The Story of Rizal Monument JR BALIGOD

8/19/2019 The Story of Rizal Monument JR BALIGOD

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! More than a century ago, some of the world’s leading sculptors participated in aninternational contest to design and build it.

! United States Philippine Commission Act No. 243, dated September 28, 1901, theRizal monument was approved by the United States President Theodore Roosevelt.

! The act created a committee for raising the budget for the monument to be builtand also required the allocation of land in the Luneta, near where Rizal fell/died

when he was executed by the Spanish soldiers on December 30, 1896.! It also specified that the monument shall have the statue of Rizal and will also serve

as the final resting place of his remains.


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! Paciano Rizal (Rizal’s brother) and Tagalog novelist Pascual Poblete Juan Tuason,Teodoro R. Yangco, Mariano Limjap, Máximo Paterno, Ramón Genato, Tomás G. delRosario, and Ariston Bautista were tasked to hold a design contest for the futuremonument.

! The grand prize winner would be awarded a cash prize of P5,000 and will begranted with the P100,000-contract to build the monument. It was a huge sumduring that time therefore many sculptors including some of the best in Europe

joined the contest.! Forty artists submitted their bozetos (scale models) in 1907 which is the deadline.

Only Ten bozetos made it to the finals.! The judges were non-artists and was headed by an American Governor of the

Philippines Frank Smith.


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! They awarded the P5,000 grand prize to bozeto No. 21 entitled “Al Martir deBagumbayan” designed by the famous Italian sculptor Carlo Nicoli while the jurygave the second prize to bozeto No. 9 entitled “Motto Stella” by the Swiss sculptorRichard Kissling who received a P2,000 cash prize.

! As the first prize winner, Carlo Nicoli was supposed to have been awarded thecontract to build the monument of Rizal. However, for some reason the contract

went instead to second prize winner Richard Kissling


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Carlo Nicoli’s “Al Martir de”

Richard Kissling’s “Motto”


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! Nicoli’s design was, of course more beautiful to look at. No one will ever doubt that it wasdesigned by a master but it also looked very European with all its elaborate designs. ImaginingManila’s Luneta with its grassy fields before, it would have looked totally out of place.

! Kissling’s design which was perhaps well appreciated by the judges because of its starksimplicity.

! Rizal’s posture in the bozeto was very heroic, attired in his usual overcoat and holding a book(represents his novels Noli Me Tángere and El filibusterismo) in his hand, was portrayed as iflooking towards the breaking of dawn after the long troubled night.

! The figures beside him are very strong symbols of a struggling nation’s hope for a better futurethrough progress and education:

- a mother raising her beloved child

- and the reminiscent figures of two young Filipino boys eagerly reading! Of all the entries, it was the only one that approached the embodiment of the very ideals of Rizal

which were family, education, and enlightenment.


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! The obelisk is commonly understood as Rizal’s masonic background while thethree stars stand for Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao.

! The figures at the back of the monument such as

- leaves and a pot, are said to symbolize the Philippines’ naturalresources.

! On the 16 th death anniversary of Dr. Jose Rizal on December 30, 1912, before thecompletion of the monument, the remains of the national hero was transferredthrough a solemn procession from the Ayuntamiento to the Rizal monument.

! A year later on December 30, 1913, the monument was unveiled to the public.


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The perimeter of the monument is guarded continuously by thePhilippine Marine Corps’ Marine Security and Escort group.


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! Luneta comes from the word “lunette” which means crescent moon which is theshape of the park.

! It is located next to Manila’s Intramuros the historic walled city.! Luneta Park has been renamed to Rizal Park in 1913 to pay tribute to Dr. Jose Rizal,

although many Filipinos still call it today as Luneta or Luneta Park.! The Vatican has an area of 44 hectares compared with Rizal Park’s 58 hectares. Rizal

Park or Luneta Park is considered one of the largest urban park in Asia.


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The tallest flagpole in the country is the 150 feet tall “The Independence Flagpole”,located in front of the Rizal Monument in Luneta.


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A forty-foot statue of Lapu-Lapu or the “Statue of the

Sentinel of Freedom” can also be seen at the Teodoro F. Valencia Circle in Rizal Park. The P15-million brassstatue was a gift by the Korean Freedom League asappreciation and to honor the memory of freedom-loving Filipinos who helped during the Korean War inthe early 1950s.


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Kilometer Zero (KM 0), the point of origin for measuring the distance going toprovinces and cities in the country.

Documents

The Story of Rizal Monument JR BALIGOD