Chapter 7
Paris to Berlin (1885-87)
Rizal went to Paris and Germany in order to specialize in ophthalmology.
He chose this branch because he wanted to cure his mother’s eye ailment.
In Gay Paris (1885-86)
After studying at the Central University of Madrid, Rizal, who was then 24 yrs old, went to Paris to acquire more knowledge in ophthalmology.
Maximo Viola – a medical student and a member of a rich family of San Miguel, Bulacan
Señor Eusebio Corominas – editor of La Publicidad
Don Miguel Morayta – owner of La Publicidad and a statesman
Rizal gave Editor Corominas (an article on the Carolines Question)
November 1885 – Rizal was living in Paris
He worked as an assistant to Dr. Louis de Weckert, a leading French ophthalmologist.
Juan Luna – great master of the brush; Rizal helped him by posing as model in Luna’s paintings.
1. “The Death of Cleopatra” – where Rizal posed as an Egyptian priest
2. “The Blood Compact” – Rizal posed as Sikatuna
Rizal as Musician
Rizal had no natural aptitude for music, and this he admitted. He studied music only because many of his schoolmates at Ateneo were taking music lessons.
He told Enrique Lete that he “learned the solfeggio, piano, and voice culture in one month and a half”.
He is also a flutist.
Some of his compositions are:
Alin Mang Lahi (Any Race) – a pariotic song which asserts that any race aspires for freedom
La Deportacion (Deportation) – a sad danza, composed in Dapitan
In Historic Heidelberg
February 3, 1886 – Rizal arrived in Heidelberg, a historic city in Germany famous for its old university and romantics surroundings.
He became popular among the Germans because they found out that he was a good chess player.
He worked at the University Eye Hospital under the direction of Dr. Otto Becker, distinguished German ophthalmologist.
“To the Flowers of Heidelberg”
April 22, 1886 –