by PNA
On December 23, 1895,
Victorio Edades, the so-called “Father of Modern Art in the Philippines†and named National Artist in 1976, was born in Dagupan, Pangasinan.
Edades traveled to the United States and enrolled at the University of Washington in Seattle, taking up architecture and later earned a Master of Fine Arts in Painting.
His desire to paint in modern manner developed after he attended a travel art exhibition in the U.S., featuring modern European artists such as Cezanne, Matisse, Picasso and the Surrealists.
Modernist thought encouraged him to experiment in artistic expression and to present reality as he saw it in his own way.
Hence, when Edades returned to the Philippines in 1928, he conducted a one-man exhibit in Ermita, showing what modern art was all about, with his 30 paintings, including those which won acclaim in America. His Builders is considered a masterpiece.
However, viewers and critics of the Filipino art circle were apparently shocked by what he had learned abroad, and not one painting was sold.
In 1930, Edades became dean of the Department of Architecture, University of Santos Tomas (UST), where he stayed for three full decades.
It was during this time that he introduced a liberal arts program that offered subjects as art history and foreign languages that will lead to a Bachelor's degree in Fine Arts.
This development brought about a first in Philippine education since art schools then were mostly vocational schools.
He invited artists Carlos "Botong" Francisco and Galo B. Ocampo to become professors for the university. The three of them, who would later be known as the formidable "Triumvirate," led the growth of mural painting in the country.
Among Edades' major works were: The Sketch, National Museum Collection, 1928; The Builders, 1928; Cultural Center of the Philippines Collection, 1928; Interaction, with Carlos V. Francisco and Galo B. Ocampo, 1935; Demoiselles Davao, 1976; Kasaysayan, a mural for a Manila bank, 1979.
His other achievements included: Pro Patria Award during the Rizal Centennial Celebration in 1961; Araw ng Maynila Award in Painting in 1964; National Artist Award in Painting in 1976; degree of Doctor of Fine Arts, honoris causa in UST, 1977.
He died on March 7, 1985 at the age of 89.
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