Over the past week, as I was browsing through my Facebook newsfeed, I came across a post from the Lopez Museum and Library about the Free Museum Day last October 15. I am familiar with the museum because we featured the place for an art and culture themed issue of the magazine where I wrote for some years ago.
I did not give the event a second thought and given that the event happened on a weekend, I decided to give it a shot. I am not an expert with art appreciation, however, I simply wanted to explore the place and what I could see there.
The museum houses pieces from maps, books to original paintings of Filipino artists such as Felix Resurreccion Hidalgo and Juan Luna.
While I have never been to the National Museum to see the Spoliarium, I had my first-hand encounter with an original Juan Luna painting during that weekend trip to the Lopez Museum. Of those that I saw, the piece named Spanish Girl caught my attention.
There was also a separate room that housed paintings by Spanish artist Juvenal Sansó. Incidentally, an ongoing exhibit entitled Two Halves of a Whole that featured some of his works was happening on the day I visited.
I was only in the museum for about an hour and a half. But the visit proved to be worth it. It was a refreshing diversion to recharge my mind from a stress-filled week at work. It also became an opportunity for me to be acquainted with the works of some known names in the field of arts given that I have a sibling who is an art enthusiast himself (he even became a semi-finalist in a collegiate art competition) and simply because I reside in a place dubbed as the Art Capital of the Philippines.
Lopez Museum and Library is located at the ground floor of Benpres Building Exchange Road corner Meralco Avenue in Ortigas Pasig City and is open Monday to Saturday from 8 am to 5 pm.
