Few may know it, but national hero and 'Renaissance Man' Jose Rizal was also an accomplished sculptor.
It was believed that he produced more than 50 sculptures, but only 18 are identified.
JOSE Rizal was not just a prominent writer or thinker of his time. He is not just a brainiac whose mind sparked the Katipunan and the Philippine Revolution. In his spare time, he was also a sculptor.
This fact can be seen in Celestino Palma III and José Maria Cariño’s book entitled “José Rizal: Sculptor”, which is sponsored by the Department of Foreign Affairs.
In this book, Rizal’s artistic life will be uncovered.
Rizal started carving when he was five years old and he upgraded his skills as a sculptor as he grew up. He enrolled at the Academia de Dibujo y Pintura and trained at the shop of Romualdo de Jesus in Manila.
In Europe, Rizal put his sculpture of his friend Félix Resurrección Hidalgo at the Salon de Paris.
It was believed that he produced more than 50 sculptures, but only 18 are identified.
Among his artistic sculptures are “Prometheus Bound” which was based on the Greek tragedy of Prometheus, “Mother’s Revenge” which is a sculpture of a mother dog killing a crocodile that ate her pup, “The Triumph of Death Over Life” which is of a woman held by Death, “The Triumph of Science Over Death” which shows a woman holding a torch and standing on top of a skull, and more.
A controversial piece is the self-portrait of 18-year-old Rizal that was discovered just in 2014. Made of baticuling wood, the piece garnered speculations that it might not have been Rizal who carved it. However, after much research, experts finally decided that it was, indeed, Rizal’s work.
When he was exiled in Dapitan, he turned to art. He created around 30 sculptures and carvings using clay, plaster of paris, and baticuling wood.
Thus, the book claims that Rizal is a “master sculptor”.
This is important because his and other past artists’ legacies are what sparks the fire of Paete, which is Laguna’s most sculpture-inclined town.
Sculpture is a huge part of the art scene of Paete, and it contributes a lot to the Philippines’ cultural identity as a hub for master sculptors with talents as grand as Rizal’s. (EFO)
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