Sunset over Malabon fishponds immortalized by Amorsolo

I had a rare opportunity to view Fernando Amorsolo's SUNSET OVER MALABON FISHPONDS recently with my husband.  We were so thrilled!  Wouldn't you be, if you could hold the frame at arm's length, take in every masterful stroke, and admire every hue and texture of an Amorsolo masterpiece?

I've long admired Amorsolo for his beautiful depiction of Philippine rural life and landscapes, but I always thought those were all of some rustic far-off province.  Imagine how excited I was when I discovered that once upon a time, Amorsolo actually sat down and painted our very own fishponds in Malabon!

SUNSET OVER MALABON FISHPONDS by National Artist Fernando Amorsolo.  From the Adamson University Collection.  Photo taken by Mar Bustamante of Adamson University during our visit.

In the painting, the explosion of color in the sky as the sun is about to set on Malabon's fishponds provides a vibrant backdrop to an otherwise peaceful scene. This is classic Amorsolo, combining skillful technique and emotion.  Note the familiar outline of San Bartolome Church in the distance. As I admired the painting, I couldn't help but feel a little emotional; I was viewing a scene once familiar and comforting, memorialized on canvas by one of the masters. 


THE PAINTING

Fernando Amorsolo painted SUNSET OVER MALABON FISHPONDS in 1950.  It was bought by Sofia Adamson, wife of George Athos Adamson (whose original Greek surname was Adamopoulos).  The latter worked at Adamson University to help his first cousin, George Lucas Adamson, founder of Adamson University. 

After the war, Sofia went to live in the U.S., bringing the painting with her.  She died of a heart attack on May 19, 2007 in Pasadena, California.  Sofia wrote of her experience in the Philippines in her book "Gods, Angels, Pearls and Roses," on the back cover of which appears her portrait done by Amorsolo.  The original portrait, around 4 ft. x 3 ft., was bequeathed to Adamson University together with the two smaller Amorsolo paintings "SUNSET OVER MALABON FISHPONDS" and "Fruit Harvesting."

The paintings now form part of the Adamson University collection.


THE ARTIST

Self-portrait of Amorsolo taken from Wikipedia.

Amorsolo was born on May 30, 1892 in Paco, Manila, to Pedro Amorsolo and Bonifacia Cueto.  However, he spent most of his childhood in Daet, Camarines Norte, where he learned to love the simple rural life that would be reflected in most of his paintings.  At eleven, after his father died, he and his family moved back to Manila and lived with Don Fabian dela Rosa, his mother's cousin and a painter.  It was  Don Fabian who mentored Amorsolo in painting.

Amorsolo first studied in the Art School of the Liceo de Manila, then earned his degree from the University of the Philippines School of Fine Arts.

The artist became a professor in his early 20s and was already establishing himself in the art world.  At 25, he married Salud Jorge.  It was then that Don Enrique Zobel de Ayala was so impressed by his work that he offered to send Amorsolo to the Academia de San Fernando in Madrid for further studies with a generous stipend for himself and his family.  The artist took the entrance exam at the Academia, and to his surprise, after evaluating his work, the school informed him that they would accept him not as a student but as a professor at the school.

Amorsolo spent seven months in Madrid where he was able to observe the works of the masters such as Diego Velasquez, El Greco, Goya, Monet, Manet, Van Dyck, Sargent, and Joaquin Sorolla.  Afterwards he returned to the Philippines and set up his own studio.

His first wife Salud passed away in 1931 leaving him with six children.  He had six more children by a common-law wife.  In 1935 he married Maria del Carmen who gave him eight more children.  Fortunately, his reputation was growing as fast as his brood and his work was more than enough to provide for his rather large family.

It is believed that the oil paintings Amorsolo produced number into the thousands.  If his drawings, sketches, and studies are added, his total output was in excess of ten thousand pieces.  At one point, he was able to finish no less than ten paintings in a typical month.

He reached the peak of his popularity in the late 1940s and 1950s garnering numerous awards and citations along the way.

Amorsolo died of heart failure on April 24, 1972.

Four days after his death, he was posthumously honored as the first National Artist of the Philippines.


AMORSOLO'S LEGACY TO MALABON

It is believed that at some point in his life, Malabon held a special place in Amorsolo's heart as he was said to have courted a lady from Malabon.  And the lady who was the object of his affection back then had a legacy from the artist, because the ceiling of this lady's house has a painting by Amorsolo.

Amorsolo's legacy to Malabon is not so much the actual painting; it is that he immortalized on canvas something that is part of Malabon's heritage -- its fishponds. 

Fishponds have been a part of our landscape for a very long time - going as far back as the 1800s when Domingo Coronel of Barrio Concepcion was said to have started a method that soon became popular and spawned the fish farming industry in Malabon.  Through the years, these fishponds helped define the lives of those who made a living out of them, and somehow also affected the lives of those who lived near them or passed them everyday.

Those fishponds made us feel a greater connection with Nature, making us realize how much we depend on Nature and how taking care of it brings balance and beauty into our lives.  These emotions, these values are fast vanishing, it seems, vanishing as quickly as the fishponds we used to see around us. A sad realization... yet I'm hoping against hope that somehow somewhere, a few fishponds will still make it through to the next century and beyond as proud reminders of Malabon's heritage.

But should that dreaded day come when Malabon's fishponds are just a thing of the past, we can be comforted by our memories... and maybe a few pictures retrieved from the baul...

...and most of all, by a a beautiful, memorable painting by Fernando Amorsolo.

My profound thanks to Fr. Greg Banaga, Jr., C.M., President of Adamson University for graciously letting us view the Amorsolos, and to Mr. Raul Agner, Head, IDEA Office and his staff Mar and Jonathan, for assisting us during our visit.  



Sources 
1)    The Painting:   Mr. Raul Agner, Head, IDEA Office, Adamson University 
2)    The Artist:  Fernando C. Amorsolo Art Foundation website

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