La barca de Aqueronte
Encyclopedia
La barca de Aqueronte, translated in English as The Boat of Charon or Charon’s Boat, is an 1887 oil on canvas
and allegorical
painting by award-winning Filipino painter Félix Resurrección Hidalgo
. The work was a gold medalist during the Exposicion General de las Filipinas (International Philippine Exposition) in Madrid. In 1889, an international jury made the painting a silver medalist during the Paris Exposition, a distinct recognition that no other Filipino painter had achieved at the major art arena in Paris. The painting also won other awards such as a diploma of honor from the 1891 Exposicion General de Bellas Artes in Barcelona, a gold medal prize at the 1893 Madrid Exposicion Internacional de Bellas Artes during the 400th Anniversary of the Discovery of America. The Government of Spain bought the work of art through a royal decree for the amount of 7,500 peseta
s on March 7, 1893. After displaying the artwork at the Museo-Biblioteca de Ultramar (Ultramar Library Museum) and at the Museo de Arte Moderno., La barca de Aqueronte is currently placed at Madrid’s Museo Nacional de Pintura (National Museum of Paintings), after the Philippines
became a United States territory in 1898. A smaller study of the same painting is at the Hidalgo Hall of the Lopez Museum in the Philippines.
La barca de Aqueronte became Hidalgo's most awarded work of art. By winning in international exhibitions through La barca de Aqueronte and his other paintings Las Virgenes Cristianas Expuestas al Populacho
and Adios del Sol
during the last quarter of the nineteenth century, Hidalgo's “mark of having arrived as a painter” and his place in Philippine Art, history of Philippine Art, and the “popular mind” became secured. Hidalgo was also a recipient of the 1889 Chevalier de la Légion d'honneur.
-style painting based by Hidalgo on his reading of Dante’s Inferno while in Italy
. It is Hidalgo’s interpretation of damned souls journeying across the River Acheron towards the gates of hell or Hades
. The protagonist of the painting is the boatman of classical mythology named Charon
, who is depicted as the personification of the merciless harvester of condemned souls with "eyes of coal" glaring forebodingly from the shadows at the boarding commuters. Charon is presented at the right side of the canvas as a lone figure with a shroud. He was positioned in opposition to a red-colored sky. Charon’s facade is forbidding and obscured in the shadows and his oar
is glinting like the rapier
of a slayer. An offset on the left side of the image is the “diagonal disturbance” composed of plummeting and helpless unclothed bodies heading into Charon’s water vessel. The “diagonal movement” on the left-side of the painting is described to be subdued shades of pink and blue in “strong tension” with the right side of the work of art. This portion of the painting is the steady “solitary form” in black color going against the shimmering red backdrop. Measuring 80.65 cm x 108.59 cm, La barca de Aqueronte is a "companion piece" to Hidalgo’s other painting, La Laguna Estigia
(The River Styx).
style. On the same year, José Rizal
, key leader of the Propaganda Movement
, published the novel Noli Me Tangere
.
Oil on Canvas
Oil on Canvas is a live album by the British band Japan, released in 1983 by Virgin Records. Although it is a live recording of their established material, the album also contains three new studio tracks , recorded separately by Sylvian, Sylvian/Jansen and Barbieri respectively...
and allegorical
Allegory
Allegory is a demonstrative form of representation explaining meaning other than the words that are spoken. Allegory communicates its message by means of symbolic figures, actions or symbolic representation...
painting by award-winning Filipino painter Félix Resurrección Hidalgo
Felix Resurreccion Hidalgo
Félix Resurrección Hidalgo y Padilla was a Filipino artist. He is acknowledged as one of the great Filipino painters of the late 19th century, and is significant in Philippine history for having been an acquaintance and inspiration for members of the Philippine reform movement which included José...
. The work was a gold medalist during the Exposicion General de las Filipinas (International Philippine Exposition) in Madrid. In 1889, an international jury made the painting a silver medalist during the Paris Exposition, a distinct recognition that no other Filipino painter had achieved at the major art arena in Paris. The painting also won other awards such as a diploma of honor from the 1891 Exposicion General de Bellas Artes in Barcelona, a gold medal prize at the 1893 Madrid Exposicion Internacional de Bellas Artes during the 400th Anniversary of the Discovery of America. The Government of Spain bought the work of art through a royal decree for the amount of 7,500 peseta
Spanish peseta
The peseta was the currency of Spain between 1869 and 2002. Along with the French franc, it was also a de facto currency used in Andorra .- Etymology :...
s on March 7, 1893. After displaying the artwork at the Museo-Biblioteca de Ultramar (Ultramar Library Museum) and at the Museo de Arte Moderno., La barca de Aqueronte is currently placed at Madrid’s Museo Nacional de Pintura (National Museum of Paintings), after the Philippines
Philippines
The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...
became a United States territory in 1898. A smaller study of the same painting is at the Hidalgo Hall of the Lopez Museum in the Philippines.
La barca de Aqueronte became Hidalgo's most awarded work of art. By winning in international exhibitions through La barca de Aqueronte and his other paintings Las Virgenes Cristianas Expuestas al Populacho
Las Virgenes Cristianas Expuestas al Populacho
Las Virgenes Cristianas Expuestas al Populacho or The Christian Virgins Exposed to the Populace is a famous 1884 history painting by Filipino painter, reformist, and propagandist Félix Resurrección Hidalgo...
and Adios del Sol
Adios del Sol
Adios del Sol or Adios al Sol is an 1893 historical painting by award-winning Filipino painter and hero Félix Resurrección Hidalgo. The painting won Hidalgo a silver medal during the 1893 Chicago Universal Exposition in the United States...
during the last quarter of the nineteenth century, Hidalgo's “mark of having arrived as a painter” and his place in Philippine Art, history of Philippine Art, and the “popular mind” became secured. Hidalgo was also a recipient of the 1889 Chevalier de la Légion d'honneur.
Description
La Barca de Aqueronte is a NeoclassicNeoclassicism
Neoclassicism is the name given to Western movements in the decorative and visual arts, literature, theatre, music, and architecture that draw inspiration from the "classical" art and culture of Ancient Greece or Ancient Rome...
-style painting based by Hidalgo on his reading of Dante’s Inferno while in Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
. It is Hidalgo’s interpretation of damned souls journeying across the River Acheron towards the gates of hell or Hades
Hades
Hades , Hadēs, originally , Haidēs or , Aidēs , meaning "the unseen") was the ancient Greek god of the underworld. The genitive , Haidou, was an elision to denote locality: "[the house/dominion] of Hades". Eventually, the nominative came to designate the abode of the dead.In Greek mythology, Hades...
. The protagonist of the painting is the boatman of classical mythology named Charon
Charon (mythology)
In Greek mythology, Charon or Kharon is the ferryman of Hades who carries souls of the newly deceased across the rivers Styx and Acheron that divided the world of the living from the world of the dead. A coin to pay Charon for passage, usually an obolus or danake, was sometimes placed in or on...
, who is depicted as the personification of the merciless harvester of condemned souls with "eyes of coal" glaring forebodingly from the shadows at the boarding commuters. Charon is presented at the right side of the canvas as a lone figure with a shroud. He was positioned in opposition to a red-colored sky. Charon’s facade is forbidding and obscured in the shadows and his oar
Oar
An oar is an implement used for water-borne propulsion. Oars have a flat blade at one end. Oarsmen grasp the oar at the other end. The difference between oars and paddles are that paddles are held by the paddler, and are not connected with the vessel. Oars generally are connected to the vessel by...
is glinting like the rapier
Rapier
A rapier is a slender, sharply pointed sword, ideally used for thrusting attacks, used mainly in Early Modern Europe during the 16th and 17th centuries.-Description:...
of a slayer. An offset on the left side of the image is the “diagonal disturbance” composed of plummeting and helpless unclothed bodies heading into Charon’s water vessel. The “diagonal movement” on the left-side of the painting is described to be subdued shades of pink and blue in “strong tension” with the right side of the work of art. This portion of the painting is the steady “solitary form” in black color going against the shimmering red backdrop. Measuring 80.65 cm x 108.59 cm, La barca de Aqueronte is a "companion piece" to Hidalgo’s other painting, La Laguna Estigia
La Laguna Estigia
La Laguna Estigia , also known simply as Laguna Estigia, is an 1887 Greco-Roman painting by Filipino painter Félix Resurrección Hidalgo. It is a companion-piece for Hidalgo’s other painting entitled La barca de Aqueronte...
(The River Styx).
Historical background
Hidalgo finished La barca de Aqueronte in 1887 when he was thirty-four years old. Hidalgo made charcoal studies of Charon that are representative of the divine and nude Greco-Roman heroes molded in the RenaissanceRenaissance
The Renaissance was a cultural movement that spanned roughly the 14th to the 17th century, beginning in Italy in the Late Middle Ages and later spreading to the rest of Europe. The term is also used more loosely to refer to the historical era, but since the changes of the Renaissance were not...
style. On the same year, José Rizal
José Rizal
José Protacio Rizal Mercado y Alonso Realonda , was a Filipino polymath, patriot and the most prominent advocate for reform in the Philippines during the Spanish colonial era. He is regarded as the foremost Filipino patriot and is listed as one of the national heroes of the Philippines by...
, key leader of the Propaganda Movement
Propaganda Movement
The Propaganda Movement was a literary and cultural organization formed in 1872 by Filipino émigrés who had settled in Europe. Composed of Filipino liberals exiled in 1872 and students attending Europe's universities, the organization aimed to increase Spanish awareness of the needs of its colony,...
, published the novel Noli Me Tangere
Noli Me Tangere (novel)
Noli Me Tangere is a novel by Filipino polymath José Rizal and first published in 1887 in Berlin, Germany. Early English translations used titles like An Eagle Flight and The Social Cancer, but more recent translations have been published using the original Latin title.Though originally written in...
.
External links
- Image of La barca de Aqueronte from the Lopez Museum and Library, Philippines