WITH four hundred years to be proud of, it is no surprise that the University of Santo Tomas is home to portraits of National Hero and Thomasian Jose Rizal rendered by no less than masters.
One of the masterpieces was painted by father of modern art and College of Architecture and Fine Arts founder (now separated into two colleges, College of Architecture and College of Fine Arts and Design) Victorio C. Edades while another portrait was by Severino C. Fabie, who donated both pieces to the Museum of Arts and Sciences decades ago.
“Interpreting what they see conforms with how they feel,” said Museum of Arts and Sciences Collection Management and Documentation Assistant, Maita Buensuceso-Oebanda.
Like Rizal, who initiated change through writing, these artists used visual arts to move people and evoke emotions.
“If you say Rizal isn’t relevant anymore, it’s like saying values taught by Rizal and your kin aren’t relevant too. There’s a lot that we could benefit from his philosophy,” Buensuceso-Oebanda said.
The history and ideologies that came with the paintings makes them even more valuable. The artworks are kept safely in the museum’s storage and are to be hung in the visual arts gallery that is slated to open on July 19. It is through this project that Thomasians will be given the chance to go back in time and relish the culture that UST’s art collection bears.
A founder of the triumvirate of modern art in the Philippines, Edades was proclaimed National Artist for Visual Arts in 1976. His desire to break away from traditional and idyllic painting styles resulted to the emergence and spread of contemporary art. Together with Galo B. Ocampo and Carlos “Botong” V. Francisco, the three initiated the modern arts movement and set the foundations of the Philippine art scene at present. Artist such as Fabie is a product of this movement.
“The University still continues to produce Filipino Catholics with high values in them. UST is a constant source of progress and forward thinking today, which will have an impact in the future,” Buensuceso-Oebanda said. Photo courtesy of UST MUSEUM.
