Today is the 128th birth anniversary of Guillermo Tolentino, National Artist for Visual Arts (Sculpture).
Guillermo Tolentino was born on July 24, 1890, and passed away on July 12, 1976.
He is a National Artist for Sculpture.
Guillermo Estrella Tolentino is a product of the Revival period in Philippine art.
Returning from Europe (where he was enrolled at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts, Rome) in 1925, he was appointed as a professor at the UP School of Fine Arts where the idea also of executing a monument for national heroes struck him.
The result was the UP Oblation that became the symbol of freedom on the campus.
Acknowledged as his masterpiece and completed in 1933, The Bonifacio Monument in Caloocan stands as an enduring symbol of the Filipinos’ cry for freedom. (NCCA)
The Order of National Artist is the highest national recognition given to Filipino individuals who have made significant contributions to the development of Philippine Arts.
The Order of National Artists (Orden ng Pambansang Alagad ng Sining) is the highest national recognition given to Filipino individuals who have made significant contributions to the development of Philippine arts; namely, Music, Dance, Theater, Visual Arts, Literature, Film, Broadcast Arts, and Architecture and Allied Arts.
The order is jointly administered by the National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA) and the Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP) and conferred by the President of the Philippines upon recommendation by both institutions.
Some of the privileges of being a national artist such as the National Artist for Visual Arts are the following: Lifetime emolument and material and physical benefits comparable in value to those received by the highest officers of the land such as:
- A minimum cash award of Two Hundred Thousand Pesos (P200,000.00),
net of taxes for living awardees and a minimum cash award of One Hundred
Fifty Thousand Pesos (P150,000.00), net of taxes for posthumous awardees, payable to legal heir/s - A minimum lifetime personal monthly stipend of Thirty Thousand Pesos (P30,000.00)
The above-mentioned privileges shall be given effective January 1, 2013. - Life insurance coverage for Awardees who are still insurable;
- A State Funeral benefit not exceeding P500,000.00.