GSIS Museum in Pasay City is more of a by product of this government agency, its acronym GSIS (Government Service Insurance System.) It was mentioned in the complimentary tourist guidebook picked up immediately after clearing Immigration at Manila International Airport. We arrived here by taxi as there's no jeepney nor bus service directly to this site, just tell the driver Pasay City, GSIS Museum.We checked any bags at the counter, no photography nor video allowed. Here, hung are art competitions from the most recent, and past competitions, sponsoring professional and student categories, aspiring future Philippine artists, Philippine artists of the past and present Fernando Amorsolo and Carlos 'Botong' Francisco, Federico Alcuaz, Vicente Manasala and Hernando Ocampo, including a most controversial painting Juan Luna's "Interior of a Café," acquired by the Philippine government for PHP6 million. The lights were turned on when we went to look at its various collections. Apparently, they don't receive a lot of visitors or they conserve on the electricity when there's no audience. Let a staff member know you wish a taxi before departing, they'll call one for you, which came in 5-10 minutes. Open Tuesday-Saturday 8am-12pm, 1pm-4:30pm. Free admission.
The Parisian Life, also known as Interior d'un Cafi (also spelled Interior d’Un Café,[1] literally meaning "Inside a Café"), is an 1892 oil on canvasimpressionist[2] painting by Filipino painter and revolutionary activist Juan Luna.[
Historical background
Measuring 57 cm x 79 cm (22 in x 31 in),[3] The Parisian Life is one of the masterpieces that Luna created when he stayed in Paris, France from October 1884 to February 1893. His own personal “Parisian life” was a total of eight years. This period in Luna’s career in painting is known as the post-academic or the Parisian period, a time when his style moved away from having “dark colors of the academic palette” and became “increasingly lighter in color and mood”. As an artist, Luna became renowned on the European continent and became “a familiar of the French and Spanish royal courts”. During the period, apart from his heightening artistry Luna was also participating in the Philippine propaganda movement together with José Rizal, the national hero of the Philippines. Months after painting The Parisian Life, Luna would be departing from Paris to Madrid, Spain then to the Manila, Philippines in 1894 in order to rejoin Rizal and Dr. Ariston Bautista Lin, and perform his role in the Philippine Revolution and war ofindependence in 1896.[3]
During this time, Luna also had to deal with the death of an infant daughter and the alleged extra-marital affair of his wife Paz Pardo de Tavera with a French physician. Because of jealousy, Luna killed his wife and his mother-in-law. Luna also attempted to kill his brother-in-law. A French court charged Luna for committing a "crime of passion"[2] but was acquitted of parricide and murder on February 7, 1893.
The Parisian Life is regarded as the last major work Luna did during his post-academic and life in Paris because from 1894 Luna travelled frequently that he was only able to paint a few number of landscapes in the Philippines. When Luna returned to France in 1898, he was an appointed member of the delegation in Paris representing the Philippine revolutionary government tasked to work for the diplomatic recognition of the Philippines as an independent Republic. In 1899, Luna died in Hong Kong while on the way back to the Philippines.
REPRESENTATIONAL AND NON REPRESENTATIONAL
1st Prize - P 300,000.00
2nd Prize - P 200,000.00
3rd Prize - P 100,000.00
Five Honorable mentions - P 20,000.00 each
SCULPTURE
1st Prize - P 200,000.00
2nd Prize - P 150,000.00
3rd Prize - P 100,000.00
ALL PRIZES ARE SUBJECT TO 20% TAX PER GOVERNMENT RULING
You Can Also See There The Big Sculpture Of Our National Hero
"Dr. Jose P. Rizal"
