Accompanied by a certificate issued by Mrs. Sylvia Amorsolo-Lazo confirming the authenticity of this lot

Provenance: Purchased directly from the artist by Kathryn and Ralph Rawson, who lived in the Philippines before World War II. Passed by inheritance to the present owner who is Kathryn's grandniece

ABOUT THE WORK

Fernando Amorsolo depicts in this piece the Baluarte de San Andres, one of the seven original bastions of pre-war Intramuros. Also called the Baluarte de San Nicolas due to its proximity to the old Church and Convent of San Nicolas Tolentino, it was constructed in 1603 as a crucial fortification for the old Puerta Real and to reinforce the defenses of the southeastern part of the walled city. The baluarte faces the direction of the old barrio of Bagumbayan. It was renovated in 1733, adding to its defense facilities a bombproof arsenal for gunpowder, a garita (watchtower), and soldiers’ barracks. A docking area for boats crossing the old moat would be constructed at a later time. The baluarte suffered two destructive attacks. The first one was during the British Siege of Manila in 1762, when the baluarte, especially the arsenal, was severely ruined. The baluarte would be reconstructed at the culmination of the British occupation in 1764. The second and the most devastating was during the Battle of Manila in 1945. It would take a long interlude of forty-two years before the baluarte would be restored through the efforts of the Intramuros Administration to its former pre-war glory. In the work at hand, the iconic watchtower of the Baluarte de San Andres towers prominently in the near distance, with the massive stone walls of the old Hispanic city protruding from it. Despite its small size, the piece is classical Amorsolo at its finest. Amorsolo captures the quaint grandeur of the baluarte and imbibes a distinctly rural character to the environs of the old walled city, which had been undergoing rapid urbanization at the time of the American period. The maestro encapsulates his ideal vision for the Philippine countryside: idyllic, sunny, and romantic. The flame tree, with its vividly warm foliage, evokes tranquility. Amorsolo aspires that the bucolic character of the countryside would be restored to the modernizing city, in which people harmoniously commune and become one with nature. (A.M.)