National Artist for Visual Arts (1972)
(May 30, 1892 – April 24, 1972)
Fernando Amorsolo, the first National Artist of the Philippines, is also known as “The Grand Old Man of Philippine Painting,” “the poet of color,” and “the painter of Philippine sunlight.” He introduced backlighting in painting, illuminating his figures from the back, thus making them stand out in a dramatic way. His training as a portraitist made him master of the human form. As a painter he refined his use of color and preferred a bright color palette that produced picturesque landscapes showing the beauty of the Philippine countryside and the laid-back setting of the provinces where people were portrayed doing various everyday activities or celebrating different festivities. He has an idealistic portrayal of rural life and romanticized the dalagang bukid (which the National Museum defined as the “smiling and cheerful lady wearing the baro’t saya, with her hair firmly pulled back by a flowing bandana to protect her from the glare of the afternoon sun”) as the ideal Filipina beauty. Amorsolo’s style of painting has been the reigning aesthetic of the time, marking it as the academic style of painting until the post-war sensibilities of the moderns took place.