Timeline of Philippine Arts

• Ethnic Art - "Integral to Life"
• Ethnic Art

  • Arts for ritual purposes or everyday use.
  • As local communities become established, art starts to go beyond mere craft, i.e. stone weapons or jewelry but starts to have decorative elements, meaning and context.
• Islamic Art

  • Characterized by geometric designs and pattern eliciting focus from believers.
• Spanish Era - "Faith and Catechism"
• Spanish Era

  • 1521 was the year when Spaniards arrived in the Philippines.
• Colonizers used art as a tool to propagate the Catholic faith through beautiful images.
• With communication as problem, the friars used images to explain the concepts behind Catholicism, and to tell the stories of Christ's life and passion.
• Who is associated with the dates February 12, 1796 - July 26, 1834?


  Damian Gabor Domingo
• Damian Gabor Domingo - Nuestra Señora del Santisimo Rosario
• American Era - "Secular Forms of Art"
• Fabian dela Rosa (1869 - 1937)

  • first painter note for the 20th century.
  • notes for his realistic portraits, genre, landscapes in subdued colors.
  • Women working in a rice field, Oil on canvas (1902)
• Japanese Era - "Orientalizing"
• Japanese Era

  • Artworks are mostly from the sentiments of artists during the war.
  • Contributions to poetry like Haiku, free verse, 5-7-5 verse.
• Japanese Era

  • Despite the sufferings, some artists still expressed themselves. Like the painting, the Manila War Ruins (1945) by Ferdinand Amorsolo.
• Modern Era

  • began after World War 2 and the granting of Independence
  • writers and artists posed the question of national identity as the main theme of various art forms.
• Contemporary Era

  • Offshoot of Social Realism brought by Martial Law.
  • Arts became expression of people's aspirations for a just, free, and sovereign society.