Fernando y Cueto Amorsolo was born on May 30th in 1892 in a humble and quiet community in Paco, Manila, Philippines. He was popularly known in local history for his rural Philippine landscapes.

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Amorsolo was known as “The Grand Old Man of Philippine Art” because his illuminated landscapes displayed the magnificence of the country’s sunshine and portrayed traditional Filipino customs, culture, fiestas, and ordinary occupations, such as rice harvesting and mango picking. Amorsolo’s use of chiaroscuro—an Italian term for a backlighting technique meaning “light-dark” that involves the interplay of light and dark—became his artistic trademark as well as his greatest contribution to Philippine painting.

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His craftsmanship and speed of production have been compared to the efficiency of machines on the assembly line. Amorsolo is considered to be the most influential Philippine painter of the 20th century on contemporary Filipino art and artists.