Fernando Amorsolo’s delight in the female nude is at its most sumptuous in works such as this riverside scene, one of many versions he did. Here, the painting is vigorous and spontaneous. His instinctive feeling for life — both human life and the life of nature — being expressed in brilliant colors with great warmth.
The pose itself echoes statues at museums and art academies, reflecting Amorsolo’s classical training. The comparisons with classical statuary would give the painting an added complexity of resonance, but here it seems purely a pretext for freedom amidst nature. The equally glowing presence of the washerwoman gives the classical allusions a welcome reality check.