Victorio Edades (1895–1985) was a Filipino painter and art educator widely recognized as a pioneer of modern Philippine art. Born in Davao City, Philippines, Edades studied architecture at the University of Oregon in the United States before shifting his focus to fine arts at the Art Institute of Chicago. He returned to the Philippines in the 1920s and introduced modernist principles to the local art scene, challenging the prevailing academic and realistic styles promoted at the time.
In 1938, Edades founded the University of Santo Tomas (UST) School of Architecture and Fine Arts, where he served as dean and mentored a generation of artists known as the "Thirteen Moderns," who played a significant role in advancing modern art in the country. His own works, characterized by expressionistic forms, bold brushwork, and distorted figures, often depicted laborers and everyday Filipino life, reflecting both social realism and modernist experimentation.
Edades is credited with laying the foundation for the acceptance of modernism in Philippine visual arts, and his influence earned him the designation as a National Artist of the Philippines for Visual Arts in 1976.
His legacy endures through his contributions to art education and his role in transforming the Philippine art landscape from academic traditionalism to modernist exploration.