FERNANDO CUETO AMORSOLO
Fernando Cuento Amorsolo was born in Paco, Manila, of May 30,1892 and passed away on February 26, 1972. He is one of the National Artists in Painting. He spent his youthful days in Daet, Camarines Norte. When his father died, his mother Bonifacia moved the entire family to Manila to live with a first cousin, painter Fabian dela Rosa. To raise money, Amorsolo sold water color postcards to a bookstore which paid him 10 centavos per piece, while his mother took embroidery. somehow, he managed to complete his schooling at the Liceo de Manila, where he gained honors especially in drawing and painting. At 17, he enrolled at the University of the Philippines(UP) School of Fine Arts, where his uncle taught. He was one of its first graduates in 1919, receiving several medals of excellence. During his college days. he was influenced by the works of the Spanish painter Diego de Velasquez and other European painters, such as Sargent, Zorn, Sorolla, and Zuloaga.
In 1922, Amorsolo made his first important painting,"Rice Planting," which became one of the most popular images of the Commonwealth period, appearing in several versions in calendars, posters and tourist brochures. He was the first to extensively portray, traditional Filipino customs and manners, fiestas, and occupations like fishing, planting, going to market, washing laundry, cooking, and reading.
Amorsolo is credited with having captured the elusive quality of Philippine light. In his landscapes the genre paintings, he used the technique of back lighting in which the figures are situated against the light, thus outlining them with a golden glow. He preferred to paint in a natural light, learning to be quick and decisive in his work since "ligjt changes rapidly and you have to be fast in order to catch the mood with you started out."
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