Igorot from the Hills, Baguio
signed and dated 1928 (lower left)
oil on wood
13 1/4” x 16” (34 cm x 41 cm)

Provenance:
Private Colletion, USA
Christies, Nineteen to Now, Amsterdam, Netherlands, 12 March 2013, lot 98
Private Collection, Singapore

This piece is accompanied by a certificate issued by Mrs. Sylvia Amorsolo-Lazo confirming the authenticity of this lot

Romanticism generally placed emphasis on such emotions as awe — especially that experienced in confronting the sublimity and beauty of nature as an authentic source of aesthetic experience, and “Igorot from the Hills, Baguio” unleashes the free spirited Romantic in Fernando Amorsolo, who was less concerned with conveying the impression of light as it acted upon the eye than with its effects upon form and color. Compared to the more saccharine colors of his genre paintings of farmers and damsels beside running streams, Amorsolo’s use of more subdued colors in depicting the skies and the rough Cordillera mountain path seems to confirm that the bright light of the Philippine lowlands which are a frequent theme of his works is completely different from the muted light of Luzon’s highlands. Amid the dramatic backdrops Amorsolo emphasizes the hard physicality of a nomadic life.

As early as 1928, Amorsolo’s romanticist style has captivated the Americans who were in step with the classical tradition of theAcademies of art. Amorsolo’s grasp of the classical tradition can be seen in his illustration of ethereal figures which appeared inthe World War 1 era magazine Philippine Craftsman (Manila, Bureau of Printing).

Amorsolo is best known for his illuminated landscapes, and his romanticism of Philippine scenes, which often portrayedtraditional Filipino culture.

Amorsolo used natural light in his paintings and developed the backlighting technique, which became his artistic trademark andhis greatest contribution to Philippine painting. In a typical Amorsolo painting, figures are outlined against a characteristic glow, and intense light on one part of the canvas highlights nearby details.