FERNANDO CUETO AMORSOLO (Filipino, 1892-1972)
FERNANDO CUETO AMORSOLO (Filipino, 1892-1972)

Girl with a Banga

Details
FERNANDO CUETO AMORSOLO (Filipino, 1892-1972)
Girl with a Banga
signed, inscribed, and dated 'F. Amorsolo Manila 1928' (lower right)
oil on canvas
40.5 x 32.5 cm. (16 x 12 3/4 in.)
Painted in 1928
Provenance
Private Collection, California, U.S.A.

Brought to you by

Eric Chang
Eric Chang

Lot Essay

Girl With A Banga is an exceptional work from the earlier part of Fernando Amoroslo's career. Rendered with a soft impressionistic style and a sensitive treatment of light and shadow, this is a work that exemplifies Amorsolo's revere for the beauty to be found in the simplest of daily activities. Amorsolo's depictions of ladies in the act of carrying banga, or water jugs, are often composed as portraits or intimate studies, and are regarded as special subjects amongst his genre scenes.

Painted in 1928, when Amorsolo was only in his mid-thirties, the painting holds much promise for a young artist filled with an idealism and love for his country and its people. Dressed in the distinctive attire of the hardworking Filipina woman, Amorsolo uplifts her as a symbol of youthful exuberance and vitality. As she returns from collecting water from the river, the afternoon sun reflects of the water and casts shadows on the ground around her. Amorsolo invites us to appreciate the uncalculated elegance of her posture set within the idyllic scene. The overall atmosphere is one of warm familiarity, and Amoroslo achieves in imbuing the work with a sense of timeless authenticity.

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