History Theatre / APortraitOfTheArtistAsFilipino

* PeriodPiece: At the time it was first written, the play wasn't set in the distant past, less than a decade separating time setting from publication—but the war's wanton destruction to body and soul upended so much of Filipino life, culture and society in such enormous and irreversible ways, that even as early as 1950, it's likely the GenteelInterbellumSetting before 1942 suddenly felt like a very distant and different era altogether.

* AerithAndBob: With all characters being Filipino nationals, all the names are some derivative of Western—primarily either Spanish or English—but there are a mix of names still in use today (Paula, Lorenzo, Tony, Susan, Violet, Elsa, Patsy, Charlie, Pete, Eddie, Cora), and some more outdated names (Candida, Perico, Aristeo, Alvaro—which also double as {{Preppy Name}}s). Some of the names mentioned, while also Western-based, are likely uniquely Filipino nicknames (Bitoy, Pepang, Loleng, Upeng).

* CitadelCity: Intramuros. And yet the tragic ForegoneConclusion is that the walls will do absolutely jack shit to protect the city's colonial splendour from airborne American bombardment and Japanese house-to-house fighting towards the end of UsefulNotes/WorldWarII. [[note]]The citadel walls weren't significantly repaired until TheSeventies at least, and even today a lot of the beautiful old churches and buildings that used to occupy Intramuros have been left as ruins, or have been replaced either by slum areas or by more modern buildings, many of which are nondescript, ill-proportioned, or poorly designed. There are exceptions though—the Ayuntamiento, or old Legislative Hall, was rebuilt with reasonable accuracy after enduring over sixty years as a car park. It now houses the Philippine Bureau of the Treasury.[[/note]]

* ImpoverishedPatrician: The Marasigans, and painfully so. They used to be among the crème de la crème of colonial Filipino society—living in Intramuros and all—but their status will not help them pay the utility bills now.

-->''[[AltumVidetur Contra mundum!]]'' [[labelnote:Translation]]"Defy the world!"[[/labelnote]]

* AltumVidetur: The logical conclusion of the characters' double exposure to Latin via Western Classical education on the one hand, and pre-Vatican II Catholic tradition on the other. A lot of this features in the dialogue as a consequence (just see the page quote).

* ChristianityIsCatholic: And a very old-school, [[AltumVidetur Latin-speaking]], unapologetically Baroque kind of Catholic too. At the time Nick Joaquin finished it, the Second Vatican Council (a.k.a. Vatican II), which simplified, updated and modernised a lot of old Church traditions—most notably, it finally allowed Mass to be said in the vernacular—wouldn't convene yet for another decade (it would commence in TheSixties).

* ShoutOut: To ''Literature/TheAeneid''. The titular portrait, while never meant to be revealed directly, on stage or in its movie versions, is described as depicting Aeneas carrying his decrepit father Anchises on his back as they flee the burning Troy. Don Lorenzo used his own likeness for both father and son—the former based on his current old age, the latter based on himself in his youth.

* FoolishSiblingResponsibleSibling: The Marasigan siblings all think themselves responsible and each other foolish: Manolo and Pepang, who send the money for the upkeep, see their younger sisters as being too sentimental to sell off the house and/or their father's portrait in order to help him, but Candida and Paula at least care for their father, whilst observing their older siblings cannot even be bothered to send ''enough'' money to support him—having splurged the rest on gambling and society events, in the manner of the stereotypical spendthrift Filipino.

** "Interbellum" in the Filipino context may not necessarily refer to the period bracketed by the two World Wars, since the American Philippines saw little direct action in TheGreatWar despite already being a colony then. The earlier war in this case would be the Philippine-American War, which allowed the Americans to colonise the (consequently stillborn) Republic in the first place. No wonder the entire period between (1898–1946) is often summarised and stereotyped as "peacetime". [[note]]A more specific definition of "peacetime" would cover the period between the ''end'' of the Philippine-American War—which was formally over by 1902, but saw hostilities stretching as far as 1910—and the start of WWII in the Pacific, beginning in the Philippines proper with the Japanese arrival in early 1942.[[/note]]

Set in the tragically beautiful, Spanish-colonial [[CitadelCity Walled City of Intramuros]] in the late U.S. colonial era, specifically in [[WorldWarII October 1941]], the play is named for the huge, classically-themed self-portrait by the great artist Don Lorenzo Marasigan [[TheMagnificent el Magnifico]], and the rest of the play revolves around his two youngest, unmarried daughters, Paula and Candida, as they debate whether or not to sell off the painting—and the incomparably grand, OldDarkHouse they live in—to pay their bills and support their father in his old age, with external pressures from all sides usually telling them to do the smart thing and sell them both.

* CitadelCity: Intramuros. And yet the tragic ForegoneConclusion is that the walls will do absolutely jack shit to protect the city's colonial splendour from airborne American bombardment and Japanese house-to-house fighting towards the end of WorldWarII. [[note]]The citadel walls weren't significantly repaired until TheSeventies at least, and even today a lot of the beautiful old churches and buildings that used to occupy Intramuros have been left as ruins, or have been replaced either by slum areas or by more modern buildings, many of which are nondescript, ill-proportioned, or poorly designed. There are exceptions though—the Ayuntamiento, or old Legislative Hall, was rebuilt with reasonable accuracy after enduring over sixty years as a car park. It now houses the Philippine Bureau of the Treasury.[[/note]]

* DuringTheWar: Not the play itself (though it does occur just before the start of the Pacific Theatre of WorldWarII, and by this time the war in Europe ''has'' been ongoing for two years), but when conversing with the Marasigans, Senator Don Perico occasionally rhapsodises about his youth during the Philippine Revolution of the 1890s, in which he and Don Lorenzo fought. (Though it's less talked-about, presumably they also fought in the Philippine-American War, which was the Revolution's sequel.)

* JustBeforeTheEnd: "The end" in this case being WorldWarII, or the Japanese/Pacific side of it, anyway, sparked by the would-be invasion of Pearl Harbour in December 1941—a mere two months after the play's October setting.

* LatinLand: Many Latin Americans would feel quite at home in Intramuros, what with the airy, storm-prone tropical atmosphere, the ancient, heavy fortifications, the GratuitousSpanish, the [[ChristianityIsCatholic old-school Catholicism]] (complete with a penchant for lavish fiestas), and the unequal and hierarchical social structure. Justified since Intramuros was the ''original'' Manila[[note]]well, colonially speaking, it was founded in 1571, but the ''truly original'' Manila was a precolonial rajahnate that existed as far back as [[TheLowMiddleAges the late 1200s]] and was formerly called "Seludong"[[/note]], and in Spanish times it was open only to the highest classes of colonial society, mainly Church leaders, government functionaries (including the Governor-General), military officers, and peninsular Spanish families.

** "Interbellum" in the Filipino context may not necessarily refer to the period bracketed by the two World Wars, since the American Philippines saw little direct action in TheGreatWar despite already being a colony then. The earlier war in this case would be the Philippine-American War, which allowed the Americans to colonise the (consequently stillborn) Republic in the first place. No wonder the entire period between (1898–1946) is often summarised and stereotyped as "peacetime".

* OldDarkHouse: The Marasigan house. Its literal darkness becomes a crucial plot element, since Candida and Paula constantly worry about the electric company[[note]]yes, even back in the 1940s, Meralco was already the sole provider of Manila's electric power—as evidenced by its full name: '''M'''anila '''E'''lectric '''R'''ailroad '''a'''nd '''L'''ighting '''Co'''mpany[[/note]] cutting off their power, since they're several months behind on payments. At one point, when Paula tries the lights and they don't work, she thinks for a second that what she and Candida had feared has come true at last—at least, until Candida looks out the window, and notices the entire Walled City is in darkness, forgetting a practice blackout was scheduled that night.

* CitadelCity: Intramuros. And yet the tragic ForegoneConclusion is that the walls will do absolutely jack shit to protect the city's colonial splendour from airborne American bombardment and Japanese house-to-house fighting towards the end of WorldWarII. [[note]]The citadel walls weren't significantly repaired until TheSeventies at least, and even today a lot of the beautiful old churches and buildings that used to occupy Intramuros have been left as ruins, or have been replaced either by slum areas or by more modern buildings, many of which are nondescript, ill-proportioned, or poorly designed. There are exceptions though—the Ayuntamiento, or old City Hall, was rebuilt with reasonable accuracy after enduring over sixty years as a car park. It now houses the Philippine Bureau of the Treasury.[[/note]]

Contrast ''Literature/WithoutSeeingTheDawn'', a novel by Stevan Javellana that's set in almost exactly the same time period (1941, just before the war), but this time in the Visayan province of Iloilo, and focusing on the other end of the social ladder—namely, rural peasant farming families, many of whom probably worked for landlords very much like the characters in this play.

* ChristianityIsCatholic: And a very old-school, [[AltumVidetur Latin-speaking]], unapologetically Baroque kind of Catholic too. At the time Nick Joaquin finished it, the Second Vatican Council (a.k.a. Vatican II), which simplified, updated and modernised a lot of old Church traditions, wouldn't convene yet for another decade (it would commence in TheSixties).

* PeriodPiece

Compare ''Literature/WithoutSeeingTheDawn'', a novel by Stevan Javellana that's set in almost exactly the same time period (1941, just before the war), but this time in the Visayan province of Iloilo, and focusing on the other end of the social ladder—namely, rural peasant farming families, many of whom probably worked for landlords very much like the characters in this play.

* CitadelCity: Intramuros. And yet the tragic ForegoneConclusion is that the walls will do absolutely jack squat to protect the city's colonial splendour from airborne American bombardment and Japanese house-to-house fighting towards the end of WorldWarII. [[note]]The citadel walls weren't significantly repaired until TheSeventies at least, and even today a lot of the beautiful old churches and buildings that used to occupy Intramuros have been left as ruins, or have been replaced either by slum areas or by more modern buildings, many of which are nondescript, ill-proportioned, or poorly designed. There are exceptions though—the Ayuntamiento, or old City Hall, was rebuilt with reasonable accuracy after enduring over sixty years as a car park. It now houses the Philippine Bureau of the Treasury.[[/note]]

* CitadelCity: Intramuros. And yet the tragic ForegoneConclusion is that the walls will do absolutely jack squat to protect the city's colonial splendour from airborne American bombardment and Japanese house-to-house fighting towards the end of WorldWarII. The citadel walls weren't significantly repaired until TheSeventies at least, and even today a lot of the beautiful old churches and buildings that used to occupy Intramuros have been left as ruins, or have been replaced either by slum areas or by more modern buildings, many of which are nondescript, ill-proportioned, or poorly designed. There are exceptions though—the Ayuntamiento, or old City Hall, was rebuilt with reasonable accuracy after enduring over sixty years as a parking lot.

Set in the tragically beautiful, Spanish-colonial Walled City of Intramuros in the late U.S. colonial era, specifically in [[WorldWarII October 1941]], the play is named for the huge, classically-themed self-portrait by the great artist Don Lorenzo Marasigan [[TheMagnificent el Magnifico]], and the rest of the play revolves around his two youngest, unmarried daughters, Paula and Candida, as they debate whether or not to sell off the painting—and the incomparably grand, OldDarkHouse they live in—to pay their bills and support their father in his old age, with external pressures from all sides usually telling them to do the smart thing and sell them both.

* LatinLand: Upper-class Intramuros denizens would feel very much at home in some parts of Latin America, what with the airy, storm-prone tropical atmosphere, the GratuitousSpanish, the [[ChristianityIsCatholic old-school Catholicism]] (complete with a penchant for lavish fiestas), and the unequal and hierarchical social structure. Justified since Intramuros was the ''original'' Manila[[note]]well, colonially speaking, it was founded in 1571, but the ''truly original'' Manila was a precolonial rajahnate that existed as far back as [[TheLowMiddleAges the late 1200s]], and it used to be called "Seludong"[[/note]], and in Spanish times it was open only to the highest classes of colonial society, mainly Church leaders, government functionaries (including the Governor-General), military officers, and peninsular Spanish families.

* AerithAndBob: With all characters being Filipino nationals, all the names are some derivative of Western—primarily either Spanish or English—but there are a mix of names still in use today (Paula, Lorenzo, Tony, Susan, Violet, Elsa, Patsy, Charlie, Pete, Eddie, Cora), and some more outdated names (Candida, Perico, Aristeo, Alvaro). Some of the names mentioned, while also Western-based, are likely uniquely Filipino nicknames (Bitoy, Pepang, Loleng, Upeng).

-->''[[AltumVidetur Contra mundum!]]'' [[labelnote Translation]]"Defy the world!"[[/labelnote]]

-->''[[AltumVidetur Contra mundum!]]'' [[notelabel Translation]]"Defy the world!"[[/notelabel]]

-->''[[AltumVidetur Contra mundum!]]'' [[notelabel:Translation]]"Defy the world!"[[/notelabel]]

-->''[[AltumVidetur Contra mundum!]]'' [[notelabel:Translation]]"Defy the world!"[[/note]]

-->''Contra mundum!'' ("Defy the world!")

[[quoteright:350:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/anglarawanposter640_1.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:350:Promotional still from ''Ang Larawan'', the 2017 Tagalog film version.[[note]]Starring (L-R): Paulo Avelino as Tony Javier, and Rachel Alejandro & Joanna Ampil respectively as Paula & Candida Marasigan.[[/note]]]]

* AerithAndBob: With all characters being Filipino nationals, all the names are some derivative of Western—primarily either Spanish or English—but there are a mix of names still in use (Paula, Tony, Susan, Violet, Elsa, Patsy, Pete, Eddie, Cora), and some more outdated names (Candida, Perico, Aristeo, Alvaro). Some of the names mentioned, while also Western-based, are likely uniquely Filipino nicknames (Bitoy, Pepang, Loleng, Upeng).