Lot description
PROPERTY FROM THE COLLECTION OF A DISTINGUISHED FAMILY Under the Mango Tree signed and dated 1955 (lower right) oil on canvas 24” x 34” (61 cm x 86 cm) Belonging to Fernando Amorsolo’s Under the Mango Tree series, this 1955 version illustrates a bountiful harvest season, albeit from a different angle. With his skilled and delicate brush strokes, the master painter profoundly captures the hard work and familial affection of the countryside life: farmers working in the rice field under the heat of the blazing sun while their families cook and wait for them to eat together under the shade of the mango tree. Amorsolo’s usage of this plant is a significant cultural representation, for it is the country’s national fruit and a symbol of abundance and prosperity. Warmer tones are used in this piece, adding a sense of warmth that spreads through his audience. Amorsolo is known for his paintings of the tranquil and content rural life graced by the light from his concocted sun rays, which prompted art essayist Alfredo R. Roces to write about the maestro, “He invested rural people with dignity and country life a feeling of contentment.” Regarded as the “master of rural landscape,” Fernando Amorsolo can turn any blank canvas into a buoyant image of his beloved country and fellowmen. Amorsolo’s genre and historical paintings offer captivating landscapes and portraits and elicit a great sense of belonging to the Filipino nation, making him a cultural phenomenon in his lifetime and beyond. (Jessica Magno)
