Lavandera
signed and dated Manila 1938 (lower right)
oil on canvas
13" x 17" (33 cm x 43 cm)
Accompanied by a certificate issued by Mrs. Sylvia Amorsolo-Lazo confirming the authenticity of this lot
PROVENANCE: Owned by Clyde V. Powers who arrived in the Philippines as an Engineer in August 1908 and left before the war. Mr. Powers worked on many building projects, including the University of the Philippines. According to his great grandson, he also opened the first Ford Dealership in Dumaguete, Negros Oriental. This painting was passed on to his grandson.
León Gallery, The Magnificent September Auction, Makati City, 29 September 2017, Lot 95

Apenetrating nostalgia for the romantic rural scene and the glory of the pre-war years was visually translated into Fernando Amorsolo's canvases during the later years of his career, which spanned the highly optimistic post-war period. Significant stylistic changes pervaded his works, most notably a more overall finish and a softening of details and shades of colors. The post-war era also represented a period in Amorsolo's career where he would constantly paint the recurring subjects of his prime years. As such, lavanderas became a favorite subject matter of the artist.Posed female models in Amorsolo's Manila studio became the exemplars of his nude lavanderas. But the brilliance that the lavandera painting exudes sprang from its background landscapes, which were inspired by the places the artist frequently visited. Sylvia Amorsolo- Lazo recounts: "Since there are so many streams or rivers in rural places, as well as in some urban places then, and Papa took his time going to these places for his on- the-spot sketching and paintings. I think his lavanderas were mostly painted in the provinces of Laguna and Bulacan and along the Pasig River." Amorsolo employed his method of working outdoors and on the spot in the lavandera paintings, especially for its background landscapes. The maestro described this practice in a 1960 interview, saying, "You have to work fast outdoors. Light changes very rapidly, and you have to be fast in order to catch the mood with which you started out."This piece displays one of the many variations of the theme that Amorsolo used—a modestly nude lavandera washing a saya. According to Amorsolo-Lazo, her father's lavanderas were "ideal, beautiful Filipinas who lived in a pastoral landscape of woods, streams, and mountains." Sunlight is reflected on the woman's back, emphasizing the curves of her body and her overwhelming sweetness that is youthful and dignified. As Alfredo Roces noted, “the full burst of Philippine sunlight, which actually washes out color and produces a blinding glare, he added only as accents to bring out the nude’s form.” Amorsolo's depiction of a solitary woman busily washing her clothes, confidently flaunting her posterior, and seemingly withdrawn from the transgressions of machismo embodies an outright expression of female emancipation.Amorsolo's lavanderas are usually seated next to a batya containing the clothes to be washed and a banga for carrying water. These objects act as still lifes within the canvas, giving pertinence to Amorsolo's pieces as encompassing several genres in one composition. The river's graceful flow and the afternoon sunlight that refracts through its waters exhibit Amorsolo's prowess in visually depicting the phenomena of reflection and refraction. The lush, tropical flora complements the river's rocky shores and evokes the salient elements of an Amorsolo painting. (A.M.)