Letras y figuras (Spanish, "letters and figures"), is a genre of painting pioneered by José Honorato Lozano during the Spanish colonial period in the Philippines. The art form is distinguished by the depiction of letters of the alphabet using the contoured shapes of human figures, animals, plants, and other objects. The letters depicted spell out a phrase or a name, usually that of the patron who commissioned the work. The paintings are done in watercolor on Manila paper. The earliest example of this art form dates from 1845; the latest existing specimens were completed during the latter portion of the American period in the 1930s during the administration of the Commonwealth of the Philippines.