Amazing Ceiling of the San Agustin Church

At the second floor of the San Agustin Church, there was an inconspicuous little door which anybody could have missed which leads to what probably is it the highlight of any tour to the San Agustin Museum. It is the church itself. More specifically, the choir loft. The choir loft as expected is at the second floor of the church and it overlooks the congregation from the back. From here, you get a commanding view of the church below.

It's Hard to Believe, but This is Just a Painting

Probably more importantly, the choir loft gives you a great view of the impressive ceiling of the San Agustin Church. The ceiling of the San Agustin Church is a marvelous work of art that features characters from the Holy Bible. Marveouls as it is, the unique pattern is made even more marvelous by the fact that it is in fact and massive painting! This is actually a painting that mimics the light and shadows caused by “light” from “windows”. Some parts of the paintings are so convincing that if it weren’t for some paint peeling you would not have known that it was just a painting.

Impressive Interiors of the San Agustin Church

Such style of painting is called trompe o’eil, it is a particularly impressive type of style especially when used in locations such as these. The style has been used in the Greek and Roman times and it is a source of great delight for viewers because of its extreme realism. The ceiling of the San Agustin Museum is probably the best example of trompe o’eil in the Philippines, though it is by no means the only place where it exists. Hundreds of old churchs in the Philippines employ this style to some degree. However, here in the San Agustin Church, this is probably one of the reasons why it was listed as one of the UNESCO World Heritage Sites.

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Tags: ceiling, choir, church, heritage, Intramuros, loft, Manila, museum, Philippines, San Agustin, trompe o'eil, UNESCO, world