A glimpse of the life and works of Philippine national hero Dr. Jose Rizal in Germany from February 1886 to August 1887
This exhibition was held in 2019. It opened in July 24 and lasted for around 6 months on display.
We created a video version of the exhibit if you weren't able to visit.
Check the videos here
RIZAL IN GERMANY
Our national hero Jose Rizal lived and worked in Germany from February of 1886 to August 1887 returning, after a tour of Europe, to the Philippines.
He lived for three years in Spain, later in France. Those first years abroad, in university, in new surroundings, and immersed in cultures refreshingly free, were heady for Rizal. There were Filipinos of his age with similar idealistic temperaments. There were parties and outings that were fun and get-togethers to eat the native food they missed. Spain was his student period and he graduated with distinction.
His sojourn in France was to specialize in ophthalmology and work in a clinic in Paris. He studied and learned many procedures from Dr. Louis de Wecker, a renowned eye doctor. Later, Rizal’s most important patient would be his own mother, Teodora Alonso.
Rizal hung out and lived with artists like Juan Luna and Felix R. Hidalgo and did his own drawings and sculptures as well. He visited numerous museums, took an interest in anthropology and the arts, and enjoyed many walks in the parks of Paris.
Rizal embarked writing on his first and most important novel, the Noli Me Tangere beginning the chapters in Spain, continuing on in France, to finish and publish it in Germany. His maturation in Europe, from carefree student to becoming a doctor did not hinder the persistence to write and finish the Noli despite serious financial constraints. It indicated too his continued love for his country.
It was in Germany that Rizal would show his mettle. He thrived in the country’s intellectual ambiance emerging as a revolutionary writer, a serious anthropologist, and a patriot ready to return to his country, no matter the consequences.
The exhibition was exhibited in the known heritage houses of Las Casas Filipinas de Acuzar in Bataan. At Casa Binan, the old house of Teodora Alonso, Jose Rizal's mother.
