Vicente Manansala
Born
Vicente Silva Manansala

(1910-01-22)January 22, 1910
Macabebe, Pampanga, Philippine Islands
DiedAugust 22, 1981(1981-08-22) (aged 71)
Manila, Philippines
NationalityFilipino
Known forpainter and illustrator
MovementCubism
Awards Order of National Artists of the Philippines
Vicente Manansala and his works on a 2010 stamp sheet of the Philippines

Vicente Silva Manansala (January 22, 1910 – August 22, 1981) was a Filipino cubist painter and illustrator.[1] One of the first Abstractionists on the Philippine art scene Vicente Manansala is also credited with bridging the gap between the city and the suburbs, between the rural and cosmopolitan ways of life. His paintings depict a nation in transition, an allusion to the new culture brought by the Americans. Manansala together with Fabian de la Rosa are among the best-selling Philippine artists in the West.

He was a member of the prominent Cruz, Manansala, Lopez family clan. He is considered one of the 13 Moderns, a group of modernists associated with Victorio Edades.[2]

Early life

Manansala was born on January 22, 1910, in San Roque, Macabebe, Pampanga.[3] From 1926 to 1930, he studied at the U.P. School of Fine Arts. In 1949, Manansala received a six-month grant by UNESCO to study at the École des Beaux-Arts in Banff and Montreal, Quebec, Canada. In 1950, he received a nine-month scholarship to study at the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris by the French government.[1] He also trained at the Otis School of Drawing.[4]

Marker (Macabebe, Pampanga Town hall.

Later Painting Career

Manansala museum nameplate

Manansala's paintings are the best and were celebrated as the best of the barrio and the city together. His Madonna of the Slums is a portrayal of a mother and child from the countryside who became urban shanty residents once in the city. In his Jeepneys, Manansala combined the elements of provincial folk culture with the congestion issues of the city.[1]

Manansala developed transparent cubism, wherein the "delicate tones, shapes, and patterns of figure and environment are masterfully superimposed". A fine example of Manansala using this "transparent and translucent" technique is his composition, kalabaw (Carabao).[1]

Vicente Manansala, a National Artist of the Philippines in Visual Arts, was a direct influence to his fellow Filipino neo-realists: Malang, Angelito Antonio, Norma Belleza and Manuel Baldemor.[1] The Honolulu Museum of Art, the Lopez Memorial Museum (Manila), the Philippine Center (New York City), the Singapore Art Museum and Holy Angel University[3] (Angeles City, Philippines) are among the public collections holding work by Vicente Manansala. Holy Angel University recently opened a section of its museum called The Vicente Manansala Collection, holding most of the estate left by the artist.

Death

Manansala-Hermenegilda graves
Hermenegilda (Hilda) Diaz

Manansala died on August 22, 1981, in Manila, Philippines, due to lung cancer.

Works

References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Vicente Manansala.
  1. ^ a b c d e Endaya, Imelda Cajipe (artist and independent curator) and Cecilia B. Rebong (Philippine Consul-General). "Pamana: Modernong Sining" (A Heritage of Modern Art), An Art Exhibit from the Collection of the Philippine Center in New York, Printed Catalogue, The Consulate General of the Philippines, Philippine Center Management Board, and PCGNY.net, June 11, 2007, 12 pages.
  2. ^ a b Patajo-Legasto, Priscelina (2008). Philippine Studies: Have We Gone Beyond St. Louis?. UP Press. p. 304. ISBN 978-971-542-591-9. Retrieved July 25, 2021.
  3. ^ a b Orejas, Tonette (March 27, 2012). "'Mang Enteng' comes home". INQUIRER.net. Retrieved July 25, 2021.
  4. ^ "Order of National Artists: Vicente Manansala". National Commission for Culture and the Arts. Retrieved July 25, 2021.
  5. ^ Gatbonton, Juan T.; Javelosa, Jeannie E.; Roa, Lourdes Ruth R. (1992). Art Philippines. Crucible Workshop. p. 174. ISBN 978-971-91288-0-9. Retrieved July 25, 2021.
  6. ^ de Villa, Kathleen (March 29, 2021). "Birdman by Vicente Manansala (1973)". Philippine Daily Inquirer. Retrieved July 25, 2021.
  7. ^ U.P. Diliman. UP Press. 2010. p. 116. ISBN 978-971-542-619-0. Retrieved July 25, 2021.

2. The Cruz, Manansala, López family clan.

External links

National Artists of the Philippines
Filipino painters
Authority control databases
Categories