Amorsolo’s Sketches
By Edwin A. Martinez
In the
angst-ridden world of today’s art scene, the emphasis on spontaneity and
introspection demands that the artist expresses his or her ideas by putting
brush to canvas as visions cross the artist’s mind. The first brush strokes
define the foundation of the finished masterpiece---a window into the
artist’s self.
Fernando C. Amorsolo, the
first Filipino National Artist, actually held the opposite view. As with
the traditional classicists, he believed that the foundation of the finished
painting was built not upon the first brush strokes but the initial drawings
that should precede them. He painstakingly drew multiple studies, repeatedly
revising and correcting the previous output until he arrived at a
satisfactory result. Amorsolo’s drawings remind us that painting is not
just a reverberation of one’s soul but must involve the analytical
structuring of one’s eye.
Amorsolo was so dedicated to detail and structure that despite his mastery
of the human form he continued to incessantly sketch everything he saw
producing about three sets of sketches within hours. He reasoned that every
person was different. The movements and the way the light bounces off were
unique and he wanted to capture these nuances to truly make his work an
accurate reflection of the subject. He was never content with what he has
already seen believing that nature always had something new to offer. The
detail and sophistication with which Amorsolo executed his drawings make his
studies finished products unto themselves.
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Spanish Woman with Mantilla,
1919
Conte crayon
-- 14.75” x 10.38”
Christina Amorsolo Collection
Signed and inscribed “F. Amorsolo Madrid ‘19”
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The
artist was known to be a very prolific painter having produced thousands of
oil paintings. For every painting he finished, there were countless
drawings and bosetos (oil studies) that served as precursors. If these
studies were included, rough estimates place Amorsolo’s total artistic
output in the tens of thousands. Early in the 1970’s, a group of American
tourists visited his studio. Not feeling very well at the time, he prodded
his daughter Sylvia to entertain the guests. At a loss as to how to
entertain them, she took out albums containing the artist’s sketches. One
of the visitors exclaimed, “First time I’ve seen so many beautiful art
studies made by one artist!”
More
important than the volume is the quality of his output. Amorsolo would
start off with a rough rendering, often drawn from life, followed by other
sketches offering more detail. He constantly sought to improve upon his
initial work resulting in studies that approached the same level of
excellence as the finished oil painting. His attention to detail was such
that you can almost mistake his late-stage sketches for black and white
photo reproductions of his oil paintings.
In
order to appreciate Amorsolo’s artistry, one cannot concentrate just on his
paintings. One has to take a step back and look at the foundation of that
which the artist seeks to communicate. The essence of drawing is the use of
lines in order to define a shape. What distinguishes Amorsolo from the
other great artists is that not only did he use lines to define shape but
oftentimes he utilized the absence of them to suggest form. Therein lies
the artist’s genius. If one were to look closely, one cannot find in the
depiction the detail that is suggested and yet the composition was fully
realized.
Available!
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Amorsolo Directory
~~ Most
of the current literature that pays tribute to Amorsolo highlights
his works in oil. What many art patrons fail to realize is that
what came before the final product gives you the opportunity to get
a better peek at the artist’s thought process. Known as a very
meticulous artist, Fernando Amorsolo made numerous sketches before
he actually put the first brush stroke onto his canvas. Oftentimes,
the initial sketches give you a better idea of his original intent.
The delicate lines tell the story of the raw artistry that evolved
and manifested itself in the finished oil painting. The Fernando C.
Amorsolo Art Foundation put together a personal directory that is
accompanied by 20 images of sketches that the artist drew in
preparation for some of his more famous oil paintings. This small
sampling of sketches in different stages of the drawing process
gives one an appreciation of the painstaking detail that Amorsolo
undertook in creating his art pieces.
If you are interested in purchasing this
book,
click on the picture at left for
further details. |
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