20/07/2026
To remember a cornerstone of modern Philippine sculpture, we look back at an early work by Napoleon Abueva , Rice Planters, which he sculpted in 1952 when he was only 22 years old.
Carved from native santol wood, the sculpture stands 143 cm (4’8.3”) tall. It depicts two farmers in synchronized bending posture forming an almost contorted arch, with their salakot and taut musculature rendered in classical precision. Abueva reveals the material’s own relationship to his subject by letting the wood’s grain and lines trace the farmer’s garments and arching motion. Rice Planters offers an accurate visual representation of the drudgery that is required of the peasantry to produce food for wide consumption. Unlike the often idyllic representation of the peasantry during that time, Abueva avoided a romanticized and individualized image of a farmer and chose to depict national modern aspirations by highlighting agricultural labor in all its honesty.
Considered the Father of Modern Philippine Sculpture, Napoleon Abueva was awarded as National Artist in 1976 at the age of 46, the youngest to have been given the honor. Known to utilize various kinds of hardwood, from molave to bamboo, and other materials like adobe, metal and brass, Abueva helped shape local sculptural practices to what it is now. A close acquaintance to the Kalaw-Ledesma family, he once housed his studio in a property in Quezon City developed by the family in the 1970s.
While Abueva would revisit Rice Planters years after, creating iterations in bronze, the 1952 santol wood version remains as the earliest expression of his early vision. The then-22-year-old Napoleon Abueva vividly captured the essence of Filipino peasant labor, agile yet unyielding.
This post was prepared by KLFI Intern, Sarrah Ann Alejaga.
About the artwork: Napoleon Abueva. Rice Planters. 1952. KLFI Collection.
References:
BusinessWorld. (2018, February 28). CCP to honor National Artist Napoleon Abueva.
BusinessWorld Online.
https://www.bworldonline.com/editors-picks/2018/02/28/137562/ccp-honor-national-artist-napoleon-abueva/
National Commission for Culture and the Arts. (n.d.). Napoleon Abueva. In National artists for visual arts. Retrieved May 25, 2026, from https://web.archive.org/web/20051226023253/http://www.ncca.gov.ph/culture&arts/profile/natlartists/visual-arts/abueva.htm
Salcedo Auctions. (n.d.). Napoleon Abueva [Auction listing]. https://members.salcedoauctions.com/item/14933
