by P.
B. Robosa
A reader of this blog from Amsterdam, Peter Praggs, who studies flags, insists that I've got to make some modifications on my painting below. He writes " not only was the sun depicted with a mythological face but also the stars, and why is the Blue field on top if it was a time of war". I must disagree.
A reader of this blog from Amsterdam, Peter Praggs, who studies flags, insists that I've got to make some modifications on my painting below. He writes " not only was the sun depicted with a mythological face but also the stars, and why is the Blue field on top if it was a time of war". I must disagree.
First,
the painting is an interpretation of an event based on eyewitness accounts and
the only part of the account I reconstructed is that it shows the dead and
wounded being carried from the battle field on carabao drawn sleds and these
casualties are being replaced from the rear, their comrades taking up the
rifles where they fell and firing away. there was no mention of flags but by
the gallant way the Bikolanos opened the fight and by military practice this is
not impossible.
Second,
from the accounts of the Americans, the flag captured is usually a personal
battle standard, the Philippine flag was at its infancy and no rules was laid
out as to its dimensions, size of the fields and proper color, but I depicted
the Philippine flag from what I know from Aguinaldo's instruction, which was in
use in the Bicol Region already at this time. someone did told me of the
mythological faces on the stars, but I need to look into this.
Third,
the practice of putting the Red field on top in times of war was suggested to
Pres. Quezon when he laid out the practice of using the "Official
Philippine Flag" in 1919. Although some historians who favor Aguinaldo,
now insists that at the Battle of Alapan in 1898, the flag was carried into
battle with the red field on top.
All these
fascinates about history, its in the past but you do not run out of interesting
things.
1 comment:
Artists are judged on their originality, the way they think at what they paint and what they see and visualize in their dreams, actual and factual scenes they depict in their paintings. What you painted was based on the actual happenings at the moment of chaoes and violence of war that nobody thought of which side and color to be raised at the moment of triumph over defeat.
When the American flag was raised by the soldiers and marines after the battle of Iwojima they did not raise the red color of the flag but the American star and stripes flag. So, you are correct in your depiction of the battle of Agdangan.
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