Fine Art Collection - National Artist Series
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(22 January 1910 – 22 August 1981)
The BSP celebrates the birth anniversary of National Artist for
Painting Vicente Silva Manansala.
Born in
Macabebe, Pampanga but transferred to Manila at the age of 4,
Manansala trained at the atelier of Fernand Leger in France—a painter associated with the cubist movement and whose paintings showed the precise and polished appearance of machinery.
Manansala also studied the stained-glass technique. That, together with his
training under Leger and
his
admiration for Pablo Picasso, both
renowned
cubists, provided Manansala the technique and inspiration to
develop a style that is uniquely his own—
transparent cubism.
This style
is in full display in several large-scale murals he executed, namely:
“History of Medicine”, at the lobby of St Martin de
Porres Building, UST Faculty of Medicine and Surgery; “The Arts and Sciences”, at University of the Philippines (UP) Diliman Campus, Palma Hall, Arts and
Sciences Lobby; the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) murals depicting Philippine rural life painted in 1962 (presently displayed at the National Museum of the Philippines; and “Inang Bayan”, at the Philippine Heart Center.
Manasala, along with Ang
Kiukok, lent his
own
masterful brushstrokes
in
creating
the
iconic
fifteen Stations of the Cross painted from 1955-56 at the Chapel of the Holy Sacrifice, UP Diliman Campus. These two masters, together with Leandro Locsin, Napoleon Abueva, and Arturo Luz, all contributed their artistic talent to the chapel. They have all been declared National Artists, with Manansala posthumously awarded National Artist for
Painting
in 1981.
Manansala’s
signature use of
transparent cubism,
wherein tones, shapes, and patterns of figure and environment are delicately superimposed creating a flowing movement of finely crafted planes
are
so
exquisitely executed
in his composition,
Three Carabaos in the BSP collection.
#BSPfineartcollection
Created:6/17/2020 3:20 PM by:
Pambid Frederick D.
Modified:6/14/2022 1:25 PM by:
Pambid Frederick D.
