INS-11-059 Cooking the Noonday Meal

Decades may have passed after his death, but Amorsolo’s work continues to resonate among his countrymen. His portrayals of an ideal and beautiful world drew the most ardent praises and the harshest criticisms. To understand the artist, one has to appreciate the man behind Amorsolo. He was shy, righteous, and, most importantly pure. These traits spilled over onto his canvas. It was not that Amorsolo was incapable of recognizing the dark side of society. He has had his share of heartbreaks and tragedies in life from which he deliberately isolated himself. Yet he chose to portray the bright side of the world. Not a shred of wickedness permeated his character, hence, his art is the purest manifestation of beauty. The basic desire to identify with the good is what people inherently have in common with the artist. It is for this legacy that Amorsolo will be most fondly remembered.

An appreciation for cross-stitch

Prolific as he was, Amorsolo was always generous to acknowledge and encourage a person’s talents and abilities as recalled by Helen, Fernando’s Amorsolo’s eledest child from his second marriage.

Helen was by his bedside when he looked over her way and curiously asked her what she was doing. At the time, Helen was very fond of sewing and happened to be working on one of her cross-stitch projects. She described to him what she was doing and showed the work. Papa gave her a big smile and remarked, “Ang ganda ng binurda mo. Ikaw rin pala ang nag-mana sa ina ko (Your embroidery is beautiful! So it is you who inherited my mother’s skills).”

He was of course referring to our grandmother Bonifacia Cueto, who supported the family by doing embroidery for a living. Of this praise, Helen writes:

“That simple remark meant so much to me. By comparing his beloved mother to me, he made me feel very close to him. More importantly, by acknowledging my own artistic endeavor, he made me a part of his own magical world.”