Skip to main content

afternoon at the national museum (part 2)

It must be difficult to be a tourist at the Sistine Chapel. One, the masterpieces are so intricate that I'm sure I'd look at the ceiling paintings for a long time. Two, there are so many things to see that I might be overwhelmed by all the artwork. Three, there are huge crowds all the time, surely, since it's a famous destination.

I've never been there; it's still in my bucket list.

The closest that I've been to the gawking-at-the-Sistine-Chapel-ceiling-experience, as of yet, was my visit to one of the National Museum's exhibits: various photographs or paintings of features of ceilings of old churches of Bohol. The way the artwork are displayed reminded me of the Sistine Chapel ceiling. Yes, there are pieces hanging on the walls like normal paintings but there also are pieces that are suspended horizontally near the exhibit area's ceiling.

Alas, I couldn't lie down on the floor; that would just be too weird to the other visitors. I wish that I had a big mirror with me as I started feeling a strain on my neck.

The artwork are of saints and symbols of the Catholic faith as depicted in the different churches. Since I was looking up most of the time, I didn't bother looking at the captions found on blue circular labels stuck on the wooden floor. Actually, I didn't care too much about who or what is featured in the artwork; I was more interested in how the exhibit is presented.

As I entered the area, I felt like I was going inside one of the Spanish-era churches in Ilocos, just like in the summer Hum 2 class I sat at in 2000... half expecting Dr Paul Zafaralla to suddenly pop out of one of the corners.

Paintings in the ceiling. 

Paintings that seemed like statues found in side chapels or in niches along a church's walls. 

Paintings on opposite ends of the exhibit area. 

The only things missing at the time of my visit were the altar, the artwork behind the altar, the candle holders, and the smell of incense... then I'd really feel like I've stumbled into a church inside the museum! 

Congratulations to the team who developed this exhibit! Since the art gallery is closed at the moment, the collection here at the Kisame exhibit somehow made up for the artwork that I missed out on. I just couldn't remember the names of the people involved in it... and I couldn't find the information in the National Museum of the Philippines website.

Want to see these pieces of ceiling art? They're in the fourth floor of the Museum of the Filipino People, if I remember it correctly, just beside the biodiversity exhibit. The National Museum is found along P. Burgos St., Rizal Park, Manila.
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Thank you for dropping by!

Before moving on, please share your thoughts or comments about the post. :)

Thanks again!

Popular posts from this blog

10 things I learned while driving on Marcos Highway to Baguio City

I went on a day trip to the City of Pines, which was around a 700-km drive from my house. I drove  going up there and then from the city to Victoria, Tarlac. After that, my dad took over the driving duties. It was day trip with Tita Ising and Tito Sibing with us. Anyway, this trip was my first time to go to Baguio City with me behind the wheel. As everyone who drives up knows, there are three main routes to Baguio from the lowlands: Kennon Road, which ascends from Rosario, La Union. It was out of my options because it's too dangerous to use that road in the rainy season. The second route is via Naguilian Road, which makes my trip a lot longer because the beginning of the ascent is in Bauang, La Union (further north). The last route, and the one I took, was the Marcos Highway, now known as the Aspiras-Palispis Highway. This 47-km road starts from Agoo, La Union and is touted as the safest route among the three.  As I drove up and then down (on the same day; we were in Bagu
4 comments
Read more

How MALDI-TOF-MS makes mycobacterium diagnosis faster and more accurate

The laboratory I work in has plenty of instruments that help us characterise and identify microorganisms causing diseases in patients. One of my current projects is to validate an instrument called "matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization-time of flight mass spectrometer" (MALDI-TOF-MS) in identifying members of the Mycobacterium  species. Many of these organisms are opportunistic, meaning they only cause illnesses in people whose immune systems are not strong enough to fight infections. Mycobacterium leprae  is known for causing leprosy, but we cannot grow this bacterium in culture media, so we cannot isolate it. Mycobacterium tuberculosis  complex, on the other hand, is a group of several species of Mycobacterium  that causes tuberculosis. Tuberculosis is a disease that killed 1.6 million people in 2021 alone. It is a leading cause of death globally, second only to COVID-19 since the pandemic began. Identifying the Mycobacterium species that has infected a patient is
Post a Comment
Read more

a crash course on traditional Filipino houses

On Dr Jose Rizal's birthday this year, I was back in historic Manila with Ate Bing, Ate Mary , and Manuel . But instead of visiting him, we opted to soak up on Philippine culture. Our first stop: the Cultural Center of the Philippines ' (CCP) Museo ng Kalinangang Pilipino .  Aside from the musical instruments, I noticed the dioramas about Filipino homes. Filipinos living by the sea (the 'sea gypsies', Sama Dilaut or Badjao ) have boathouses; those who live in the mountains, like the Bagobos , have developed interconnected houses in the trees; Filipinos who live along the path of the strongest typhoon winds, such as the Ivatans , have developed houses of thick limestone walls; and people who live in calmer conditions used bamboo and nipa to construct their houses, like the lowlanders and the Agtas . Sama Dilaut 'lepa' and houses on stilts (in the background) Ivatan limestone house nipa hut Ifugao 'fale' Maranao '
Post a Comment
Read more