One cannot examine modern art in the Philippines without mentioning Fernando Zóbel, whose art not only helped shape modernism in the country but also impacted a whole generation of artists. As an artist, Zóbel's creations from the mid-fifties through the seventies featured his distinctive approach. Zobel never waited for inspiration to strike, and was almost always doing something, whether it was doodling or drawing a study that would lead to finished work. Describing the carroza as “the silver chariot of the Virgin”, the subject matter fascinated him in different ways, and at its height found expression in different media: oils, acrylics, tempera and various types of print.