Vicente Silva Manansala was a Philippine cubist

Cubism

Cubism was a 20th century avant-garde art movement, pioneered by Pablo Picasso and Georges Braque, that revolutionized European painting and sculpture, and inspired related movements in music, literature and architecture...

 painter

Painting

Painting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a surface . The application of the medium is commonly applied to the base with a brush but other objects can be used. In art, the term painting describes both the act and the result of the action. However, painting is...

 and illustrator

Illustrator

An Illustrator is a narrative artist who specializes in enhancing writing by providing a visual representation that corresponds to the content of the associated text...

.

Manansala was born in Macabebe, Pampanga

Macabebe, Pampanga

Macabebe is a 2nd class municipality in the province of Pampanga, Philippines. According to the latest census, it has a population of 70,332 people in 12,141 households.-Barangays:Macabebe is politically subdivided into 25 barangays.- History :...

. From 1926 to 1930, he studied at the U.P.

University of the Philippines

The ' is the national university of the Philippines. Founded in 1908 through Act No...

 School of Fine Arts. In 1949, Manansala received a six-month grant by UNESCO

UNESCO

The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations...

 to study at the Ecole de Beaux Arts in Banff

Banff, Alberta

Banff is a town within Banff National Park in Alberta, Canada. It is located in Alberta's Rockies along the Trans-Canada Highway, approximately west of Calgary and east of Lake Louise....

 and Montreal

Montreal

Montreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...

, Canada

Canada

Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

. In 1950, he received a nine-month scholarship to study at the Ecole de Beaux Arts in Paris

Paris

Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...

 by the French government.

Manansala's canvases were described as masterpieces that brought the cultures of the barrio and the city together. His Madonna of the Slums is a portrayal of a mother and child from the countryside who became urban shanty residents once in the city. In his Jeepney

Jeepney

Jeepneys are the most popular means of public transportation in the Philippines. They were originally made from US military jeeps left over from World War II and are known for their flamboyant decoration and crowded seating...

s, Manansala combined the elements of provincial folk culture with the congestion issues of the city.

Manansala developed transparent cubism, wherein the "delicate tones, shapes, and patterns of figure and environment are masterfully superimposed". A fine example of Manansala using this "transparent and translucent" technique is his composition, Kalabaw (Carabao).

Vicente Manansala, a National Artist of the Philippines in Visual Arts, was a direct influence to his fellow Filipino neo-realists: Malang, Angelito Antonio, Norma Belleza and Baldemor. The Honolulu Academy of Arts

Honolulu Academy of Arts

The Honolulu Academy of Arts is an art museum in Honolulu in the state of Hawaii. Since its founding in 1922 by Anna Rice Cooke and opening April 8, 1927, its collections have grown to over 40,000 works of art.-Description:...

, the Lopez Memorial Museum

Lopez Memorial Museum

The Lopez Museum is a Philippine art and history museum and library located in Pasig City, Philippines at the ground floor of the Benpres Building, Exchange Road corner Meralco Avenue, Pasig City.- History :...

 (Manila), the Philippine Center

Philippine Center

The Philippine Center is a building that houses the Philippine Consulate General in New York City. It is located at 556 Fifth Avenue, Manhattan, three blocks south of Rockefeller Plaza and north of the New York Public Library.-History:...

 (New York City) and the Singapore Art Museum

Singapore Art Museum

The Singapore Art Museum contains the national art collection of Singapore. It has a collection of 7,750 pieces of Singaporean and Southeast Asian modern and contemporary art, and has an expanding collection of new Asian and international contemporary art.- History :Officially opened in 1996, it...

 are among the public collections holding work by Vicente Manansala.

Works

• Madonna of the Slums
• Jeepneys
• Kalabaw (Carabao), oil on canvas, 28.5 inches x 38 inches, 1965
• Murals "Stations of the cross " in the Church of the Parish of the Holy Sacrifice
  Parish of the Holy Sacrifice
  The Parish of the Holy Sacrifice, also the Church of the Holy Sacrifice, is a landmark Catholic chapel in the University of the Philippines Diliman. It belongs to the Roman Catholic Diocese of Cubao and its present parish priest is Rev. Fr...
  
  
• Bangkusay Seascape. 1940. Oil on canvas. 14 x 18 inches.
• Pila Pila sa Bigas (Left and Right). 1980. Oil on canvas. 51 x 84 inches.

See also

• Art Collection at the Philippine Center, New York City
  Philippine Center
  The Philippine Center is a building that houses the Philippine Consulate General in New York City. It is located at 556 Fifth Avenue, Manhattan, three blocks south of Rockefeller Plaza and north of the New York Public Library.-History:...