THE UP SEAL

AND

THE OBLATION
Image credit: https://irarenas.wordpress.com/2016/06/23/entry-104/
Image credit: Carcamo, Dennis. (2014). http://www.philstar.com
The oblation : The Artist

Guillermo ESTRELLA Tolentino

Awarded as the National Artist for

Sculpture (1973)

Enrolled at the Royal Academy of Fine

Arts in Rome

Served as a Professor at the UP School

of Fine Arts

Executed monuments for national

heroes

Image credit: http://www.bulacan.gov.ph

The oblation : The Artist

Guillermo ESTRELLA Tolentino

Other works:
The Bonifacio Monument
President Quezon bronze figure
Jose Rizal life-size busts
Ramon Magsaysay marble statue
Granolithics of heroic statues

Designed:
Medals for the Ramon Magsaysay
Award
Seal of the Republic of the Philippines

Image credit: http://www.bulacan.gov.ph

The oblation : The Artwork

Commissioned by UP President Rafael Palma

Anastasio Caedo and Virgilio Raymundo served

as models

Revealed in 1935 at UP Manila

Transported to UP Diliman in February 12, 1949

Located at the Main Library, UP Diliman

The oblation : The Artwork

Measures 4.85 m in height, 2.53 m in width

An example of Beaux-arts

Posed with head thrown back, arms raised to

sides, palms up and feet together

Found at the statues feet is the katakataka

plant

Its pedestal is made of river stones

The oblation : The Artwork

Copies of the original oblation

1. Oblation Plazas Oblation (1958)

-reproduced in Italy

2. Oblation versions by Anastacio Caedo

-3 bronze versions
UPLB, UP Baguio, UP Iloilo
-made by pulling casts from the 1958
version
The oblation : The Artwork

Copies of the original oblation

3. Oblation versions by Mulawin Abueva

-2 concrete versions
UP Underwater Reserve, UP Mindanao

4. Oblation by Fidel Araneta

-not Tolentinos design
-UP College of Cebu
The oblation : The Artworks
Meaning

Oblation means
offering of a gift or sacrifice

Representation of
youth giving ones
self in service to the
nation
The oblation : The Artworks
Meaning

Gesture
symbolizes Judeo-Christian ideal of sacrifice that
mingles with classical idiom of public nude
statuary

Katakataka
symbolizes Filipino people

Pedestal
symbolizes many islands making up the nation

FIG LEAF COVERED GENITALIA

Beaux-arts: rebuke against physical reality for
the sake of academic prudence
The oblation : Significance

Embodies sacrificing oneself for the people and

the country

Symbolizes freedom and activism

Serves as a reminder to Iskos and Iskas of their

role to the nation
The up seal: History

Approved by the Board of Regents at its 77th

meeting on February 25, 1913

An earlier seal was utilized by the University

before 1913, adapted from the coat-of-arms of
the Philippines approved by the Philippine
Commission in 1905
The up seal: Artist

Former UP President Salvador Lopez called for a

change in the UP seal in 1971.

But the Board of Regents moved to defer the

adaptation of the new logo by Galo B. Ocampo.
This means that the U.P. Seal remains to be the
same seal that was approved by the U.P. Board
of Regents in 1913, and which was adapted
from the Philippine Commission 1905 approved
coat-of-arms of the Philippines, whose artist was
not necessarily
indicated
The up seal: Artwork

The winning design by Galo B. Ocampo last

December 1971. It featured an inverted red
triangle in the middle of a green circle. The
position of the triangle suggests the
importance of the masses of our people in
the structure of Philippine society
The up seal: Artwork

The official colored version of

the seal.

The official black and white

version of the seal.
The up seal: Symbolism

Eagle as the dominant object including

the icons of the fields of specialization
faithfully symbolize what the University
aspires forthe highest in the field of
knowledge as well as a commitment to
the nation. (UPDate, Aug.-Sept. 1998)
The up seal: Symbolism

Until the present time, the university takes pride

on the three areas represented in the shield
held by the eagle agriculture, engineering and
science. These fields are which the university
has been known for and still remains to be
Centers of Excellence in the Philippines
approved by the Commission on Higher
Education.

The colored version of the seal represents the

official colors of the University green and
maroon
The up seal: Symbolism

The controversial part of the seal is the

eagle the bird depicted in the logo. Its
wings widespread symbolize the vision of
the University to be a center of academic
freedom. It also represents the UP students
who are trained to offer their lives in the
service of the Filipino people. The logo is
connected with the bald eagle that could be
located in the Great Seal of the President of
the United States.
The up seal: SIGNIFICANCE OF THE
WORK

The U.P. Seal is primarily, a mark for the

Universitys legal and public documents,
communications, and publications. This means
that the U.P. Seal is an important mark of the
University, as it carries out its important
academic tasks.

More than being the official mark of the

university, the seal signifies the aspirations of
the institution and its constituents. It serves as
a reminder to the
Iskolars ng Bayan the purpose of academic life
and what are its contribution to the nation and
in the whole world.
References
Canete, R. R. (2004). Pasyal: Walking around UP Diliman. University of the
Philippines Diliman: Office for Initiatives for Culture and the Arts. pp 15-17.

National Commission for Culture and the Arts. (2015). Guillermo Tolentino.
Retrieved from
http://ncca.gov.ph/about-culture-and-arts/culture-profile/national-artists-of-th
e-philippines/guillermo-tolentino/
on February 7, 2017.

Galo B. Ocampo. Retrieved from http://www.filipiknow.net/university-of-the-

philippines on February 6, 2017.

The U.P. System website. Retrieved from www.up.edu.ph on February 6,

2017.

UPDate, Aug.-Sept. 1998 issue. Retrieved from http: www.upd.edu.ph/UPDate

on February 6, 2017.