National Museum: A Place for Forgotten History

If you have the entire day to spend in central Manila, a side trip to the nearby Intramuros walled city sounds like a good plan as well.  National Museum, a cultural heritage of the Filipino people and the natural history of the Philippines – where, works of art, specimens, and cultural and historical artifacts representative are being showcased, is the one of top destinations for primary level educational trips. It is the great place to feed, not only your eyes, but also your mind with the rich culture and history of our country. IT is comprised of two separate buildings stationed along Padre Burgos Avenue, Manila. It went through a major renovation in 2012 so much of the building looks and feels new. 

We really liked how they repainted the building to a lighter hue with an off white facade, which is neat and doesn’t go out of style. A ticket to the museum is priced at PHP 150 only – for the price of a grande Starbucks Frappucino, you can have access to a collection of 1,000+ fine art pieces, stunning archaeological pieces, and over 300,000 specimens of natural history pieces!

The National Art Gallery was originally designed as the public library by Ralph Harrington Doane, which explains the elegantly-decorated hall upon entering the museum.  More than the art and the exhibits, I liked how grand and voguish the edifice of the museum is, which sets the mood with its well-appointed structure, and polished marble aisle and arches. Aside from that, there are a lot of Instagram-worthy spots in the museum as well so you may want to check those out! 

The National Museum is also the home of Spoliarium, a massive painting depicting dying gladiators which is a renowned painting by Filipino artist Juan Luna that won the gold medal at the Madrid Exposición Nacional de Bellas Artes in 1884. 

This is the grand staircase of the old Senate. It is known for pre-nuptial shoots because of the elegant spiral staircase and vintage feel.

Juan Luna's last and unfinished painting, which he was working on before he died due to heart attack.

This is the Parisian life which is the last major artwork of Juan Luna. Different from the dark color of the academic palette, he used lighter colors and mood in this piece. A scene in a coffee shop in Paris with a lady - a prostitute and three men in their European Grabs, they were Juan Luna himself, Jose Rizal and Ariston Bautista Lin.

 

 

The museum is huge indeed. and 3 hours was not enough for us to visit the other building, where the artifacts and other historical pieces are placed. After this exploring the museum, we may say that we will come back there because it is not only educational but also entertaining. Of course, this is place where we can reminisce our history and culture so it is advisable for you to visit here.

by: Kate
Images source: Google