Fernando AMORSOLO ~ Planting Rice ✿

Filipino artist Fernando Amorsolo (Manila, 30 maggio 1892 – Manila, 24 aprile 1972) best remembered for his landscapes of the countryside in the Philippines. Was the first-ever to be recognized as a National Artist of the Philippines. He was recognized as such for his "pioneering use of impressionistic technique" as well as his skill in the use of lighting and backlighting in his paintings, "significant not only in the development of Philippine art but also in the formation of Filipino notions of self and identity.

A native of the Paco neighborhood, he finished his studies at the Liceo de Manila Art School in 1909. After traveling to several foreign cities during his youth, where he was exposed to artistic techniques and styles from other countries, Amorsolo returned to his homeland with the aim of creating paintings that could best illustrate his native identity and landscapes.

Both during and after the Second World War, his works remained a point of reference in an attempt to restore the Philippine national identity, after centuries of foreign domination. Amorsolo remained active throughout his life, making an average of 10 paintings a month from the 1950s until his death in 1972 due to heart disease.

Four days after his disappearance, President Ferdinand Marcos decided to pay homage to him by appointing him as the first national artist in the field of visual arts at the Cultural Center of the Philippines.