Art Appreciation
Week 6
Directions: Describe each painting using the elements of visual arts. Write the artist's
narrative on the work and your personal interpretation of the painting.
Title: Milk Carrier
Artist: Ben: Cabrera
ELEMENTS OF VISUAL ARTS
Line - curved, horizontal and vertical lines
Shape - irregular, circular shape
Color - light and dark colors were used
Value - a contrast of light
Form - two-dimensional
Texture - Needle texture
Space - positive space: the boy with the thing he is carrying
ARTISTS' NARRATIVE
BenCab was born to Democrito Cabrera and Isabel Reyes in Malabon,
Philippines on April 10, 1942. He was the youngest of nine children. BenCab's first
exposure and discovery of the arts happened through his elder Brother Salvador, who
was already an established artist during Bencab's childhood.
He went on to study at the University of the Philippines Diliman, where he
explored different art visual forms - photography, draftsmanship, printmaking -
while honing his chosen craft as a painter. He received his bachelor's degree in Fine
Arts in 1963.
PERSONAL INTERPRETATION
The painting illustrates a boy carrying a kind of jag that was supposed to be filled
with milk. By the look on his face, he seems to not enjoy the job. I bet this guy is poor.
Title: Sabel in blue
Artist: Ben: Cabrera
ELEMENTS OF VISUAL ARTS
Line - curved lines
Shape - irregular shape
Color - light and dark colors were used
Value - a contrast of dark
Form - two-dimensional
Texture - dull-like texture
Space - positive space: the girl wrapped with things around her
ARTISTS' NARRATIVE
Sabel in blue is a major subject that recurs through BenCab’s works through
the decades, inspired by a real-life scavenger, he photographed and sketched in 1965,
the Sabel image has become the artist's vehicle for the transmission of intensely
emotional moods. When pushed to the limits of abstraction, the Sabel image serves as
a fertile ground for the investigation of shape and structure.
PERSONAL INTERPRETATION
Sabel, who's probably the girl in the painting, is wrapped with things which to
me looked like pillows. She seems quite comfortable with her position to me which
makes sense since she is wrapped in pillows. Pillows are comfortable.
Title: The Burning of Manila
Artist: Fernando Amorsolo
ELEMENTS OF VISUAL ARTS
Line - horizontal and vertical lines
Shape - irregular and rectangular shape
Color - dark colors were used
Value - a contrast of dark
Form - two-dimensional
Texture - dull-like texture
Space - positive space: the destroyed buildings
ARTISTS' NARRATIVE
Amorsolo is best known for his illuminated landscapes, which often portrayed
traditional Filipino customs, culture, fiestas and occupations. His pastoral works
presented "an imagined sense of nationhood in counterpoint to American colonial
rule" and were important to the formation of Filipino national identity. He was
educated in the classical tradition and aimed "to achieve his Philippine version of the
Greek ideal for the human form." In his paintings of Filipina women, Amorsolo
rejected Western ideals of beauty in favor of Filipino ideals and was fond of basing the
faces of his subjects on members of his family.
PERSONAL INTERPRETATION
The painting shows the aftermath of what was left from a fire in Manila (as
the title suggests). The destroyed buildings are probably houses of the locals. The
scenery is so sad and devastating. Like imagine if you are part of it, that would be
horrific.
Title: Dagang Bukid
Artist: Fernando Amorsolo
ELEMENTS OF VISUAL ARTS
Line - curve, diagonal, horizontal and vertical lines
Shape - irregular and circular shape
Color - bright and dark colors were used
Value - a contrast of light
Form - two-dimensional
Texture - Simulated texture
Space - no negative spaces
ARTISTS' NARRATIVE
Amorsolo's bright and colorful pastoral representations are unmistakable for
being suffused with a golden glow, reflecting the sweet disposition, charm, and
wholesome beauty of the dalagang bukid, or Philippine provincial lass - widely
recognized to be the maestros most iconic subject matter. Surrounded by verdant
foliage dappled with sunlight, she is the picture of a longed-for, bygone era - the
epitome of everything that is good about the motherland.
The banga or clay jar that the young lady carries, a vessel for carrying water,
is seen as a symbol of fragility and innocence, and is a reference to the song made
famous by National Artist Atang de la Rama in the 1919 sarswela Dalagang Bukid:
"May isang dalagang nagsalok ng tubig
Kinis ng ganda nya'y hubog sa nilatik..."
PERSONAL INTERPRETATION
The painting illustrates a lady with a pot for carrying water just sitting in the
forest gracefully. When I saw the painting, a story suddenly popped up in my mind. I
think her mother asked her to fetch water, hence the pot she was carrying. Her
mother however impatiently waited at their house while she was just sitting in the
forest not doing what her mother asked her to do. I bet she will be scolded when she
gets back at their house for taking so long (it happens).
Title: The Parisian Life
Artist: Juan Luna
ELEMENTS OF VISUAL ARTS
Line - curve, horizontal and vertical lines
Shape - irregular and rectangular shape
Color - bright and dark colors were used
Value - a contrast of dark
Form - two-dimensional
Texture - dull-like texture
Space - no negative spaces
ARTISTS' NARRATIVE
As a cultural and historical artwork, The Parisian Life does not solely embody
the “intangible ideas of the Filipino national consciousness” but also Luna's talent as
an artist. The Parisian Life painting proves that Luna is an “indefatigable painter of
women”. It also proves that Luna was an “enthusiastic observer of the fairer sex”, an
artist who had a “keen eye” for the “elusive psychology” of women, and a painter with
an “obviously sensitive insight into” women's fragility, strength, happiness, and
solemnity. The Parisian Life further proved that Luna was sensitive and skillful in
capturing a fleeting moment of ordinary life that he could imbue with “personality
and universal emotions”.
PERSONAL INTERPRETATION
The painting shows a fine young woman sitting on a couch with three
gentlemen on her right talking. The men on the right on the maiden is supposed to be
Juan Luna himself with José Rizal, and Ariston Bautista Lin, who were on an
“expedition” during a casual evening in a café believed to be named Maxim's,
brimming with self-confidence while enjoying a moment inside the café. They were
described as Filipino gentlemen who “embraced Western lifestyle while remaining (...)
Filipino at heart." As the painting's description suggests. But to me they are like
creepy old dudes gossiping about the fine lady next to them.
Title: The Spoliarium
Artist: Juan Luna
ELEMENTS OF VISUAL ARTS
Line - curve, horizontal and vertical lines
Shape - irregular shape
Color - bright and dark colors were used
Value - a contrast of dark and light
Form - two-dimensional
Texture - dull-like texture
Space - positive space: the people
ARTISTS' NARRATIVE
"Luna's Spoliarium with its bloody carcasses of slave gladiators being dragged
away from the arena where they had entertained their Roman oppressors with their
lives... stripped to satisfy the lewd contempt of their Roman persecutors with their
honor...." Rizal was footnoted in his speech that the Spoliarium, "embodied the essence
of our social, moral and political life: humanity in severe ordeal, humanity
unredeemed, reason and idealism in open struggle with prejudice, fanaticism and
injustice."
PERSONAL INTERPRETATION
The painting portrayed violence and grief.
