Vicente S. Manansala, National Artist, Painting 1981, and One of the Thirteen Moderns

Vicente S. Manansala (1910-1981)

Honored as National Artist in Painting in 1981, Vicente S. Manansala is considered the country’s pioneer in Cubism. He was one of the Thirteen Moderns led by Victorio C. Edades, and was one of the Big Three in the modernist movement, along with Cesar Legaspi and H. R. Ocampo. In addition, he formed the group of Neo-Realists together with Romeo Tabuena and Anita Magsaysay-Ho. Manansala developed transparent cubism and his works were done mostly in the figurative mode, reflecting the society and the local environment. He favored the styles of Picasso and Cezanne, and believed that the true beauty of art lay in the process of creating it.

Manansala was born in Macabebe, Pampanga on January 22, 1910. He was the second of the eight children of Perfecto Q. Manansala and Engracia Silva. At the age of 15, he studied under painter Ramon Peralta while doing work painting movie posters at a shop in Manila. He entered the University of the Philippines School of Fine Arts in 1926 and graduated in 1930. He continued his studies under a UNESCO grant at the École de Beaux Arts in Banff and Montreal, Canada in 1949, and under a French government scholarship at the École de Beaux Arts in Paris in 1950. His training did not end there. In 1960, he received a grant from the United States to study stained glass techniques in New York. He also trained at the Otis Art Institute in 1967, and received another grant in 1970, this time from Germany, to study in Zurich.

Manansala worked as an illustrator for the Philippines Herald and Liwayway and as a layout artist for Photonews and Saturday Evening News Magazine in the 1930’s. He held his first one-man show at the Manila Hotel in 1951, and then went on to work as a professor at the University of Santo Tomas School of Fine Arts from 1951 to 1958.

Vicente C. Manansala died in Makati in 1981.

His major works include:

• 1940 – Bangkusay Seascape
• 1948 – Banaklaot
• 1950 – Madonna of the Slums
• 1951 – Jeepneys
• 1967 – Reclining Mother and Child

He also painted several historical murals including:

• Stations of the Cross for UP Diliman Chapel
• Mural for Philippine Heart Center
• Fresco mural for the National Press Club


Achievements:

• 1941 – 1st Prize, National Art Exhibition, UST, for Pounding Rice
• 1950 – 1st Prize, Manila Grand Opera House Exhibition, for Barong-Barong #1
• 1950 – 1st Prize, Art Association of the Philippines First Annual Art Competition, for Banaklaot
• 1953 – 2nd Prize, Art Association of the Philippines, for Kahig (Scratch)
• 1955 – 2nd Prize, Art Association of the Philippines, for Fish Vendors
• 1955 – 3rd Prize, Art Association of the Philippines, for Best-Served, Well-Gained
• 1957 – Outstanding UP Alumnus
• 1962 – 2nd Prize, Art Association of the Philippines, for Give Us This Day
• 1962 – Best in Show, Art Association of the Philippines, for Give Us This Day
• 1963 – Republic Cultural Heritage Award
• 1970 – Patnubay ng Sining at Kalinangan Award, from the City of Manila

Kulay-Diwa  is a venue for Philippines and Southeast Asian Contemporary Art. Inaugurated on February 7, 1987, Kulay-Diwa, is strategically located within a cluster of communities South of Manila.  It has five independent exhibition areas able to accommodate large-scale works and a garden ideal for programs, performances and sculpture installations.  The goal of the gallery is to discover and promote the works of young, talented but deserving Filipino Artists and to foster cultural interaction and exchanges with the local regions and other countries.

Kulay (Colour)

Diwa  (Spirit, Thought)

Manansala, "Nude", Charcoal on paper, 91 x 61 cms., 1972

Manansala, "Huts", Watercolor, 48 x 71 cms., 1969

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