Letras y figuras

Letras y figuras means 'letters and figures' in Spanish. It's a special kind of art where letters of the alphabet are painted to look like people, animals, and plants! These paintings were made a long, long time ago in the Philippines.

The letters would spell out a name or a special saying, often for the person who paid for the painting. They used colorful paints called watercolors on a special paper called Manila paper.

The artist who started this amazing art was named José Honorato Lozano. He lived during a time when the Philippines was ruled by Spain. He was inspired by another artist, Damián Domingo, who painted pictures of everyday people and things called 'Tipos del País'.

José Honorato Lozano took those ideas and used them to make letters out of these shapes. The oldest paintings we have are from 1845, which is even older than your grandparents!

These paintings are super special because they are like a secret code! They combine letters, which we use to read, with pictures, which we use to see. It's like a puzzle made of art. They tell us about the past and the people who lived in the Philippines a long time ago. One of José Honorato Lozano's paintings was so valuable that it was sold for a lot of money, starting at £300,000!

Artists like José Honorato Lozano carefully drew and painted each letter. They would imagine what a letter would look like if it was made of a person standing up, or a flower blooming. They used watercolors, which are like the paints you might use in school, but they were very skilled.

They painted on Manila paper, which is a strong and smooth paper made from a plant. Each painting was a unique piece of art, made just for the person who ordered it.