Fernando Amorsolo Paintings PDF

# Fernando Amorsolo (1892-1972) ## Early Life - Fernando Amorsolo was the son of Pedro Amorsolo, a bookkeeper, and Bonifacia Cueto. - He spent his youthful days in Daet, Camarines Norte. - After his father died in 1903, Bonifacia moved the entire family to Manila to live with their first cousin,...

# Fernando Amorsolo (1892-1972) ## Early Life - Fernando Amorsolo was the son of Pedro Amorsolo, a bookkeeper, and Bonifacia Cueto. - He spent his youthful days in Daet, Camarines Norte. - After his father died in 1903, Bonifacia moved the entire family to Manila to live with their first cousin, painter Fabian de la Rosa. ## Career - To raise money, Amorsolo sold watercolor postcards to a bookstore for 10 centavos a piece. - His mother did embroidery work. - He completed his schooling at the Liceo de Manila, where he earned honorable mention in drawing and painting. - At 17, he enrolled at the University of the Philippines (UP) School, where his uncle Fabian de la Rosa taught. - While a student, Amorsolo lived in a rented accesoria and, to survive, joined competitions and did illustrations for publications, including Severino Reyes' first novel, *Parusa ng Diyos* (*God's Punishment*). - He also designed chairs for the Bureau of Public Works. ## Early Influences - During college, Amorsolo was influenced by the works of the Spanish painter Diego de Velasquez, as well as other European painters, including John Singer Sargent, Anders Zorn, Joaquin Sorolla y Bastida, and Ignacio Zuluaga. - He graduated from the University of the Philippines in 1919, receiving several medals for excellence. - After graduation, Amorsolo became an instructor at the UP School of Fine Arts, while working for the Bureau of Public Works. - He spent the next 38 years working for UP. ## The Rice Planting - In 1922, Amorsolo painted *Rice Planting*, which became one of the most popular images of the Commonwealth Period. - He designed the logo for Ginebra San Miguel (*Markang Demonyo*) depicting St. Michael vanquishing the devil. - The logo is still in use in its original form. - The owner of the beverage company, Don Enrique Zobel, an ardent patron of the arts, was impressed by Amorsolo's work and offered to send him to the Academia de San Fernando in Madrid for further studies, with a generous stipend for himself and his family. ## Filipino Consciousness - Despite his exposure to Western influences, Amorsolo retained his Filipino consciousness. - He was drawn more to the gentle rolling hills and rice fields of the Philippines than the cosmopolitan world of Europe. - When illustrating Spanish women, Amorsolo chose to depict them with slender physiques, narrower hips, and smaller breasts, more typical of Filipinas than full-bodied Caucasian women. ## Return to the Philippines - After his time in Madrid, Amorsolo returned to the Philippines ready to apply what he had learned. - American servicemen, officials, and businessmen sought out his paintings to take home as tokens of remembrance for their time in the Philippines. - One of Amorsolo's clients was Capt. Robert Kennedy, who took some of Amorsolo's pieces to the United States and had them framed at the Art Center Gallery in New York. - The gallery owners inquired about the artist, which led to his first one-man show in New York in 1925. - Of the 40 pieces displayed, 24 were immediately purchased. ## Later Years - Amorsolo often used his family members as models, and believed artists should be paid for their time, even if they were family and friends. - When World War II broke out in 1941 and the Japanese occupied Manila, Amorsolo rented a house near Raon street for his wife and children. - He and his male relatives lived at their Azcarraga (now Claro M. Recto Ave.) house, near a Japanese garrison. - Amorsolo witnessed Filipino civilians and soldiers being taken to Far Eastern University (FEU) to be jailed. - According to some witnesses, American forces, when they attacked Manila, slaughtered all of the prisoners at FEU. ## Wartime Paintings - Some of Amorsolo's subjects during World War II were about suffering and destruction. - A few of these paintings include: "The Rape of Manila" (1942), "Bombing of Intendencia" (1942), and "The Explosion" (1944). - His famous painting *"Defense of a Filipina Woman's Honor"* shows a Filipino man holding a bolo about to defend his wife and daughter from being raped by an unseen Japanese soldier. - His wartime paintings are considered among his finest work and were exhibited at Malacanang Palace in 1948. - After the war, Amorsolo went back to painting bright, sun-drenched countryside scenes, for which he was best known. - He reached the peak of his popularity in the late 1940s and 1950s, garnering numerous awards. - Amorsolo's paintings were in such high demand that he photographed his artwork and put them in a catalog. - Prospective patrons could then choose from the catalog, and Amorsolo would recreate the paintings by varying some elements. ## Death and Legacy - Amorsolo worked until the last year of his life. - He was afflicted with diabetes, arthritis, and heart-related issues, in addition to failing eyesight. - His failing vision led to wayward red and blue brush strokes in his later paintings. - Despite these challenges, the quality of his output remained high, and his popularity never waned. - Four days after Amorsolo died, President Ferdinand Marcos posthumously conferred on him the title of National Artist for Painting. # Amorsolo Paintings | Painting Title | Year | Description | |---|---|---| |Palay Maiden |1920 | A woman is standing in a field of rice with a bundle of rice stalks in her arms. She is wearing a traditional Filipino dress. | |Making of the Philippine Flag | 1920 | Three women are sitting in a room working on a large cloth, which is the Philippine flag. The woman on the left is kneeling, while the other two are seated in chairs. | |Lavandera| 1936 | A woman is standing by a river in a rural setting, carrying a large pot of water on her head. She is wearing a traditional Filipino dress. | |Fruit Gatherer | 1950 | A young woman is sitting on a log, holding a basket of fruit in her lap. She is wearing a traditional Filipino dress, and her hair is covered with a scarf. | |Princess Urduja | 1950 | A woman on horseback is being followed by a group of men. Some carry axes and bows and arrows. The woman is wearing a helmet, but is otherwise topless, and is holding a sword in her right hand. The background is a landscape with a sunset. | |Ina at Anak| 1950 | A young woman with dark hair and a headscarf is carrying a boy in her arms. She is walking through a forest or jungle, and is wearing a long skirt and a blouse. The boy is wearing a white shirt and shorts. | |Bombing of Intendencia| 1942 | A scene of a city on fire with smoke in the air, and ships docked in the harbor. | |Defense of a Filipina Woman's Honor | 1945 | A man is shown defending a woman with a knife, there is an unseen attacker. | |Antipolo Fiesta | 1947 | A scene of a village with many people gathered in the streets, including a church and a market. | _Illustrations for each painting are not included._