Domingo, Damián approximately 1795-approximately 1832

Philippine painter from the first third of the 19th century, known as the "Father of Filipino painting."

Domingo was born around 1795, either in Spain to Spanish parents, or in the Manila suburb of Tondo to a Filipina mother and a Spanish father. As a renowned and gifted portrait artist and miniaturist with a photographic eye, Domingo ran a private art school in Tondo which was later incorporated into the Academia del Dibujo by the Real Sociedad Económica. During Domingo's tenure at the Academy--he was appointed professor in 1826, and became director in 1827--he supported racial equality in the arts by establishing an unbiased admissions procedure, and instituting examinations to judge the ability of the students. Domingo's early death around 1832, possibly from tuberculosis, was a tragic loss to the growing art movement in the Philippines at that time. Extant works include three small oil paintings on religious themes, and three albums of watercolors.

From the description of Colección de trages de Manila tanto antiguos como modernos, de toda clase de yndias [graphic] / dispuesta por D. Rafael Daniel Babon y dibujado p[o]r D. Damián Domingo, director de la Academia de Dibujo de la R[ea]l Sociedad de Man[il]a. [between 1827 and 1832] (Newberry Library). WorldCat record id: 37298978