The History of Medicine is a mural by Jose Blanco created in 2007 to

commemorate the 100th anniversary of the Philippine General Hospital. The

mural, which was donated by the family of Dr. John Chan of the 1973
University of the Philippines Medicine Class, is a depiction of the role played
by the countrys premier state hospital in the lives of Filipino families over
the years.
As the title suggests, the mural is composed of multiple scenes
arranged in some sort of chronological order reflecting the status of medicine
in the country during different periods in our history. The painting can be
divided into two parts. The lower left half shows the past, depicting
indigenous forms of medicine such as herbal medicine which was more
predominant back then. The upper right half shows the modern health care
setting, already improved by scientific and technological advancements.
Blanco being a realist created accurate depictions of objects in his
artwork. Some of the human figures in the mural are actual people of great
significance in the history of medicine. The purpose of the painting is to show
the role of PGH in providing health care to the country over the years.
Therefore, there is emphasis on the chronological relationship of the scenes.
The painting was composed such that the human figures are arranged in
oblique parallel lines receding into the distance. By employing linear
perspective in the painting, Blanco makes the viewer inspect the figures from
the foreground to the background. The decreasing size of the figures also
convey the effect of distance and help guide the viewers eyes.
The foreground, being the part of the picture first seen by the viewer,
shows scenes from the past. Using warm colors, an impression of advancing
towards the viewer is created. The red and orange hues of the clothes and
fruits capture the viewers attention. The juxtaposition of complementary
colors such as the purple flowers and the yellow shawl of the old woman
makes the hues more vivid. The warm saturated tones also convey an
indigenous feel. The use of biomorphic shapes together with the rough
simulated textures of the woven basket, bamboo floor and the ground
reflects the unsophisticated and rudimentary nature of medicine in the past.
At the diagonal separating the two halves, there is a change in visual
quality from the bright saturated colors of the lower half to the upper half
dominated by pale blue and green. This creates movement, the retreating
effect of the cool colors assisting the linear perspective in drawing the eyes
of the viewer to the next set of figures. The light color of the lab coats and
machines creates a feeling of sterility and the change to smooth and fine
textures exudes sophistication. The image of PGH is located near the line
separating the past and present health scenes in the painting, and this sort
of implies that PGH helped create the change. The abrupt change in quality

from organic and rough to sophisticated and sterile represents the significant
change PGH has caused in the medical field and health care.
Using linear perspective, the function of the painting to show the
history of medicine was accomplished. Also, through the numerous
contrasting qualities between the past and present half of the painting,
Blanco managed to show how much PGH has improved the health care
setting in the Philippines.