MINIATURES

My lecture about Cenon Rivera  February 28 2025, during Pasig Art Festival, I delivered a lecture titled "Concepts of Western Art and Their Influence on Pasig's Artistic and Cultural Landscape," where I highlighted Cenon Rivera as one of Pasig's most influential artists. Cenon Rivera was a multifaceted disciple of art —a painter, printmaker, stained glass artist, mosaic maker, and sculptor. His son, Noel Rivera, former Executive Director of the Pasig City Museum, also described him as a poet. Cenon Rivera introduced himself to the Philippine art scene with his modernist style, a direction that was expected given his artistic background. Rivera was the most prominent student of Victorio Edades, the Father of Modern Philippine Painting. After Edades' passing, Rivera was widely regarded as his successor, taking on the mantle of leadership in the country’s modern art movement. Born and raised in Hagonoy, Bulacan, Cenon Rivera studied at the University of Santo Tomas (...

  On Johannes Nordmann (1820-1887) Who was Johannes Nordmann? -- He was an Austrian writer and journalist. For some time now, Nordmann has been slowly making his way into Filipino awareness and narratives, mainly due to his interaction with our national hero, José Rizal. Last year, Austrian professor Johann Stockinger stumbled upon a letter addressed to Nordmann with an odd name. Examining the handwriting, content, and, above all, the signature, Stockinger—one of the foremost Rizal scholars in Europe—realized it was a case of mislabeling. The letter was, of course, from Rizal, and its contents confirmed it beyond doubt. During his European tour before returning to the Philippines, Rizal visited Vienna from May 20 to 25, 1887. He was accompanied by his friend Dr. Maximo Viola, and they carried letters of introduction to prominent scholars in Vienna at the time. Who wrote these letters? None other than Ferdinand Blumentritt. Incidentally, Rizal and Viola had been with the Blumentri...