Between 1909 and 1914, he
Fernando Amorsolo
Fernando
Amorsolo
Fernando Amorsolo was born on
May 30 1982 in Paco Manila. At the
age of 13, Amorsolo became an
apprentice of De La Rosa, who
would eventually become the
advocate and guide to Amorsolo’s
painting career. Amorsolo’s first
success as a young painter came in
1908, when his painting Leyendo el
periodico tooksecond place at the
Bazar Escolta, a contest organized
by the Asociacion International de
Artistas.
enrolled at the Arts School
of the Liceo de Manila. After
graduating from the Liceo,
he entered the University of
the Philippines’ school of
Fine Arts, During college,
Fernando Amorsolo’s
primary influences were the
Spanish people court painter
Diego Velazquez, John
Singer Sargent, Anders Zorn,
Claude Monet, Pierre-
Auguste Renoir, but mostly
his contemporary Spanish
masters Joaquin Sorolla
Bastida and Ignacio Zuloaga.
Amorsolo’s most
notable work as a
student at the Liceo was
his painting of a young
man and a young
woman in a garden,
which won him the first
prize in the art school
exhibition during his
graduation year.
To make money during school, Amorsolo
joined competitions and did illustrations
for various Philippine publications,
including Severino Reyes’ first novel in
Tagalog Language, Parusa ng Diyos
(“Punishment of God”), Inigo Ed.
Regalado’s Madaling Araw (“Dawn”), as
well as illustrations for editions of the
Pasion. Amorsolo graduated with medals
from the University of the Philippines in
1914.

After graduating from the Amorsolo is best known

University of the for his illuminated
Philippines, Amorsolo
worked as a draftsman for
landscapes, which often
the Bureau of Public portrayed traditional
Works, as a chief artist at Filipino customs,
the Pacific Commercial culture, fiestas, and
Company, and as a part
occupations. His
time instructor at the
University of the pastoral works
Philippines (where he presented an imagined
would work for 38 years). sense of nationhood in
After three years as an
counterpoint to
instructor and
commercial artist, American colonial rule
For days after his death, Amorsolo was
Amorsolo was given a and were important to
grant to study at the
posthumously honored as the first
the formation of Filipino
Academia de San National Artist of the Philippines at the
National identity.
Fernando in Madrid, Cultural Center of the Philippines. The
Spain by Filipino

During the 1950s until his volume of paintings, sketches, and studies
Businessman Enrique death in 1972, Amorsolo
Zobel de Ayala. of Amorsolo is believed to have reached
averaged to finishing 10
Amorsolo set up his own paintings a month. However,
more than 10,000 pieces. Amorsolo was an
studio upon his return to
during his later years, important influence on contemporary
Manila and painted
prodigiously during the 1920s Filipino art and artists, even beyond the
diabetes, cataracts, arthritis,
and the 1930s. His Rice headaches, dizziness and the so-called “Amorsolo School” landscape
Planting (1922), which death of two sons affected
paintings by Filipino artists, including
appeared on posters and the execution of his works.
tourist brochures, became Amorsolo underwent a
early landscape paintings by abstract
one of the most popular painter Federico Aguillar Alcuaz.
cataract operation when he
images of the Commonwealth
of the Philippines. Beginning was 70 years old, a surgery
in the 1930s, Amorsolo’s work that did not impede him
was exhibited widely both in from drawing and painting.
the Philippines and abroad. After being confined at the
His bright, optimistic, SUBMITTED BY: GROUP 2
St. Luke's Hospital in
Quezon City for two months, NAME OF MEMBERS:
pastoral images set the tone

for Philippine painting before

World War II-era. Except for Amorsolo died of heart Keith Princess Ballungay
his darker World War-II era failure at the age of 79 on Genevieve J. Benito
paintings, Amorsolo painted April 24,1972. Diana Rose Borromeo
quiet and peaceful scenes
throughout his career. Ericka Mae Calivo