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Title: Light and Guidance

Medium: Oil on canvas

Year Made: 2015

Artist: Dominic Rubio

Culture where this object or image originated: Filipino culture - specifically Old Manila

Dimensions: 30 x 24 in

In this painting entitled Light And Guidance, a mother and her son are comfortably seated and having a conversation. It seems that the mother is sharing some valuable lessons with her son while the son is intently listening. They are seated in an old, Spanish-inspired house and garbed in traditional Filipino attire. In Filipino culture, we always see parents trying their best to guide and lead their children on the right path and the children respectfully listen and follow. Like Rubio’s other paintings, he highlights the characters with long necks and colors them with contrasting colors to the background. This is to highlight the figures that the people “see themselves” in. Rubio opens the doors of the past where people see themselves in his paintings and also represents the present. He has done this time and time again not only in representing the middle class but of people from all walks of life in his other works.

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Title: The Starry Night

Medium: Oil on Canvas

Year Made: 1889

Artist: Vincent Van Gogh

Culture where this object or image originated: Dutch Post-Impressionist

Dimensions: 74 x 92 cm

Although Vincent Van Gogh was admitted into a mental asylum, he was treated with kindness and understanding, and people figured out that the only way he would survive was if he was given the space to create and paint. As other patients screamed throughout the night, his work ethic and creativity were stronger than ever. He created the Starry Night portraying a tree shooting up into the sky, linking heaven and earth. In the highly charged picture, he would create in paint, something we cannot see or touch, something immaterial. He would use paint to show a sky that is electric. That is how he imagines the night sky to be. The sky Is painted w/ his signature short brush strokes of thick impasto. It is his paint-heavy, stabbing brush strokes, that distinguish Vincent from the other post-impressionists. He spoke of art as a new kind of religion, a way to console people, and The Starry Night reflected these beliefs. Nature for him was a source of the infinite, and the stars had a deep spiritual meaning. Often seen as a mad artist, he was often rational and highly knowledgable about art, however, struggled to understand his place in the world. The asylum had a positive effect on him. Isolation turned out to be food for him and the lack of distractions enabled him to channel all his energy into his work. His paintings are often seen as a descent into madness but his work drove him and energized him. He created the images despite his mental illness, not because of it. Color was his visual vocabulary.  This was a critical time in art as artists are shifting from the narrative to expressing themselves with new ways of seeing. Vincent’s work paved the way for modern art.

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Title: David of Michelangelo

Medium: Carrara marble sculpture

Year Made: 1501-1504

Artist: Michelangelo

Culture where this object or image originated: Italian Renaissance

Dimensions: 5.17 meters tall

Michelangelo’s statue of David personifies the aesthetics of high Renaissance art, the politics of Renaissance Florence, and the technical virtuosity of Greek sculpture. David’s depiction here is far from the typical teenage boy king who slew Goliath. Michelangelo knew he was “ugly” as his broken nose gave him the “look of a beggar” and he was tortured for his appearance and alienated from his own body. Despite this, he spent his life in pursuit of sublime perfection. He sculpted David and ensured that this would be the standard by which male beauty would be judged. Michelangelo had very little marble to work with as other artists have tried to use it and gave it up because they considered it flawed. However, Michelangelo saw an opportunity. The shape of the marble meant that he had to be precise and make no error as there wasn’t enough marble for poses other than the “contrapposto” position. Michelangelo’s depiction of Davis is considered revolutionary. By removing the conventional attributes of the biblical hero, stripping him down both literally and figuratively, Michelangelo removes a simplistic reading of it as just an illustration of the story to give it a broader metaphorical meaning. David is depicted before the battle rather than at the moment of victory. The little details such as David’s eyes, his flexed quads, his pulsing chest, his tense neck, flared nostrils, and his brow furrowed with fear all portray David’s rationality. David’s rock is hidden in his right palm while the slingshot rests on his shoulder and hangs down his back— almost invisible, emphasizing that David’s victory was intellectual. Initially, he was tasked to construct David for it to be placed on the roof of the Cathedral in Florence as the story of David and Goliath represented the city of Florence itself.

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Title: The Great Wave off Kanazawa

Medium: Woodblock print

Year Made: 1831

Artist: Hokusai Katsushika

Culture where this object or image originated: Japan’s Edo period

Dimensions: 25 x 37 cm

A Japanese art developed during the time when Japan closed its borders to foreign lands - art for the people, and this was consumed on an unprecedented scale. This famous woodblock print was made during a time when the world was becoming industrialized, and the Japanese were concerned about foreign invasions. It is one of Hokusai’s works from the “36 views of Mount Fuji.” At first glance, it may seem like a serene and timeless Japan, however, taking a closer look reveals a wave about to engulf three boats of terrified fishermen as Mount Fuji and the shores of Japan are shown to be far off in the distance. This is an image of Japan, fearful that the sea, which has protected its peaceful isolation for so long will become its downfall. Hokusai is the first ukiyo-e artist to utilize landscape as the main focus of these mass-produced images. The “36 views” were Hokusai’s signature: condensing images to their purest form, and placing importance on line and color. Furthermore, although this image is seen as a characteristically Japanese image in the west, it is in fact a hybrid of Japanese and European ideas. Hokusai takes inspiration from low horizons in Dutch landscapes, which gives it an element of dynamism through the waves' movement. The Great Wave was closely tied to the inevitable end of shogun rule, and Japan’s insolation. The image is not of timeless serenity, but of instability and uncertainty.

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Title: Sunday Walk
Medium: Oil On Canvas
Year Made: 2014
Artist: Dominic Rubio
Culture where this object or image originated: Filipino culture - specifically Old Manila
Dimensions: 40 x 30 inches

In this painting, we see a father, mother, and son dressed in their Sunday best. It is presumed that they have already been to church and are now enjoying a leisurely walk. Furthermore, one could assume that the family visited the "pansiteria" place in the background for a bite.  Although not explicitly mentioned, one could infer or imagine what the family did or is doing as Rubio’s paintings depicts a slice of life in Old Manila. While the painting is rather simple, Dominic Rubio is known for his signature characters of ilustrados, ginoos, ginangs, and people from all walks of life highlighted as large and the main focus in his many works. He usually portrays them with elongated necks, and large heads, and will paint them with a golden-hued background which is symbolic of a new dawn. Dr. Cañete, a scholar studying Rubio’s works, identified that one of the main reasons for Rubio’s unprecedented success is his capability to make his collectors and his public “see themselves” through his various works. Despite Rubio painting nostalgic scenes depicting our colonial past, he is also painting the Filipino of today— resilient, hopeful, and grateful for family. While painting the past, Rubio succeeds in opening doors for his audience to see the present.