AAH101d: READING VISUAL ART

Chapter I: Discovering Art and the Arts

Lesson 1: The Nature of Art

The Subject Matter of the Art

➢ The Subject Matter refers to what is literally depicted in the artwork. It usually
answers the following questions: What do you see? What is the image about? Can
you identify the image?

There are various subjects used various artworks.

1. Portraiture (people) – representations of an individual,

group of people, or of historical figures such as great
leaders (kings, pharaohs, emperors, presidents, founders
of religions), patriots (heroes and heroines, revolutionary
leaders), and innovative minds (philosophers, scientists,
inventors, builders). Artworks of this kind are good
indicators of class, social status, race and nationality.

Portrait of Fernando Zobel as a Teenager

1945
Fernando Amorsolo
Oil on wood
Ateneo Art Gallery

2. Still life – painting of objects, furniture, utensils, flowers,

fruits, vegetables placed on a table or another setting.
The goodness of having a still life as a subject is its
availability and capability to be organized.

Examples of still life are, a basket of fruits, a bag of

groceries, a pack of cigarettes, a bunch of flowers, and a
bucket of chicken

Still Life with Green Guitar

1952
Vicente Manansala
Oil on plywood
Ateneo Art Gallery

3. Animals and Plants – symbolic images and interpretations of various animals and
plants associated in visual arts (painting, sculpture, and architectures), pottery and
weaving, etc.
 Water Buffalos
Felix Garzon (Man) / Francesco Riccardo Monti (Woman)
Provincial Capitol Lagoon and Park, Bacolod City

4. Places – historical wonder cities of the

world with legacies in the preservation
and promotion of culture and the arts.
Thus, highpoints of painting, urban
planning and tourist destinations.

Vigan City, Ilocos Sur (1572)

New Wonder City of the World
December 8, 2014

Other Wonder Cities of the World:

✓ Beirut, Lebanon (3000 BCE)
✓ Doha, Qatar (1825)
✓ Durban, South Africa (1880)
✓ Havana, Cuba (1515)
✓ Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia (1859)
✓ La Paz, Bolivia (1548)

5. Events – rekindling and paying homage to

historical accounts (tragedies, revolutions,
triumphs) that have moved the people with
awe and trembling.

Battle of Kakarong De Sili Shrine

Pandi, Bulacan
6. Religious items – artworks depicting the Trinity, Jesus,
Mary and Joseph, the angels and the saints. Within the walls
of the churches lies the sacred vestments, relics, icons,
books and utensils used in liturgical activities.

Crucified Christ
17th Century
Ivory
58 x 53 cm
UST Museum of Arts and Sciences

*Single longest ivory corpus in Christian

art in Asia

7. Mythological – the gods and goddesses adorned and

revered in the great civilizations of Egypt, Greece, and
Rome.

Malakas at Maganda
1974
Anastacio Caedo
Vargas Museum, UP Diliman

8. Country Life – images and scenes of the daily life of

various provinces such as fiestas and festivals,
fishing, farming and harvesting, recreations and
games.

Bayanihan
1962
Carlos “Botong” Francisco
Oil on Canvas
544 cm. x 544 cm.
United Laboratories Collection

9. Landscape – various forms of land –

volcanoes, mountain ranges, hills,
valleys, plains, plateau, and cliffs –
depicted in landscape paintings and
architectures.
 San Miguel Corporation Building
1976
Mandaluyong City, Philippines

10. Seascape – forms of water – ocean, sea, river,

lake, brook, pond, and falls – illustrated in
paintings and today’s aquascaping.

Man-made Falls
Bato Springs Resort
San Pablo City, Laguna

11. Edifices – sacred spaces, commercial spaces and mega

structures from around the globe recognized as cosmic,
sacred and modern.

Grand Hyatt Manila

2017
BGC, Taguig, Metro Manila

***Height: 318 meters (1,043 ft)

Number of floors: 66
:
 12. Dreams and Fantasies –
supernatural and mystical ideas of
men and women who has the
capacity to portray what is beyond
the senses and reality.

Dragonfly (triptych)
2014
Rom Villaseran
Acrylic on canvas
104.5 x 68 inches

Art Styles: Methods in Presenting the Subjects

➢ Artists have differences – taste, styles and paths – yet the beauty they pass on to
generation would stir wonder, where wonder becomes astonishment and
unspeakable joy.
➢ Artists use different styles. A style refers to how the artists employ materials, use
technique, and the manner in which a subject matter is portrayed. Style are generally
divided into two (2) branches namely: Representational or Objective and Non-
representational or Non-objective.

✓ Representational. Representational are artworks that depict something easily

recognized by most people. The images and figures are taken from the world of
people and nature. Examples of art forms under this category are painting,
sculpture, architecture and graphic arts.

✓ Non-representational. These are artworks that have no resemblance to any real

subject. They are made up primarily of lines, color, texture and shapes. They do
not form figures, as such they do not represent anything and they are what they
are. They are referred to as abstract art.

Every artist has his individual style of doing his artwork. He has the preference to choose
any of the following methods in presenting his/her subject:

1. Realism. It is the method of presenting subjects as they appear in real life. It

advocates Plato’s concept called mimesis, or copying nature the way it looks.

The Filipino foremost painter, Fernando Amorsolo (1892-1972), is the Father of

Philippine Realism; he painted Philippine rural scenes such as:

Planting Rice
1946
UCPB Collection
 Sunday Morning Going to Town
1958
Ayala Museum Collection

2. Abstractionism. It is “drawing away from realism.” It was derived from the verb
abstract meaning ‘to draw away.’ An abstractionist draws away from reality as he
creates his artwork. His product is a departure from what is present in real life.

Jose Joya, is distinguished by creating authentic Filipino abstracts. He is known as

the ‘epitome of Philippine abstraction.’ Some of his selected works were:

Granadean Arabesque
1958
Ateneo Art Gallery Collection

Dimension of Fear
1965
Cultural Center of the Philippines
Collection

3. Surrealism. Surrealism is “beyond realism.” It is concerned in presenting the

subconscious reality of the artist. It projects the subject as if the subject is not part of
the reality but belongs to the world of dreams and fantasy. In surrealist paintings, the
images look nightmarish and weird.

One of the Thirteen Artists of CCP, Jaime de Guzman (1942- ), was able to channel
the anxieties of the modern man, leading him to his most celebrated works:
 Metamorphosis I, II, III
1970
Cultural Center of the Philippines Collection

GomBurZa Martyrs
1970
Cultural Center of the Philippines Collection

4. Symbolism. Symbolism is presenting the subject symbolically, that is, the artist
shows his subject as it appears in real life, but he intends to let it represent
something.

Among the symbolic artworks known to us is:

Spoliarium
Juan Luna
1884
National Museum Collection
 UP Oblation
Guillermo Tolentino
1958
UP Diliman Oblation Plaza

5. Expressionism. Expressionism is emotional realism. It is presenting the real life

subject with the intention to express emotions, pathos, chaos, fear, violence, defeat,
morbidity, and tragedy. Expressionists do not copy natural colors of subjects, instead
use colors that may express what they feel.

One notable Filipino expressionist and National Artist is Ang Kiukok (1931-2005)
pursued an expression imbued with nationalist fervor and sociological agenda. Some
of his works include:

Man on Fire
1980
Central Bank of the Philippines Collection

Crucifixed
1977
Ateneo Art Gallery
 6. Impressionism. It is presenting the real-life subject with emphasis on the impression
left in the artist’s mind or perception, particularly the effect of light on the object used
as subject. Some examples of impressionism in the Philippines include:

Jones Bridge
1975
Emilio Aguilar Cruz’s
National Museum Collection

Tampuhan
1895
Juan Luna
Rosalinda Orosa Collection

Reflection/ Learning Insights

In 1999, Pope St. John Paul II wrote “A Letter to Artists.” It is a jewel that has been tucked
away in the pocket treasury of papal writings, but it is high time it gains some attention. In it
he describes:

None can sense more deeply than you artists, ingenious creators of beauty that
you are, something of the pathos with which God at the dawn of creation looked
upon the work of his hands. A glimmer of that feeling has shone so often in your
eyes when—like the artists of every age—captivated by the hidden power of
sounds and words, colors and shapes, you have admired the work of your
inspiration, sensing in it some echo of the mystery of creation with which God,
the sole creator of all things, has wished in some way to associate you.

Being a phenomenal artist himself (just check out his poetry!), St. John Paul II understood
an artist's profound inner craving to create, to share, to spread wonder and splendor freely
to the world around them.
In God's eyes, being an authentic artist means being selfless. It means being increasingly
surrendered and remaining at the service of the Master, the giver of all talents.

Those who perceive in themselves this kind of divine spark which is the artistic vocation —
as poet, writer, sculptor, architect, musician, actor and so on—feel at the same time the
obligation not to waste this talent but to develop it, in order to put it at the service of their
neighbor and of humanity as a whole... Within the vast cultural panorama of each nation,
artists have their unique place. Obedient to their inspiration in creating works both
worthwhile and beautiful, they not only enrich the cultural heritage of each nation and of all
humanity, but they also render an exceptional social service in favor of the common good.

May this lesson help you discover pride in your roots.