National Museum loans 4 paintings for 'Liberation of Manila' exhibit
MANILA, Philippines — The Manila American Cemetery and Memorial will host a temporary exhibit to commemorate the 80th anniversary of the Liberation of Manila during World War II.
The "Liberation of Manila: 80 Years of Remembrance through Art" exhibit will run at the cemetery's Visitor Center from February 13 to 25, showcasing select artworks loaned by the National Museum of the Philippines from its Fine Arts Collection.
It is the Visitor Center's first time hosting the exhibit since it newly reopened in 2019, just mere months before the pandemic hit.
The four pieces appearing at the exhibit are Fernando Amorsolo's "Burning of Sto. Domingo Church," Galo Ocampo's "Ruins of the Legislative Building," Diosdado Lorenzo's "Ruins of Sales Street, Quiapo," and Nena Saguil's "Ruined Gate of Fort Santiago."
All four paintings were made during the 1940s, right in the middle and immediate aftermath of World War II.
The U.S. Ambassador to the Philippines MaryKay Carlson was present at the exhibit's opening, where she noted that Manila was the worst-damaged Allied city after Warsaw in Poland.
Related: Art exhibit featuring 9 distinguished masters opens in MOA Square
"Art has the power to transcend time, to give voice to the voiceless, to capture history, not as cold facts but as lived experience," Carlson said. "Art flourishes when there is peace, but freedom comes at a price."
The ambassador added that the four paintings "serve as a visual testament to the past" and "remind us of the shared sacrifices, lives lost, and profound stories that must never be forgotten."
The National Museum's Director-General Jeremy Barns noted the significance of the Battle of Manila's remains, with the subject of Ocampo's painting now the home of the National Museum of Fine Arts.
"The works you see here now are historical visual accounts... some of first-hand," Barns said, pointing out later that Amorsolo must have passed by the old Sto. Domingo Church while it was burning in its original Intramuros location (it now stands in Quezon City).
Barns said the National Museum and the Manila American Cemetery both bear the responsibility of commemorating "the struggles and victory of those who valiantly fought for the Philippines' freedom and its continued brotherhood with the United States."
RELATED: New Parañaque museum turns guests into Picasso paintings
