Women in Philippine art

Women in Philippine art is the many forms of art in the Philippines that utilizes women in the Philippines and even women from other parts of the world as the main subject depending on the purpose of the Filipino artist. The portrayal of women in the visual arts depend on the context on how Philippine society perceives women and their roles in human communities, such as their own.

In the field of painting, Filipino visual artists depicted women in their painting as women who are influential and with authority, women who are engaged in domestic activities, and women who are shown to be under the control of influential men in the Philippines or foreign men.

In painting the faces and figures of Filipino women, Philippine National Artist Fernando Amorsolo (1892-1972) was able to develop his own template on how to paint and create Filipino women in his art: women with rounded faces but not oval, with "exceptionally lively eyes" (not dreamy or sleepy), with "firm and strongly marked" noses (not blunt in form), with clear skin and fresh color, not necessarily of white complexion nor of dark brown Malayan color. Amorsolo painted Filipino women that is similar to the stature of a "blushing" girl.

In contrast, Filipino painter, sculptor, ilustrado, propagandist, political activist and revolutionary hero Juan Luna (1857–1899) painted women in a different light. In his painting known as España y Filipinas ("Spain and the Philippines", 1886), Luna used symbolism and allegory by rendering a taller and strong-shouldered maternal Spaniard woman (representing Spain and colonialism) guiding a shorter, graceful and "humbly dressed" Filipino woman (representing the Philippines) towards the way to progress.

Prolific in his career as a painter, Luna produced scenes that depict Philippine and European life. Luna's portrayal of European women can be seen in his Las Damas Romanas (Roman Women, 1882), the Odalisque (1885), La Madrileña (The Woman from Madrid, c. 1880s), En el Balcon (At the Balcony, 1884), Picnic in Normany (c. 1880s), The Parisian Life (1892), Despues del Baile (After the Dance, c. 1880s), Street Flower Vendor (c. 1880s), Ensueños de Amor (Dreams of Love, c. 1890s), Mi Novia (My Girlfriend) and La Marquesa de Monte Bolivar (The Marchioness of Monte Olivar, 1881). Luna's depiction of Filipino women can be viewed in Tampuhan (1895), La Bulaqueña (The Woman from Bulacan, 1895), Nena y Tinita (Nena and Tinita, c. 1880s). Luna also painted a scene depicting Egyptian women in his La Muerte de Cleopatra (The Death of Cleopatra, 1881).

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