A collection of paintings by Fernando Amorsolo, part of the permanent collection of the Yuchengco Museum on view in our 4F galleries.
National Artist Fernando Amorsolo (1892-1972) mastered Filipino genre painting, celebrating as it does—Philippine beauty, nostalgia, pageantry, and fantasy.
An aesthete rather than a social commentator, he emphasized the finer qualities of his country, the natural grace of its people, and the natural environment.
Fernando Amorsolo scoured the countryside seeking not only his ideal beauty, but also pursuing his love affair with sunlight. He particularly loved to paint sunlight at high noon, when contrasts were most strong. Sun shafts going through mango leaves fascinated him; more so when these created a lacework of light patterns on the ground or when a light spot highlighted a smile or a captivating gesture.
From his academic background, Amorsolo learned to make meticulous studies of the human form. He was an aesthete who hoped to emphasize the finer qualities of his country and people, from the beauty of the natural environment to the natural grace of the common people and the dignity of their life and labor.
Amorsolo made many outdoor studies of the Filipino countryside, in an ardent endeavor to capture the light and color of what he observed. He preferred to paint in natural light and developed the backlighting technique, which became his trademark.
Fernando Amorsolo enhanced his rural scenes with the golden tones of harvest. With the budding influence of Impressionism, Amorsolo reveled in warm tones that captured the vibrant tropical sunlight.
Amorsolo’s idyllic renditions of country life against the backdrop of lush landscapes made him the most sought-after artist in his time.
A highly skilled draftsman, Amorsolo invariably chose backlit subjects, probing with color into the deepest shadows and topping off his composition with chrome yellow lights to accent contours where the backlight struck. It was the combination of color and nostalgic rural subject that was the Amorsolo appeal.
Amorsolo’s paintings emphasized the abundance of sunlight to draw the strongest of contrasts. The artist situated his figures against the light, outlining them with a golden glow. He preferred to paint in natural light, learning to be quick and decisive in his work since “light changed rapidly and you have to be fast in order to catch the mood with which you started out.”
Much of Amorsolo’s popularity was due to the fact that he had taken up the theme of planting and harvesting rice, and that he created a romanticized pastoral worldview, in stark contrast to the rapidly growing city or urban community.
His tropical gaze and ever-smiling dalagang bukid (country maiden) institutionalized the image of the Filipino within a tropical setting, where youth reigned supreme and nature was bountiful.
See ‘Lyrical Life: Amorsolo‘ at the Yuchengco Museum, open daily from 10AM–6PM except Sundays.
