TASK PERFORMANCE IN

ART APPRECIATION
FERNANDO
AMORSOLO
• He is the first Filipino national artist.
• He was the former director of the College of
Fine Arts of the University of the Philippines .
• His family refused offers to transfer his
remains to the Libingan Ng Mga Bayani
(Heroes' Cemetery) .
• He had more than 10 children.
• He could finish four paintings a day
 FRUIT GATHERER
TECHNIQUE: OIL ON CANVAS
DATE: 1950

In this painting, he paints a young girl sitting with a basket of

fruits in a rural Philippine landscape. The work is characterized
by the use of vibrant colors; and idealization of nature as well
as native beauty. Fruit Gatherer depicts the very core
of the style of painting of Amorsolo.

His mastery over portraying natural light is visible in

the painting. In December 2009, Fruit Gatherer was auctioned
off in Maryland, in record-breaking manner, topping 19th and
20th-century European and American paintings.
 PLANTING RICE
Oil on canvas
1951

HE WANTED TO CAPTURE THE TRADITIONAL

FILIPINO OCCUPATION AND THE FARM LIFE OF
MEN AND WOMEN IN A HOT SUNNY DAY. THIS
REPRESENTATION DEPICTS HOW ENDURING
THEY ARE, AND HOW THE FARMERS WORK
TOGETHER.
 Technique: Oil on canvas
Date: 1945

ANOTHER MASTERPIECE FROM AMORSOLO IS  HOPE IN THE RUINS OF MANILA .

HE WAS KNOWN FOR HIS BRIGHT COLORS AND PEACEFUL PAINTINGS, BUT HE ALSO REPRESENTED THE
YEARS OF WORLD WAR II, WHEN THE JAPANESE WERE OCCUPYING THE PHILIPPINES. HE’S ABLE TO
DEPICT THE WAR, AND THE DEVASTATION IT BRINGS TO PEOPLE – BUT IN THE MIDDLE OF THAT
SADNESS AND DESPERATION, HE GIVES US A HINT OF HOPE. THE WAY THE LIGHT SHINES, ON THE
YOUNG FILIPINO WOMAN HOLDING HER CHILD, GIVES US HOPE FOR A BRIGHTER FUTURE THAT WILL BE
BUILT BY THESE CHILDREN.

 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.
 On May 24, 1994, President Fidel Ramos issued an
Executive Order No. 179 to allow government offices
and residences to display the Philippine National Flag
from May 24 to June 12 of every year.
  It was first flown and waved by Gen. Emilio Aguinaldo
in Kawit Cavite on June 12, 1898,  during the
Independence Day celebration. 
The making of Philippine flag is a masterpiece
painting by Fernando Amorsolo in Philippines. Fernando
Amorsolo was one of the most important artists in the history of
painting in the Philippines. No doubt he created such
a wonderful artwork. The painting shows three women namely
Marcella Marino de Agoncillo (on the right side) refer as the
mother of the Philippine flag, with the help of Lorenza and
Delfina Herbosa de Natividad which is actually the daughter of
Marcela. They was tasked by Gen. Emilio Aguinaldo to sew the
first flag for the new republic. The clothes that the women are
wearing are an older style, more vintage and really depict the
traditional styles. The skirts the women’s are wearing are long
and their tops were like a traditional “kimona”. The three
women are sewing passionately which demonstrates elegance.
 EL CIEGO
OIL ON PANEL, 1929

 El Ciego is Amorsolo at one of his best, capturing the smallest

of details with breath-taking clarity: the worn weathered hands
of the blind guitarist, the distinct creases in his shirt, even the
veins of the thatched leaf of the nipa palm in the background
are reflected in this masterpiece. Amorsolo immortalises this
intimate scene in El Ciego, truly encapsulating in his inimitable
visual language, the essential virtues of the Filipino people
 a masterpiece that captures an intrinsic part of the Filipino
culture: its people and their love of music. El Ciego is an
interior scene of a blind man gently strumming a guitar as
a woman leans in towards him with an adoring gaze.
 THE TINIKLING DANCE
OIL IN CANVAS 1956
 Among Fernando Amorsolo’s depictions of idyllic
Filipino life, the tinikling dance is one of his most
famous and frequent subjects. Tinikling is a
traditional folk dance that originated from the
Spanish colonial period, it was a result of various
cultures, specific influences from Luzon and
Visayas. The dance often involves two or four
parallel pairs of bamboo poles that are held by two
or more sitting or kneeling people. The poles are
used as percussive instruments accompanying
music played with string instruments. Only a few
classical folk paintings of the dance exist outside
of Amorsolo’s own body of work given the
rigorous technical skill and talent required to
properly immortalize the brief moment of
movement and dance.
ANTIPOLO FIESTA
OIL ON CANVAS-1947

This oil painting on canvas depicts a rural scene where a group of

people are shown celebrating a fiesta in Antipolo. The main focus is
on a pair of dancers in the field surrounded by revelers both young
and old.  Abundant food is presented in basketfuls of assorted fruits
on the benches and on the ground, as well as the traditional roasted
pig or lechon being prepared by two men. Nearby is a house with
huge windows from where dwellers watch the revelers. At the
background is a huge church, a symbolic town structure.  A vast
number of townsmen completes the essence of a fiesta .
   
 A BASKET OF MANGOES
OIL CANVAS 1949
 Amorsolo performs a close study of the
woman seated daintily on the tree roots
carrying a basket of mangoes. The
woman's gentle appearance is
Amorsolo's glorification and idealization
of Filipina beauty, the dalagang Filipina.
Flushed apple cheeks, a sensual mouth
and lively eyes are carved into her
rounded face. Rays of evening sun kiss
the basket of pears, and brush against
her theatrically puffy-sleeved native
costume, bringing out the contours of its
folds. Woman Holding a Basket of
Mangoes is the epitome of Amorsolo's
genre painting. Woman Holding a
Basket of Mangoes is strong evidence of
why the legendary artist continues to be
revered.
THE MESTIZA
1954- OIL CANVAS

 a portrait of a Filipino woman in a vibrant ochre off-

shoulder gown known as the mestiza dress. Note the large
brush strokes on the bottom left corner and around the
subject; it gives off a more impressionist quality that differs
from Amorsolo’s typical academic painting style.
DEFENSE OF A FILIPINA WOMAN'S HONOUR
1945

• WHICH IS REPRESENTATIVE OF AMORSOLO'S

WORLD WAR II-ERA PAINTINGS. HERE, A FILIPINO
MAN DEFENDS A WOMAN, WHO IS EITHER HIS
WIFE OR DAUGHTER, FROM BEING RAPED BY AN
UNSEEN JAPANESE SOLDIER. NOTE THE JAPANESE
MILITARY CAP AT THE MAN'S FOOT.
 MY OWN PERPECTIVE OF THE
ARTWORK
 FRUIT GATHERER- THAT YOU NOTICE AND APPRECIATE THE LITTLE THINGS. IT SYMBOLIZES A
DEDICATED WORKER WHO IS FREQUENTLY UNDERAPPRECIATED.

 PLANTING RICE- FILIPINOS ARE HARD-WORKING YET HAPPY OF WHAT THEY ARE DOING. THE RICE
PLANT IS A GRASS. BUT IT IS A VERY VERSATILE PLANT AND MOST SIGNIFICANT TO ALL MANKIND.
WITHOUT THIS PLANT, HUNDREDS OF MILLIONS OF PEOPLE WILL DIE BECAUSE IT IS THEIR STAPLE
FOOD.

 HOPE IN THE RUINS OF MANILA- THE FILIPINO STANDS BRAVELY AND FIERCELY, WATCHING THE
TIDES TURN AS THE WAR COMES TO AN END. WITH THE PROMISE OF A NEW BEGINNING FOR THE
COUNTRY, THERE IS A SENSE OF HOPE AND OPTIMISM THAT THE TENACIOUS SPIRIT OF THE FILIPINO
PEOPLE WILL NOT BE EXTINGUISHED BUT WOULD PERSIST.

 MAKING OF PHILIPPINE FLAG- IT IS IMPORTANT TO ALL OF US BECAUSE OUR FLAG REMINDED OF

HOW OUR HEROES FOUGHT FOR OUR INDEPENDENCE. AND THAT WE MUST UPHOLD THEIR VALUES
AND CONTINUE THEIR LEGACY

 EL CIEGO- HAPPINESS IS EXPRESSED THROUGH SINGING, THUS IT'S SAFE TO BELIEVE FILIPINOS
THE TINIKLING DANCE IS A POPULAR DANCE THAT ANYONE CAN UTILIZE TO LEARN MORE ABOUT FILIPINO CULTURE
BECAUSE IT REPRESENTS THREE BASIC VALUES OF THE PHILIPPINES: NATURE, LIFE, AND AGRICULTURE.
ANTIPOLO FIESTA IS A CHANCE TO EXPRESS GRATITUDE FOR ALL OF A TOWN'S BLESSINGS. OF COURSE, FILIPINOS
ENJOY THROWING THANKSGIVING CELEBRATIONS WHEN A FAMILY MEMBER HAS BEEN CURED OF A LONG ILLNESS, OR
SIMPLY WHEN A FAMILY WANTS TO THANK GOD FOR THE MANY BENEFITS THAT HAVE BEEN SHOWERED UPON THEM.
A BASKET OF MANGOES- REPRESENTED REMINDED US HOW WONDERFUL LIFE TRULY IS, AND HER SMILES PROVIDED
US WITH A POSITIVE CIRCUMSTANCE BECAUSE FILIPINOS ALWAYS SMILE REGARDLESS OF WHETHER THEY HAVE A GOOD
OR NEGATIVE PROBLEM.
THE MESTIZA- IT IS UNDENIABLE THAT FILIPINOS ARE QUITE VERY PASSIONATE ABOUT THEIR FASHION AND STYLE.
DEFENSE OF A FILIPINA WOMAN'S HONOUR - RAPE IS BOTH A CRIMINAL AND A VIOLATION OF HUMAN RIGHTS. THERE
IS NO JUSTIFICATION FOR RAPE. WE NEED TO TEACH BOTH BOYS AND GIRLS THE NEED OF MUTUAL RESPECT AND
DECENCY. LET US WORK TOGETHER TO CREATE A CULTURE IN WHICH WOMEN ARE NO LONGER BLAMED FOR RAPE AND
WHERE WOMEN'S FUNDAMENTAL RIGHTS ARE RESPECTED AND PROTECTED.
 THAT’S ALL!
THAAAAAAAANK YOUUU! 