Month: September 2026
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Archipelagic Ways of Seeing: Dutch Collections through Philippine Experience
Rembrandt’s shell I encountered Rembrandt’s The Shell while searching the Rijksmuseum’s collection. Made in 1650, it is his only still-life print. It depicts a Conus marmoreus, or marbled cone shell, probably kept among the natural curiosities in his Amsterdam house. Against a dark background, Rembrandt rendered its patterned surface like an individual portrait. A Louvre…
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In the news: Art historian opposes transfer of Botong Francisco painting to Singapore
Art historian calls for an independent review, highlighting the masterpiece’s immense value to Philippine history and modern art. The proposed permanent transfer of Carlos “Botong” Francisco’s “Kalantiao at Lubluban” to Singapore is facing opposition, with Filipino art historian Geronimo Cristobal urging cultural authorities to keep the National Artist’s 1946 painting protected. Cristobal, a PhD candidate…
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Resil B. Mojares, National Artist and Historian, Dies at 83
Filipino historian, literary critic and National Artist whose scholarship elevated the study of Cebu and Philippine intellectual history Resil B. Mojares, the Filipino historian, literary critic and National Artist for Literature, has died aged 83. Through more than twenty books and five decades of teaching and research, he documented the literature, theatre, politics, religious practices…
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Opera and the Filipino Ilustrados in Colonial Manila and Europe, 1742–1902
Opera developed in colonial Manila through musical and theatrical institutions established over more than a century. Cathedral schools trained singers and instrumentalists, military and civilian bands performed in public, religious and civic celebrations incorporated music and drama, and Spanish and Tagalog theatres attracted regular audiences. Zarzuela and other forms of lyrical theatre appeared during the…