During this period, Amorsolo developed the use of light--actually, backlight--which is his greatest contribution to Philippine painting. Characteristically, an Amorsolo painting contains a glow against which the figures are outlined, and at one point of the canvas there is generally a burst of light that highlights the smallest detail.

During the 1920s and 1930s Amorsolo's output of paintings was prodigious. In 1939 his oil Afternoon Meal of the Workers won first prize at the New York World's Fair. During World War II Amorsolo continued to paint. The Philippine collector Don Alfonso Ongpin commissioned him to execute a portrait in absentia of Gen. Douglas MacArthur, which he did at great personal risk. He also painted Japanese occupation soldiers and self-portraits. His wartime paintings were exhibited at the Malacanang presidential palace in 1948. After the war Amorsolo served as director of the college of fine arts of the University of the Philippines, retiring in 1950. Married twice, he had 13 children, five of whom became painters.

Amorsolo was noted for his portraits. He made oils of all the Philippine presidents, including the revolutionary leader Gen. Emilio Aguinaldo, and other noted Philippine figures. He also painted many wartime scenes, including Bataan, Corner of Hell, and One Casualty.

Amorsolo, who died in 1972, is said to have painted more than 10,000 pieces. He continued to paint even in his late 70s, despite arthritis in his hands. Even his late works feature the classic Amorsolo tropical sunlight. He said he hated "sad and gloomy" paintings, and he executed only one painting in which rain appears

 Fernando C. Amorsolo, named National Artist in Painting in 1972, was the first Filipino to ever be given that distinction. He was also called the “Grand Old Man of Philippine Art” at the inauguration of the Manila Hilton’s art center, where his paintings were exhibited, on January 23, 1969. His works covered a wide range of subjects, but he was best known for his idealized female images of the dalagang Filipina. He also painted scenes of traditional Filipino customs, fiestas and occupations, and series of historical paintings on pre-Colonial and Spanish Colonization scenes. He preferred to paint in natural light and developed the backlighting technique, which became his trademark.

Amorsolo was born on May 30, 1892 in Paco, Manila. His parents were Pedro Amorsolo and Bonifacia Cueto, and his brother, Pablo, also became a painter. After his father died, the family moved to Manila to live with his uncle, painter Fabian de la Rosa, who eventually guided him to engage in painting. His mother did embroidery to earn money, and he helped her by selling watercolor postcards to a bookstore for 10 centavos each.

Amorsolo studied at the art school of the Liceo de Manila, where he earned honors in painting and drawing. After that, he entered the University of the Philippines School of Fine Arts, where de la Rosa taught. During his years there, he was much influenced by Spanish painter Diego de Velazquez and other European painters. To make ends meet, he joined competitions and did illustrations for different publications, like Severino Reyes’ first novel, Parusa ng Diyos. He graduated in 1914 with several medals for excellence.

After graduating, he joined the UP as an instructor while he worked as a draftsman at the Public Works and as chief artist at the Pacific Commercial Company. He taught for 38 years and was director of the School of Fine Arts from 1938 to 1952, when he retired to devote his time to painting. He also did work illustrating children’s textbooks and magazines.

He had further artistic training in 1916, when businessman Enrique Zobel de Ayala gave him a grant to study at the Academia de San Fernando in Madrid. From the 1930’s to the 1950’s, his peak years, he widely exhibited both here and abroad. Some of the exhibitions are the Exposicion de Panama in 1914, a one-man show at the Grand Central Gallery in New York City in 1925, and a one-man retrospective at the National Museum in 1948. Aside from these, he also received many honors and distinctions for his works.

On April 24, 1972, Fernando Amorsolo succumbed to heart failure in Manila.

His major works include:

• 1920 – My Wife, Salud
• 1921 – Maiden in a Stream, GSIS Collection
• 1922 – Rice Planting
• 1928 – El Ciego, Central Bank of the Philippines Collection
• 1936 – Dalagang Bukid, Club Filipino Collection
• 1943 – The Mestiza, the National Museum of the Philippines Collection
• 1946 – Planting Rice, UCPB Collection
• 1958 – Sunday Morning Going To Town, Ayala Museum Collection

Achievements:

• 1908 – 2nd Prize, Bazar Escolta (Asocacion Internacional de Artistas), for Levendo Periodico
• 1922 – 1st Prize, Commercial and Industrial Fair in the Manila Carnival
• 1929 – 1st Prize, New York’s World Fair, for Afternoon Meal of Rice Workers
• 1940 – Outstanding UP Alumnus Award
• 1959 – Gold Medal, UNESCO National Commission
• 1961 – Rizal Pro Patria Award
• 1961 – Honorary Doctorate in the Humanities, from the Far Eastern University
• 1963 – Diploma of Merit from the University of the Philippines
• 1963 – Patnubay ng Sining at Kalinangan Award, from the City of Manila
• 1963 – Republic Cultural Heritage Award
• 1972 – Gawad CCP para sa Sining, from the Cultural Center of the Philippines

The National Artists of the Philippines

Guidelines

The Order of National Artists (Orden ng Gawad Pambansang Alagad ng Sining) is the highest national recognition given to Filipino individuals who have made significant contributions to the development of Philippine arts; namely, Music, Dance, Theater, Visual Arts, Literature, Film and Broadcast Arts, and Architecture and Allied Arts. The order is jointly administered by the National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA) and Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP) and conferred by the President of the Philippines upon recommendation by both institutions.

The Order of National Artists is one of the Honors of the Philippines that embodies the nation’s highest ideals in humanism and aesthetic expression through the distinct achievements of individual citizens. While the Republic bestows due recognition to these singular achievements, it in turn honors its own cultural heritage, whose enrichment these achievements have significantly effected, enhanced, and given direction.

These achievements are measured in terms of their vision, unusual insight, creativity and imagination, technical proficiency of the highest order in expressing Filipino culture and traditions, history, way of life, and aspirations.

1. BACKGROUND

1. The National Artist Award (Gawad Pambansang Alagad ng Sining) was established under Proclamation No. 1001 dated April 27, 1972 to give appropriate recognition and prestige to Filipinos who have distinguished themselves and made outstanding contributions to Philippine arts and letters. The first award was conferred posthumously later that year on Fernando Amorsolo.
   
2. Proclamation No. 1144 dated May 15, 1973 named the CCP Board of Trustees as the National Artist Awards Committee and Presidential Decree No. 208 issued on June 7, 1973 reiterated the mandate of CCP to administer the National Artist Awards as well as the privileges and honors to National Artists.
   
3. The NCCA was organized under Republic Act No. 7356 dated April 2, 1992 and given broad responsibilities over the development and promotion of the Filipino national culture and the arts, including awards to persons who have significantly contributed to the development and promotion of Philippine culture and the arts.
   
4. Executive Order No. 236 dated September 19, 2003, otherwise known as the Honors Code of the Philippines, conferred additional prestige on the National Artist Award by raising it to the level of a Cultural Order, fourth in precedence among the orders and decorations that comprise the Honors of the Philippines, and equal in rank to the Order of National Scientists and the Gawad sa Manlilikha ng Bayan. The National Artist Award was thereby renamed the Order of National Artists (Orden ng mga Pambansang Alagad ng Sining).
   

2. OBJECTIVES

The Order of National Artists aims to recognize:

1. Filipino artists who have made significant contributions to the cultural heritage of the country.
2. Filipino artistic accomplishment at its highest level and to promote creative expression as significant to the development of a national cultural identity.
   
3. Filipino artists who have dedicated their lives to their works to forge new paths and directions for future generations of Filipino artists.

3. HONORS AND PRIVILEGES

The following privileges are provided to those conferred with the Order of National Artists:

1. The rank and title of National Artist, as proclaimed by the President of the Philippines;
2. The National Artist medallion and citation;
3. Lifetime emolument and material and physical benefits comparable in value to those received by the highest officers of the land such as:

3.1. a cash award of One Hundred Thousand Pesos (P100,000.00), net of taxes for living awardees;

3.2. a cash award of Seventy Five Thousand Pesos (P75,000.00), net of taxes for posthumous awardees, payable to legal heir/s;

3.3 a monthly life pension, medical and hospitalization benefits;

3.4. life insurance coverage for Awardees who are still insurable;

3.5. arrangements and expenses for a state funeral;

3.6. a place of honor, in line with protocular precedence, at national state functions, and recognition at cultural events.

4. CRITERIA FOR SELECTION

The Order of National Artists shall be given to:

1. Living artists who are Filipino citizens at the time of nomination, as well as those who died after the establishment of the award in 1972 but were Filipino citizens at the time of their death;
   
2. Artists who through the content and form of their works have contributed in building a Filipino sense of nationhood;
   
3. Artists who have pioneered in a mode of creative expression or style, thus, earning distinction and making an impact on succeeding generations of artists;
   
4. Artists who have created a substantial and significant body of works and/or consistently displayed excellence in the practice of their art form thus enriching artistic expression or style; and
   
5. Artists who enjoy broad acceptance through:

   - prestigious national and/or international recognition, such as the Gawad CCP Para sa Sining, CCP Thirteen Artists Award and NCCA Alab ng Haraya;
   - critical acclaim and/or reviews of their works;
   - respect and esteem from peers.

5. NOMINATION PROCEDURE

1. The National Artist Award Secretariat shall announce the opening of nominations through media releases and letters to qualified organizations.
   
2. Candidates may be nominated under one or more of the following categories:

   a. Dance – choreography, direction and/or performance;

   b. Music – composition, direction, and/or performance;

   c. Theater – direction, performance and/or production design;

   d. Visual Arts – painting, sculpture, printmaking, photography, installation art, mixed media works, illustration, graphic arts, performance art and/or imaging;

   e. Literature – poetry, fiction, essay, playwriting, journalism and/or literary criticism;

   f. Film and Broadcast Arts – direction, writing, production design, cinematography, editing, camera work, and/or performance; and

   g. Architecture, Design and Allied Arts – architecture design, interior design, industrial arts design, landscape architecture and fashion design.
   

3. Nominations for the Order of National Artists may be submitted by government and non-government cultural organizations and educational institutions, as well as private foundations and councils.
   
4. Members of the Special Research Group, as well as agencies attached to the NCCA and CCP shall not submit nominations.
   
5. NCCA and CCP Board members and consultants and NCCA and CCP officers and staff are automatically disqualified from being nominated.
   
6. Nominations shall be accepted only when these are submitted in writing and with proper supporting documentation, as follows:

   a. A cover letter signed by the head or designated representative of the nominating organization. The cover letter shall be accompanied by a Board Resolution approving the nominee concerned with the said resolution signed by the organization President and duly certified by the Board Secretary.

   b. A duly accomplished nomination form;

   c. A detailed curriculum vitae of the nominee;

   d. A list of the nominee’s significant works categorized according to the criteria;

   e. The latest photograph (color or black and white) of the nominee, either 5” x 7” or 8” x 11”;

   f. Pertinent information materials on the nominee’s significant works (on CDs, VCDs and DVDs);

   g. Copies of published reviews; and

   h. Any other document that may be required.

Nominations received beyond the announced deadline  for the submission of nominations shall not be considered.

All inquiries and nominations shall be submitted to

The NATIONAL ARTIST AWARD SECRETARIAT
Office of the Artistic Director
Cultural Center of the Philippines
Roxas Boulevard, 1300 Pasay City

Kulay-Diwa  is a venue for Philippines and Southeast Asian Contemporary Art. Inaugurated on February 7, 1987, Kulay-Diwa, is strategically located within a cluster of communities South of Manila.  It has five independent exhibition areas able to accommodate large-scale works and a garden ideal for programs, performances and sculpture installations.  The goal of the gallery is to discover and promote the works of young, talented but deserving Filipino Artists and to foster cultural interaction and exchanges with the local regions and other countries.

Kulay (Colour)

Diwa  (Spirit, Thought)