CONTEMPORARY ARTS

    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 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 at 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. Guillermo Tolentino returned home in 1923, then he opened his own studio in Manila.

​

    In 1926, he was appointed as instructor for sculpture in School of Fine Arts in University of the Philippines. He won the design and commissioning of "The Bonifacio Monument" in 1930 and finish its installation in 1933. The "Oblation" was made the same time with "Bonifacio Monument".

​

   After that UP President Rafael Palma commissioned the "Oblation" in UP Manila and later transfer to UP Diliman. Later part of his service, he was appointed as Director for School of Fine Arts and in 1955 after resignation he was named as Professor Emeritus.

  He obtained also Sculptor of the Year from Philippine Institute of Architecs. He received various awards and citations such as UNESCO Cultural Award in Sculpture in 1959, Araw ng Maynila Award in Sculpture in 1963, Republic Cultural Heritage Award in 1967, President's Medal of Merit in 1973, Diwa ng Lahi Award in 1972, and National Artist Award in 1973.