National Artists

• • focused on realism
  • developed chiaroscuro
  • depictions of rural schemes

  Fernando Amorsolo
• • biomorphic shapes

  Hernando Ocampo
• • Isabel
  • his paintings often depict figures wrapped in flowing fabrics in muted tones and earthly color palettes.

  Benedicto Cabrera
• • was a most distinguished practitioner of mural painting for many decades and best known for his historical pieces

  Carlos "Botong" Francisco
• • colorblind
  • refined cubism in the Philippine context

  Cesar Legaspi
• • known for using okir, sarimanok and the naga motifs


  Abdulhari Asia Imao
• • Father of Philippine Arts
  • designed the medals of the Ramon Magsaysay Award and the seal of the Republic of the Philippines

  Guillermo Tolentino
• • abstract painting using geometric shapes
  • pioneer of the Philippine Neo-realist movement

  Arturo Luz
• • spontaneity painting
  • his works are characterized by its soft blurred edges coupled with bold lines and shapes

  Federico Aguilar Y Alcuaz
• • Father of Modern Philippine Sculpture
  • introduced buoyant sculpture - sculpture meant to be appreciated from the surface of a placid pool

  Napoleon Abueva
• • pioneer of assemblage and mixed media

  Jeremias Elizalde Navarro
• • "Dean of Filipino Illustrators"
  • developed komiks or Filipino comics

  Francisco Coching
• • Father of Modern Philippine Painting
  • known for his 3D effect

  Victorio Edades
• • subjects of his paintings are disturbing

  Ang Kiukok
• • abstract expressionism

  Jose Joya
• • developed transparent cubism

  Vicente Manansala
• • made over 500 characters, 20 comic strips, six movies, two murals, and 15000 published pages in 56 years of cartooning

  Lauro "Larry" Alcala
• • Folk Dance Pioneer


  Francisca Reyes Aquino
• • credited for his work in promoting Philippine traditional dance and cultural work
  • Ramon Obusan Folkloric Group


  Ramon Obusan
• • "Trailblazer"
  • Mother of Philippine Theater Dance
  • Dean of Filipino Performing Arts Critics
  • pioneer Filipino choreographer in balletic folkloric and Asian styles


  Leonor Orosa Goquinco
• • Mother of Contemporary Dance

  Alice Reyes
• • founding director of the Bayanihan Philippine National Folk Dance Company
  • Research ethnic dances
  • worked to translate folk dancing into the realm of theater

  Lucrecia Reyes-Urtula
• • pioneered the development of the short story as a lyrical prose-poetic form


  Francisco Arcellana
• • descriptive language
  • first female writer to be declared National Artist for literature

  Edith Tiempo
• • pioneer in the field of literary criticism
  • introduced Tagalog literature (Bagay poetry)

  Bienvenido Lumbera
• • local-colorist writer

  Nestor Vincente Madali (N.V.M.) Gonzalez
• • "Rio Alma"

  Virgilio Almario
• • poet, fictionist, and essayist
  • foremost writer of his generation
  • workshop for poetry and fiction


  Cirilo Bautista
• • "Quijano de Manila" (Manila Old Timer)
  • Magical realism
  • exploration of the Philippine colonial past under Spain
  • probing into the psychology of social changes as seen by the young

  Nick Joaquin
• • addresses social issues and advocate for workers' rights


  Amado Hernandez
• • developed the social realist tradition in Philippine fiction
  • social justice for farmers


  Lazaro Francisco
• • "Grand old man of Philippine letters"
  • works about the gap between the elite and poor


  Francisco Sionil Jose
• • first Asian president of the UN General Assembly, then Philippine Ambassador to Washington, D.C., and later, minister of foreign affairs
  • the only Filipino Journalist to win the Pulitzer Prize


  Carlos Romulo
• • reversed consonance rhyme scheme
  • comma poetry


  Jose Garcia Villa
• • sarcastic/humorous literature
  • considered as the country's best writer of comic short stories

  Alejandro Roces
• • sole inventor of "Taglish" in Philippine Poetry


  Rolando Tinio
• • historical literature


  Carlos Quirino
• • made the Guinness Book of Records for playing music using leaves


  Levi Celerio
• • focused on composition
  • whole tone scale, linear counterpoint, and pentatonic scale

  Antonino Buenaventura
• • ethnomusicologist
  • into indigenous music


  Jose Maceda