León Gallery wishes to thank Mrs. Sylvia Amorsolo-Lazo
for confirming the authenticity of this lot

Literature: Roces, Alfredo R. Amorsolo: 1892 - 1972. Filipinas Foundation, Inc. Makati City. 1975. p. 195

ABOUT THE WORK

Upon returning to Manila after studying at the Academia de San Fernando in Madrid, Amorsolo would set up his own studio and paint extensively during the 1920s and the 1930s. In 1935, the Philippine Commonwealth became the administrative body that governed the archipelago from 1935 to 1946, replacing the United States Insular Government. This period also spanned the “Golden Years” of Amorsolo’s career, where his astounding paintings of landscapes and the rural folk received high acclaim from art critics and collectors alike. The Philippines rose to prominence as the “Pearl of the Orient Seas” in this era. Being an artist in his prime, Amorsolo would paint the idyllic and blissful living of the locals in the countryside, portraying the captivating allure of the pre-war Philippines. Amorsolo’s works would then be widely showcased in the local and international arenas beginning in the 1930s. His paintings during this era gained the admiration and patronage of the Commonwealth government. A number of his pieces, such as Rice Planting, appeared on numerous posters and tourist brochures and became among the widely popular images of the Philippine Commonwealth. Amorsolo’s vivid, highly optimistic depictions of bucolic themes established the foundations of pre-war Philippine painting. According to the Philippine Art Gallery, Amorsolo’s “pastoral works presented an imagined sense of nationhood in counterpoint to American colonial rule and were important to the formation of Filipino national identity.” Set during a warm summer day, Fruit Vendors sees Amorsolo magnificently capturing the glory of the pre-war Philippine countryside. Looking through a retrospective lens, it was timely for Amorsolo to paint in and experience his zenith during the Philippines’ own “Golden Era.” With this, Amorsolo contributed to shaping and preserving our collective identity since his works visually resonated with the sublime way of living of the folk people before the tragic consequences of the war. In Amorsolo: Love and Passion, Sylvia Amorsolo Lazo wrote: “Despite the simple and almost prosaic quality of the titles given to these works by Fernando Amorsolo, their poetic appeal resided in the quality of their execution and the atmosphere conveyed by their exquisite light even as they immediately transport us to the particular places that inspired their creations, connecting us to sites and environments, which are now unrecognizable, if not long vanished, erased not from memory, but by the inroads of modern times in the guise of commercialization and urbanization.”