Provenance: Private collection, United Kingdom

ABOUT THE WORK

Fernando Amorsolo’s artistic acclaim had been steadily rising by the time the roaring twenties rolled in – among the first batch of graduates of the UP School of Fine Arts, Amorsolo’s prowess with the pen was recognized when he was given the position of Instructor of Elementary Drawing in his alma mater immediately after graduating in 1914. By 1918, he was promoted to Instructor of Painting, and by the next year, he left for Spain to study under the sponsorship of Enrique Zobel in a quest to refine his art further, proof of his incredibly moving art. Though mostly known for his genre pieces which exalt the bucolic Philippine countryside, Amorsolo is also an impeccable portraitist, as evidenced by his 1926 Portrait of a Lady. Unlike a usual portrait wherein the subject faces the viewer, Amorsolo portrays the titular lady with her hand on her hips, her fashionable French bob falling to her jaw as she faces to the side. The piece has a certain attitude to it, the air of a slight rebelliousness evident on the woman's set jaw and her hand placed on her hip. Here, Amorsolo not only immortalizes the visage of the woman but also her personality, her attitude bleeding into every part of this canvas. The Amorsolo legacy extends past his pastorale depictions of the Philippines – included in his majestic oeuvre are his portraits as he puts intimate and private to portray his great sensitivity to the personal. His portraits, like many that came before it, are imbued with the personality of his muse, putting onto canvas the age-old desire to immortalize one’s visage and memory. (Hannah Valiente)