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Fernando Amorsolo Facts & Worksheets

Fernando Amorsolo was a portraitist and painter of rural Philippine landscapes and was considered the first national artist of the country.

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Fernando Amorsolo was a portraitist and painter of rural Philippine landscapes and was considered the first national artist of the country. Known for his craftsmanship and mastery with the use of light, Amorsolo joins the list of the most significant artists in the history of painting in the Philippines.

See the fact file below for more information on the Fernando Amorsolo or alternatively, you can download our 20-page Fernando Amorsolo worksheet pack to utilise within the classroom or home environment.

Key Facts & Information

EARLY LIFE AND EDUCATION

  • Born in Paco, Manila, on May 30, 1892, Fernando Amorsolo y Cueto was the son of Pedro Amorsolo, a bookkeeper, and his wife Bonifacia Cueto.
  • His mother’s cousin, Don Fabian de la Rosa, was also a Filipino painter.
  • At 13 years old, he became a pupil of De la Rosa, who then encouraged and guided him in his painting career. During this time, his mother embroidered for additional income, while young Fernando made watercolor postcards and sold those to a local bookstore for 10 centavos each. His brother, Pablo, was also a painter.
  • The year 1908 marked his first victory as a young painter. His artwork Leyendo el periódico bagged second place at the Bazar Escolta, an art competition arranged by the Asociacion Internacional de Artistas.
  • Between 1909 and 1914, Fernando attended the Art School of the Liceo de Manila.

CAREER

  • After finishing college at the University of the Philippines, Amorsolo worked full-time as a draftsman at the Bureau of Public Works, as a chief artist at the Pacific Commercial Company, and as a part-time instructor at the University of the Philippines, where he rendered his services for 38 years.
  • After three years as an instructor and commercial artist, Filipino entrepreneur Enrique Zobel de Ayala offered him the chance to study at the Academia de San Fernando in Madrid, Spain. In his seven months there, Amorsolo drew sketches of museums that fill the streets of Madrid, experimenting with the use of light and color. This opportunity led him to transfer to New York City, where he faced postwar impressionism and cubism, which greatly affected most of his artwork.
  • Amorsolo established his own studio when he went back to Manila and did a lot of paintings during the 1920s and the 1930s. His Rice Planting (1922), which can be seen on posters and tourist brochures, turned out to be among the most iconic photographs of the Commonwealth of the Philippines.
  • From the start of the 1930s, most of his artworks were widely displayed in the Philippines and abroad. His vibrant, cheerful, pastoral images set the tone for Philippine painting prior to World War II. Despite his dark World War II-era masterpieces, Amorsolo rendered quiet and peaceful scenes throughout his profession.
  • Influential and prominent Filipinos, like Luis Araneta, Antonio Araneta, and Jorge B. Vargas, praised Amorsolo for his works.
  • He also became the cherished Philippine artist of United States officials and visitors to the Philippines. Due to his fame, he had to capture images of his works and compile them in an album so prospective advocates and benefactors could then choose from his catalog.
  • Amorsolo did not make identical copies of his signature themes. Instead, he recreated his works by altering some elements.
  • His art later surfaced on the cover and pages of children’s textbooks, novels, commercial designs, cartoons, and illustrations for some Philippine publications, like The Independent, Philippine Magazine, Telembang, El Renacimiento Filipino and Excelsior.
  • From 1938 to 1952, Amorsolo served as the director of the University of the Philippines’ College of Fine Arts.
  • Amorsolo finished an average of 10 paintings per month during the 1950s until his death.
  • He also had close ties with Philippine sculptor Guillermo Tolentino, the man behind the Caloocan City monument to the Philippine hero Andres Bonifacio.

STYLES AND TECHNIQUES

  • Amorsolo is famous for his bright landscapes, which often featured traditional Filipino customs, culture, fiestas, and occupations. His rural and rustic works portrayed “an imagined sense of nationhood in counterpoint to American colonial rule” and were significant in building the Filipinos’ national identity.
  • He was proficient in the classical tradition and wanted “to achieve his Philippine version of the Greek ideal for the human form.”
  • In his works where his subjects were Filipina women, Amorsolo avoided Western ideals of beauty and stuck with Filipino ideals. He adored using the faces of his family members as subjects.
  • He used natural light in his art and developed the backlighting technique. Chiaroscuro, which soon became his artistic signature and greatest contribution to Philippine visual arts.
  • Amorsolo was also considered a persistent sketch artist and drew day-to-day scenes.

HISTORICAL PAINTINGS AND WORLD WAR II-ERA WORKS

  • His Making of the Philippine Flag was widely reproduced.
  • The First Baptism in the Philippines needed a number of detailed sketches and colored studies for its essential features.
  • Amorsolo sought information from Antonio Pigafetta’s records on his pre-colonial and 16th-century impression of the Philippines. He even asked for advice from Philippine scholars, such as H. Pardo de Tavera and Epifanio de los Santos.
  • He also painted portraits of prominent Filipinos, such as General Emilio Aguinaldo, Don Alfredo Jacob, Doña Pura Garchitorena Toral of Camarines Sur, and even the wedding photo of Don Mariano Garchitorena and Doña Caridad Pamintuan of Pampanga.
  • During World War II, Amorsolo recorded the destruction of major landmarks in Manila and took note of the pain, tragedy, and death encountered by the Filipinos. His subjects included “women mourning their dead husbands, flies of people with pushcarts, and makeshift bags leaving a dark burning city tinged with red from fire and blood.”

LATER YEARS AND DEATH

  • He was diagnosed with diabetes, cataracts, and arthritis in his later years. He even suffered from a number of headaches, dizziness, and the death of his two sons, all of which affected the completion of his works.
  • On April 24, 1972, Amorsolo died of heart failure at the St. Luke’s Hospital in Quezon City. He was 79.
  • Four days after his death, he received the title of the first National Artist in Painting at the Cultural Center of the Philippines and was awarded by then-president Ferdinand Marcos.

Fernando Amorsolo Worksheets

This is a fantastic bundle which includes everything you need to know about Fernando Amorsolo across 20 in-depth pages. These are ready-to-use Fernando Amorsolo worksheets that are perfect for teaching students about Fernando Amorsolo who was a portraitist and painter of rural Philippine landscapes and was considered the first national artist of the country. Known for his craftsmanship and mastery with the use of light, Amorsolo joins the list of the most significant artists in the history of painting in the Philippines.

Complete List Of Included Worksheets

  • Fernando Amorsolo Facts
  • Grand Old Man of Ph Art
  • Facts Only
  • Art Movements
  • Editorial Calendar
  • Explaining Art
  • Color Recipe
  • Feeling Like Fernando
  • Other Artists
  • Letter to Amorsolo
  • Filipina Girl

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Use With Any Curriculum

These worksheets have been specifically designed for use with any international curriculum. You can use these worksheets as-is, or edit them using Google Slides to make them more specific to your own student ability levels and curriculum standards.

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