilipino ;;lustros+" Althou5h Tolentino never made a sin5le cent out of the dra$in5, he $as pleased to see his $or- in peoples homes ever$here (/analo
;n 1&1:, Tolentino spent his time in 6a5una ma-in5 monuments of Rial $ith contractor, Tomas =amora" #is friends, especiall Precioso Palma, ur5ed him to open up a shop of his o$n" The even offered him mone to e ale to open a shop ut he $ould not accept ecause Tolentino elieved that he $as not et a sculptor durin5 that time (/analo
Arts for advanced courses in sculpture (6ife and 7or-s of Guillermo Tolentino, 2011!"
Guillermo returned home in 1&2, then he opened his o$n studio in /anila" #e $as appointed as instructor for sculpture in %chool of *ine Arts in 3niversit of the Philippines in 1&2?" #e $as appointed as @irector for %chool of *ine Arts, and in 1& after his resi5nation, he $as named as Professor Emeritus (6ife and 7or-s of Guillermo Tolentino, 2011!" #e received various a$ard and citations in the field of sculpture" ;n 1&&, he received the 3NE%C4 Cultural A$ard in %culpture" ;n 1&?, he otained the Ara$ n5 /anila A$ard in %culpture" ;n 1&'0, he $as also conferred the Presidents /edal of /erit for his contriutions to nation uildin5 throu5h his outstandin5 $or-s in the field of arts particularl in sculpture" *urthermore, the former *irst 6ad, ;melda /arcos a$arded him a plaue in /arch 9 1&' for his meritorious services rendered in the advancement of art in the Philippines (/analo
4n 8ul 12, 1&'?, Guillermo Tolentino died 12 das efore his :?th irthda in his house in Retiro %treet (/analo
About the sculpture
;n Roman mtholo5, Benus is the 5oddess of love, eaut, fertilit, and se>" %he is the Roman counterpart of Aphrodite in Gree- mtholo5" #o$ever, Benus has man ailities than Aphrodite she is the 5oddess of victor, fertilit, and even prostitution" Accordin5 to #esiods Theo5on, Aphrodite $as orn of the foam from the sea after %aturn (Cronus! castrated his father 3ranus (4uranus! and his lood fell to the sea (Garcia, 201!" This theor ma e the reason $h man art$or-s of Benus depicted her risin5 from the sea in a clam"
The stunnin5 sculpture of )Benus+ Guillermo Tolentino can e found on the 9th floor of the National /useum" ;t $as inspired )The .irth of Benus+ ;talian painter, %andro .oticelli, $ho made it in 19&? for the /edici Court (*ilipi-no$, n"d"!" 3nli-e .oticellis version $hich sho$s the 5oddess of Benus emer5in5 from the sea and coverin5 her private parts $ith her hands, Guillermos sculpture is much more darin5 it portras Benus $ith her hands in her hair and private parts uncovered as if flauntin5 her na-ed od"
ude or a!ed"
)Benus+ Guillermo Tolentino is a na-ed art for me ecause the sculpture itself sas that )This is me" This is ho$ eautiful ; am, and ;m sho$in5 it to the $orld to prove that ; deserve to e the 5oddess of eaut"+ The mere fact that her hands are placed ehind her head sho$s the confidence she has" #er stance is intended to $oo the audience or capture their attention ecause unli-e other art$or-s of Benus, this sculpture ares it all" Proudl sho$casin5 her fi5ure, thats ho$ she $ants to e seen as a superior of ones self" %he is an epitome of independenc and thats the eaut of it" %he doe snt need anone to compliment her ecause she compliments herself" %he doesnt depend on anod ecause she is fierce in her o$n $a" ; thin- that this sculpture needs to e seen and understood people no$adas ecause she inhaits a lot of ualities of the $omen of toda" %ho$in5 true empo$erment emracin5 ones fla$s and imperfection" That is true eaut"
Ra#aged Manila by $ominador %asta&eda
About the painter
@ominador #ilario CastaDeda $as a painter, $riter, and $as close friend and contemporar of *ernando Amorsolo" #is paintin5s $ere diver5ed from the characteristics stle of the Amorsolo %chool and a different direction, especiall in terms of color (Gerin5er Art, n"d"!" #is $or-s $ere in contrast to Amorsolos ello$ and oran5e
@urin5 CastaDedas childhood, his father didnt $ant him to ecome a painter ecause for him, art $as an avocation" #is father ou5ht him an air 5un to ta-e his mind off of paintin5 and tau5ht him to hunt and roam in the fields" ;t did not $or- ecause the sceneries that he sa$ $hile huntin5 in the fields made him $ish for a paintin5 career" As a final stro-e of his father to ta-e his mind off of paintin5, his father too- him to a stru55lin5 painters studio" @ominador noted the anemic loo- of the painter a loo-ed painfull echoed his rather lar5e famil and his easel, an old contraption of his o$n manufacture, $hich shoo- $henever his rush ali5hted on the canvas" The painter advised him to 5ive up paintin5 ecause accordin5 to him, an artist had to 5o throu5h more lean das than plent" #is father too- him to the %chool of *ine Arts in 3niversit of the Philippines, and the si5ht of the students $ith dra$in5 oards e>cited him" #e vo$ed that someda, he $ill e one of them (Paras
CastaDedas necessar ualit $as tenaciousness" *or the maestic clouds he loved to paint, Amorsolos name hovered over him, castin5 a shado$ difficult to cast off" #e loo-ed at Amorsolo as an esteemed friend, rival and ardstic-" Fet he still felt confident of his o$n $orth" 6ivin5 $ith the or of Amorsolo $as not eas" #is artistic dilemma $as compounded not onl
an identit crisis (Amorsolo et al"!, ut also confronted the assertive sensiilit ein5 foisted a modernistic movement $hose voice then spo-e in political polemical terms" CastaDedas dictum has al$as een classicistic and nothin5 in e>cess" #e pe55ed himself to elon5 in the conservative school rather than the lieral conservative" #e elieved that modernism is somethin5 of a ne$ ud, oun5 lood $hich 5ive added vi5or to art and unfortunatel, man $ere e>ploitin5 modernism (Paras
%ome of his achievements $ere first prie in a national competition sponsored Philippine *ree Press in 1&&, first prie for his treasur note desi5n in a national competition sponsored the Central .an- of the Philippines in 1&9&, $rote the pioneerin5 histor of Philippine art, )Art in the Philippines+, pulished in 1&?9, and $as 5iven the Patnua %inin5 A$ard the Cit of /anila in 1&'1 (7i-i Pilipinas, n"d"!" 4n /a 1&?', at ?, and seven months efore his death he $as still confident of )ma-in5 a -illin5+ throu5h paintin5 after his retirement from the Colle5e of *ine Arts of the 3niversit of the Philippines (Paras
About the painting
The Rava5ed in /anila paintin5 @ominador CastaDeda can e found on the 1st floor of the National /useum, Galler B;;;" At first si5ht, the paintin5 is li-e depictin5 or portrain5 a depressin5 scene aout the dama5es and ne5ative effects of the $ar" There $ere dead odies lin5 on the 5round and restless and hun5r people passin5 " The paintin5 reveals the rava5in5 effects of the $ar to$ards innocent *ilipinos durin5 that time" The tall uildin5s in the ac-5round $ere destroed the fire that $ere cause cannonalls" There $as an ima5e of a $oman $ho carries her innocent childs lifeless od" 4n the lo$er part of the paintin5, ou can see a na-ed $oman, lin5 on the floor $ith a $hite cloth that covers her private parts" .eside the na-ed $oman are dead children dressed in shirts and shorts" The survivors of this ni5htmare $ere evacuatin5 to5ether, and their silent faces seem to e portrain5 their loudest cries the cr for ustice and the cr for 7#F" 7h do innocent people need to pa for the thin5s the havent done 7h do the need to suffer Fes, the people passin5 are survivors of the $ar ut, theres nothin5 to reoice aout the fact that their lives $ere spared" ;n fact, even after the ni5htmare ($ar!, this picture or all the thin5s that happened durin5 the $ar $ill e forever
imprinted in their minds and heart" And no one can erase the dama5e and the pain that this $ar rou5ht to the people"
ude or a!ed"
Accordin5 to 8ohn .er5er, )To e nude is to e seen na-ed, and et not reco5nied for oneself"+ ; thin- that the $oman on the lo$er part of paintin5 is a nude form of art ecause ou can see the vulnerailit and the defenselessness of the $oman" Theres an oectifin5 aspect in the paintin5 ecause the feelin5s or emotions of the $oman $as not her personal feelin5s ut rather the artists" %he $as ust a mere oect used the artist to e ale to e>press his emotions aout the realit ehind the scenario in the paintin5" To see the $oman lin5 there e>posed, arms $ide open $hile people are passin5 as if the have seen this countless of times is also an indicator" %he $as helpless, dead, even" %he ecame the remnants of true horror that happened durin5 that time" %he $as the conseuence of the havoc that the nation created" %he ecame the immolation to attain peace and ; thin- that is uite unfair" %eein5 the na-ed $oman lin5 lifeless on damp soil, ; couldnt help ut as- $hat $ere the portrain5 7as it innocence *railt 7as it meant to perceive that $a
Re'erences
*ilipi-no$" (n"d"!" 12 Astonishing Philippine Artifacts You Didn't Know You Could Find At the National Museum" Retrieved from *ilipi-no$H httpHII$$$"filipi-no$"netInational< museum"phpI@ominadorJCastaneda
