This Filipino painting entitled “Fruit Pickers Harvesting Under The Mango Tree” was painted in 1939 by the famous Filipino painter and National Artist Fernando Amorsolo. Known for his chiaroscuro techniques, he was one of the native-trained painters having been influenced by Spanish artists who were so into the Spain of Cervantes and Vega. He was later given a grant to study art in Academia de Bellas Artes de San Fernando in Madrid, the same school that Juan Luna once attended. The main difference of his paintings were his recurring subject: the beauty of the Philippines, its history and its people. Perhaps his technique was also shaped by his tedious training as a painter, having been born of a middle class family and having been reared in the province of Camarines Norte. Wonder what the Philippines is like on a sunny day? Look at the Philippine rural landscapes of Amorsolo. Beautiful.

In case you are wondering what The Phillipines is doing among Latin American art subjects, I must excuse myself by stating that the influences of both Spain and America make the art in this country since 1900 very similar.