PROPERTY FROM THE COLLECTION OF A DISTINGUISHED FAMILY
Fort Santiago
signed and dated 1974 (lower right)
oil on canvas
34" x 35 1/4" (86 cm x 90 cm)






In 1974, Ibarra dela Rosa started his Fort Santiago series. Among the founding members of the Dimasalang Group of Artists who had promoted impressionism and figurative art during the height of modern art in the late 1960s through the 1970s, it only goes to show that this series (and the Intramuros series he began a year before) was characterized by vivid sensuous colors and Fauvist art style of strong colors and fierce brush strokes. This particular Fort Santiago, also created in 1974, heavily emphasized Dela Rosa’s whimsical color palette. He depicts the ruined walls of Fort Santiago not as the dilapidated structure it was left in after centuries of wear and tear but in shades of light pastel blue and pink that denote lively modern architecture. The artist's orchestration of color and the composition of the piece gives the work a vibrant, almost spring-like quality. Gone are the rundown walls of Fort Santiago; in its place are these bright-colored walls done in the Fauvist fashion, breathing in new life to the otherwise familiar place and transforming it into a dreamlike scenery. The brilliance that permeates his oeuvre remains the same throughout the years. He maintained much acclaim throughout his career, acquiring many followers and buyers in his lifetime. Two years before the creation of Fort Santiago, Dela Rosa was conferred the highly coveted Thirteen Artists Award from the Cultural Center of the Philippines. (Hannah Valiente)