Princess Urduja, Fernando Amorsolo (1892 - 1972, National Artist for Visual Arts), 1959, oil on canvas, 61 x 87 cm.
According to Yuchengco Museum, "Amorsolo's Princess Urduja is a historical fantasy: the beautiful princess—dressed in a helmet, a rather revealing vest, and a red tapis—sits on a raised platform as she addresses a throng of warriors brandishing spears. Behind her is a clump of lush bamboo and, beyond that, a mountain range in the distance. Without any strong historical or archaeological evidence for Urduja's 14th century kingdom, the artist would have created all the costumes and weapons in painting, as well as the context of the gathering, from his imagination."
I am sure Amorsolo created this image guided by his own reading of the period and accounts on Princess Urduja that he had the chance to read on. However, I do not know where he got the idea of a helmet, a vest and a tapis.
Although I would imagine certain types of covering for the body, I would imagine it to be a practical one, as befits a warrior. I would imagine a woman warrior to cover her breasts with something impenetrable, to cover her heart from being hit. The helmet must cover the entire head, with only the eyes exposed. I would not have her wearing a tapis! Besides, if I exposed her breasts, why am I covering her with a tapis? To protect her legs?
The way she is sitting on whatever she is propped on (a horse?), looks like she was coached for a beauty pageant, or taught by Ms. Manners instead of going to war. In this painting, she appears like she is poised to lead the singing of the National Anthem, ready to be killed ("mamatay ng dahil sa iyo") than exhibiting resolve to kill her opponents, as recorded by Ibn Batuta.
According to Yuchengco Museum, "Amorsolo's Princess Urduja is a historical fantasy: the beautiful princess—dressed in a helmet, a rather revealing vest, and a red tapis—sits on a raised platform as she addresses a throng of warriors brandishing spears. Behind her is a clump of lush bamboo and, beyond that, a mountain range in the distance. Without any strong historical or archaeological evidence for Urduja's 14th century kingdom, the artist would have created all the costumes and weapons in painting, as well as the context of the gathering, from his imagination."
I am sure Amorsolo created this image guided by his own reading of the period and accounts on Princess Urduja that he had the chance to read on. However, I do not know where he got the idea of a helmet, a vest and a tapis.
Although I would imagine certain types of covering for the body, I would imagine it to be a practical one, as befits a warrior. I would imagine a woman warrior to cover her breasts with something impenetrable, to cover her heart from being hit. The helmet must cover the entire head, with only the eyes exposed. I would not have her wearing a tapis! Besides, if I exposed her breasts, why am I covering her with a tapis? To protect her legs?
The way she is sitting on whatever she is propped on (a horse?), looks like she was coached for a beauty pageant, or taught by Ms. Manners instead of going to war. In this painting, she appears like she is poised to lead the singing of the National Anthem, ready to be killed ("mamatay ng dahil sa iyo") than exhibiting resolve to kill her opponents, as recorded by Ibn Batuta.
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