Demetrio Diego, One of the Thirteen Moderns

Demetrio Diego (1909-1988) 

Diego was born in 1909 in Bulacan.  He perfected his art while working as illustrator in several weekly magazines. Diego was noted for his oil painting of rural maidens and for his pencil and charcoal sketches. 
His subjects dealt mostly on rural scenes and folk. 
Diego had to switch to watercolor in later years due to the ill-effects of oil fumes on his eyesight while painting.  Was active in his art even late in his life. An illustrator by profession, Diego made Capas in 1948, a heart-wrenching depiction of Filipino and American soldiers imprisoned by the Japanese at the infamous holding site for prisoners during World War II.

Kulay-Diwa  is a venue for Philippines and Southeast Asian Contemporary Art. Inaugurated on February 7, 1987, Kulay-Diwa, is strategically located within a cluster of communities South of Manila.  It has five independent exhibition areas able to accommodate large-scale works and a garden ideal for programs, performances and sculpture installations.  The goal of the gallery is to discover and promote the works of young, talented but deserving Filipino Artists and to foster cultural interaction and exchanges with the local regions and other countries.

Kulay (Colour)

Diwa  (Spirit, Thought)

The images below are examples of the artist’s work and are not necessarily available. However, if you are interested in any of the artist’s artworks, please let us know through our feedback form and we will get in touch with you as soon as some are available.

Capas by Demetrio Diego, a distinguished painter and former chief artist for the Sunday Times Magazine. It depicts the slow and agonizing death of Filipino prisoners-of-war in a Tarlac internment camp. The prisoner in the center seems to check on his companion’s condition beside him. The act is noble but futile. A man seated at the foot of the bamboo bed is malnourished and ready to die.

Available works:

Demetrio Diego, "Untitled 1", Watercolor, 40 x 30 cms., 1973

Demetrio Diego, "Untitled 2", Watercolor, 40 x 30 cms., 1973 

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