FERNANDO CUETO AMORSOLO (First National Artist in Painting in 1972 and the so-called "Grand Old

Man of Philippine Art")

Born: May 30, 1892, in the Paco district of Manila.

Died: April 24 1972, Quezon City

Mother: Bonifacia Amorsolo

Father: Pedro Amorsolo

Two months after being confined at the St. Luke's Hospital in Manila, Amorsolo died of heart
failure at the age of 79 on April 24, 1972 . Four days after his death, Amorsolo was honoured as the first
National Artist in Painting at the Cultural Center of the Philippines by then President Ferdinand Marcos.

*Amorsolo earned a degree from the Liceo de Manila Art School in 1909 and entered the University of
the Philippines' School of Fine Arts. He was a portrait artist and known painter of rural Philippine
landscapes.

*He graduated with honors from the U.P. in 1914 and got study grant in Madrid, Spain. He was also able
to visit New York, where he encountered postwar impressionism and cubism, which would be major
influences on his work.

*To make money while in school, Amorsolo joined competitions and did illustrations for various
Philippine publications. He also illustrated for the religious Pasion books.

*He set up his own studio upon his return to Manila and painted prodigiously during the 1920s and the
1930s.

*Believed to have painted more than 10,000 pieces, his Rice Planting (1922), which appeared on posters
and tourist brochures, became one of the most popular images of the Commonwealth era.

*Beginning in the 1930s, Amorsolo's work was exhibited widely both in the Philippines and abroad. He
became the favorite Philippine artist of United States officials and visitors in the Philippines.

*In 1939, his oil Afternoon Meal of the Workers won first prize at the New York World's Fair.

*Amorsolo's optimistic, pastoral images set the tone for Philippine painting before World War II. Except
for his darker World War II-era paintings, Amorsolo painted quiet and peaceful scenes throughout his
career.

*Notably, he also painted a series of historical portraits on pre-Colonial and Spanish Colonization events,
including his Making of the Philippine Flag, which was widely reproduced. He also painted oil portraits of
General Emilio Aguinaldo, other Philippine presidents and prominent Filipinos.

*He served as director of the College of Fine Arts of the University of the Philippines from 1938 to 1952.

Famous Works

PLANTING TREES - Fernando Amorsolo (1892-1972) was a dominant figure in the visual arts of
the Philippines during the decades before the Second World War and into the post-war period. The
‘Planting Rice with Mayon Volcano, Exhibits the happiness across from the difficulties in planting rice.
The Filipino Villagers in their bright clothes and straw hats plant together with a fresh and green
landscape of plenty. behind the filipino villagers is the peaceful flume of steam.