Palay
signed (lower right)ca. 1930
oil on masonite board
13" x 16" (33 cm x 41 cm)
Accompanied by a certificate issued by Mrs. Sylvia Amorsolo-Lazoconfirming the authenticity of this lot



The 1930s witnessed Fernando Amorsolo at the peak of his artistic prowess. Coinciding with the existence of the Philippine Commonwealth, the administrative body that governed the Philippine Islands for its ten-year transition to independence, Amorsolo painted prodigiously during this decade. The maestro entered a period of creative fertility that embodied the ideals of a people that had deeply longed for genuine self-determination. In the case of this work from the artist's "Golden Period," Amorsolo encapsulates the highly optimistic pre-war period by profoundly capturing the effervescence of the tropical Philippine sunlight. Here, the idyllic picture of the countryside during "peacetime" is emphasized by Amorsolo's depiction of natural radiance that permeates every area of the composition. Two central figures, presumably that of a mother and her child, whose shadows are clearly outlined, show Amorsolo's diligence in rendering minute details. The piece's unbridled, tranquil atmosphere embodies the earnest conviction the Filipinos had been eager for during the pre-war period: They are utterly prepared to forge their own destiny and turn their imagined sense of nationhood into a concrete reality. (A.M.)