FERNANDO AMORSOLO’S

PAINTINGS
FERNANDO AMORSOLO
 Fernando Amorsolo y Cueto (May 30, 1892 –
April 24, 1972) born in Paco, Manila.
Philippines’ first National Artist in Painting in
1972 and the so-called "Grand Old Man of
Philippine Art“
 was a portrait artist and known painter of rural
Philippine landscapes.
 He was a portrait artist and known painter of rural
Philippine landscapes.
 He served as director of the College of Fine Arts of
the University of the Philippines from 1938 to 1952.
 He died on April 24, 1972 at the age of 79.
FRUIT GATHERER (1950) Oil on artist’s board.
 The main meaning of the Fruit Gatherer painted
by Fernando Amorsolo is to be sure you recognize
and appreciate the small things. It represents a
hard worker who is often not appreciated.
 [The women I paint should have] a rounded face,
not of the oval type often presented to us in
newspapers and magazine illustrations. The eyes
should be exceptionally lively, not the dreamy,
sleepy type that characterizes the Mongolian. The
nose should be of the blunt form but firm and
strongly marked. So the ideal Filipina beauty
should not necessarily be white complexioned,
nor of the dark brown color of the typical
Malayan, but of the clear skin or fresh colored
type which we often witness when we met a
blushing girl.
- Fernando Amorsolo
RICE PLANTING (1949)
 Amorsolo was committed to two fundamental ideas in
his art: first, a classical notion of idealism and second
a conservative concept of Filipino national character
as rooted in rural communities and the cycles of
village life.
 The two come together in pastoral scenes such as
‘Planting Rice with Mayon Volcano’, painted in 1949.
 Here, happy Filipino villagers in their bright clothes
and straw hats work together amid a green and sunlit
landscape of plenty. Behind them, releasing a peaceful
plume of steam, rises the beautifully symmetrical cone
of Mayon stratovolcano.
Mayon is a celebrated symbol of the Philippines, and
its presence in Amorsolo’s painting emphasizes his
wish to represent the spirit of the nation on canvas.
Untitled (Sunday Morning Going to
Town) (1942) Oil on canvas
 One of his most iconic motifs, Amorsolo paints a
romanticized scene of Filipino rural life. A family sets
out together, leaving their hut for a place beyond the
viewer’s eye.
 Light cascades on them from the rising morning sun,
and they are left to cover themselves with either the
natural shade or, in the case of the woman in the
center, a pink parasol. Even the cocks take shade from
the beating sun, finding refuge behind a pile of hay in
the corner.The journey ahead is not without its
strains, the men carry makeshift sacks on their backs,
enlisting the help of a carabao to carry the season’s
yield. The artist does not shy away from the humble
reality of the peripheries.
 It is as if Amorsolo had captured the joyously resolute
spirit of the scene and its people.
DALAGANG BUKID (1958) Oil on canvas
 Amorsolo's bright and colorful pastoral
representations are unmistakable for being suffused
with a golden glow, reflecting the sweet disposition,
charm, and wholesome beauty of the dalagang bukid,
or Philippine provincial lass - widely recognized to be
the maestros most iconic subject matter. Surrounded
by verdant foliage dappled with sunlight, she is the
picture of a longed-for, bygone era - the epitome of
everything that is good about the motherland.
 The banga or clay jar that the young lady carries, a
vessel for carrying water, is seen as a symbol of
fragility and innocence, and is a reference to the song
made famous by National Artist Atang de la Rama in
the 1919 sarswela Dalagang Bukid:
"May isang dalagang nagsalok ng tubig
Kinis ng ganda nya'y hubog sa nilatik..."