Lot description
PROPERTY FORMERLY IN THE DON ANSELMO TRINIDAD COLLECTION Fruit Vendor signed and dated 1962 (lower right) oil on canvas 24” x 30” (61 cm x 76 cm) Fruit of Prosperity The Amorsolo Table of Plenty The works of Fernando Amorsolo need no introduction. Arguably the most famous Filipino artist of the 20th – and even the 21st – century, even the most casual of art enthusiasts are sure to recognize his iconic usage of light and shadow, the famed Amorsolo sunlight washing over his rural landscapes and pastoral scenes that endeared him to local and international patrons. Like the rest of his oeuvre, this 1962 piece recalls a quaint and distinct Filipino scene. This time turning his head to a marketplace scene, this unmistakably Amorsolo piece depicts a woman displaying her fruits for sale. The vividness of the cut-open watermelon serves as the only vibrant shade here; the rest, from the mangoes to the bananas to even the woman herself, is washed in a warm hue, not quite exactly the famed Amorsolo sunlight but close enough to mark the National Artist in this piece. In his life and beyond, Amorsolo’s everyday sceneries have become the face of Philippine art. Whether it is to uphold the status quo or to question it, at the heart of it lies Amorsolo, and his lavanderas, dalagas, rural countryside, and like in this case, vendors continue their reign as major players in the Philippine art scene. (Hannah Valiente)
