Women in Philippine art

[2] In contrast, Filipino painter, sculptor, ilustrado, propagandist, political activist and revolutionary hero Juan Luna (1857–1899) painted women in a different light.

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).

Félix Resurrección Hidalgo (1855-1913), one of the great Filipino painters of the late 19th century, has his fair share of artistic contribution in painting historical female characters through the visual arts during his time.

[6] Presented in the masterpiece were two almost nude female slaves (symbolizing Filipino women),[5] helpless and stripped of dignity, being auctioned to boorish and sexually-hungry Roman male onlookers.

His clay sculpture known as The Triumph of Science over Death (also known as Scientia, 1890) was a rendering of a naked and young woman with overflowing hair standing and trampling a skull while bearing a torch held high.

Rizal's technique of molding women into sculptures involved the rendering of the young female body as a representation of vitality and virtue.