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Lot Essay
For a brief period, Anita was labelled the 'Female Amorsolo' as both shared the same dedication for women and genre subjects. The affiliation however, is not more than this sharing of the common subjects. Anita essentially works in a different epoch and her works are influenced by the modernist movements which was at its most fervent in the 1950s. It was during the 1950s when various Western 'isms' were introduced to the Filipino artists in quick succession. It was an exciting period in the Philippines when young artists were burning with the desire to revolutionise and turned their back on accepted aesthetics.
Anita bravely re-defined the images of women in her works. It was observed that "...subjects included women harvesting fruit, gathering shaves of grain, or selling fish in the market, the artist emphasized movement and bustling interaction by means of bold, vigorous brushstrokes and strong tonal contrasts of light and dark. Brisk decisive lines become a marked tendency to simplify forms into basic geometric shapes; triangles for the bananas and rectangle for the skirts, thereby creating a lively counterpoint of sharp, angular forms. ...here, the women briefly exchanging words and glances shifts positions and carry out the stages of a process within a closed space that is entirely occupied by their figures, with some cropping along the four sides ." 1 Magsaysay-Ho reveals a distinct preference for depicting her beloved compatriots, the Philippine women who are portrayed variously in scenes of harvesting fruit, catching fish, or interacting within the marketplace. Rather than the romanticised, beautiful maidens of Amorsolo's ilk, Magsaysay-Ho's females are sturdy village peasants, strong of limb and spirit. Magsaysay-Ho reinforces this through the use of bold, decisive lines and simplification of forms: triangular kerchiefs tied around angular faces, swiftly formed arms and legs, yet all with a strong gestural quality.
The present lot, painted in 1967 is infused with a concentrated energy which reinforces the spirit of the women embodied. Compositionally, Caroling is similar to other works from this period, showing stylized figures and strongly coloured interlocking background hues to draw the central image into a tightly concentrated whole. It depicts a closer view of three women singing together, a show of warm solidarity and camaraderie within the communal nature of Filipino society, particularly amongst the women. The present lot is also unique as the subject of a trio of women singing in a chorus is relatively rare in comparison to her subjects of warm pastoralism.
(1) Alice G. Guillermo, 'A Woman's Journey to Selfhood in Art', Anita Magsaysay-Ho: A Retrospective, Manila, 1989, p. 18
Anita bravely re-defined the images of women in her works. It was observed that "...subjects included women harvesting fruit, gathering shaves of grain, or selling fish in the market, the artist emphasized movement and bustling interaction by means of bold, vigorous brushstrokes and strong tonal contrasts of light and dark. Brisk decisive lines become a marked tendency to simplify forms into basic geometric shapes; triangles for the bananas and rectangle for the skirts, thereby creating a lively counterpoint of sharp, angular forms. ...here, the women briefly exchanging words and glances shifts positions and carry out the stages of a process within a closed space that is entirely occupied by their figures, with some cropping along the four sides ." 1 Magsaysay-Ho reveals a distinct preference for depicting her beloved compatriots, the Philippine women who are portrayed variously in scenes of harvesting fruit, catching fish, or interacting within the marketplace. Rather than the romanticised, beautiful maidens of Amorsolo's ilk, Magsaysay-Ho's females are sturdy village peasants, strong of limb and spirit. Magsaysay-Ho reinforces this through the use of bold, decisive lines and simplification of forms: triangular kerchiefs tied around angular faces, swiftly formed arms and legs, yet all with a strong gestural quality.
The present lot, painted in 1967 is infused with a concentrated energy which reinforces the spirit of the women embodied. Compositionally, Caroling is similar to other works from this period, showing stylized figures and strongly coloured interlocking background hues to draw the central image into a tightly concentrated whole. It depicts a closer view of three women singing together, a show of warm solidarity and camaraderie within the communal nature of Filipino society, particularly amongst the women. The present lot is also unique as the subject of a trio of women singing in a chorus is relatively rare in comparison to her subjects of warm pastoralism.
(1) Alice G. Guillermo, 'A Woman's Journey to Selfhood in Art', Anita Magsaysay-Ho: A Retrospective, Manila, 1989, p. 18