PROPERTY FROM THE DON EUGENIO “GENY” M. LOPEZ JR. COLLECTION

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

Provenance: Private Collection, USA

ABOUT THE WORK

"THE LOPEZ LEGACY COLLECTION : A MICROCOSM OF GREAT PHILIPPINE ART Amorsolo : The Filipino Story-Teller by LISA GUERRERO NAKPIL Fernando Amorsolo stands tall among the titans of Philippine art. With his paintbrush, he created a magical world of the Filipino countryside : of maidens bathing and washing their laundry in sparkling brooks, of farmers and their wives planting the fields and reaping their just harvests and rewards. Rarer works told the story of fisherfolk putting out to sea or coming home with their catch; as well as boatmen espied as they ferried passengers on their way to lively town fiestas and picnics. Fernando Amorsolo was a prodigy and he had the good fortune for having as his mentor, his uncle Fabian de la Rosa, the last of the great 19th-century masters. At age 16, he had already bested the leading lights of Filipino painting at the time at a contest — Teodoro Buenaventura, Jorge Pineda, Ramon Peralta, Vicente Rivera y Mir who were all twice and even up to thrice his age. He would later be formally schooled by them as part of the first graduating class of the University of the Philippines’ newly-established School of Fine Arts. It’s well-known now that he was next sent to Spain by the Zobel de Ayalas to study. And he would return brimming with all kinds of ideas — to tell the Filipino story for all the ages; for above all, he was a master story-teller. In this snapshot of Filipino river life, he paints a family outing : A woman shields herself with a parasol as she daintily disembarks from a boat, a ‘banca’ or river canoe. A behatted-man helps her gallantly to the river bank. The outlines of other women wearing wide-brimmed hats and their children may clearly be seen. A boatman paddles with his oar towards the shore. It is a story of the splendor of simplicity in everyday life. "