THE WAR YEARS – HORROR AND DESTRUCTION

One would be hard pressed to find even the slightest bit of anger in any of Amorsolo’s colorful subjects – this was not his way.  The placid demeanor of the Philippine farm workers and country people, going about the lives and chores, exude contentment with their lot in life, never showing resentment of any kind.   

This is not to say that Amorsolo did not imbue his subjects with psychological dimensions. The weathered lines on an old woman’s face, projecting the cumulative experiences she had encountered in her long life – or the gleeful abandonment of dancers in a neighborhood fiesta.  This was all about to change.
 
On December 8th, 1941, ten hours after the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor, they launched bombing raids on the American airfields at Clark Air Base in Pampanga.  With the exit of General Douglas MacArthur on March 11, 1942, and the subsequent surrender of his starving troops in Corregidor, all allied resistance to the Japanese invasion of the Philippines had essentially halted.  The famous Bataan death march ensued, where 7-10,000 troops were murdered, and the remaining 13,000 survivors surrendered in Corregidor on 6 May.   

Filipino guerrilla fighters continued to battle Japanese troops throughout the rest of the war, using their own domestic resources and supplies sent to through US submarines and other means.  During this Japanese occupation period, many atrocities were committed by the Japanese soldiers against the Filipinos.   
 
General MacArthur returned to the Philippines on October 20, 1944, as he had promised to do, with a force of 170,000 men and over 700 vessels, landing in Leyte, Visayan Islands.    Knowing they were beaten, The Japanese executed a suicide defense of the major areas of the country, such as Manila, ultimately reducing these to rubble.  It is estimated that over 500,000 Filipinos were killed during the Japanese occupation.  
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Amorsolo’s kind heart was buried under the wanton devastation of the beautiful Manila he idealized, along with the countless Japanese inhumanities in the raping, pillaging, and murder of his beloved countrymen.  He resolved to capture this depravity and destruction for the world to see and judge, in a series of works known collectively as “The War Paintings.”  These coveted paintings were generally created in the early to mid-1940's, ceasing altogether a few years after the war ended

DESTRUCTION OF MANILA 

Up until the time Amorsolo initiated his War Paintings series, the closest thing he had done to that was capturing the ruins of old Spanish era churches.  Usually recognizable as religious structures, these churches are adorned with crumbling, moss covered facades.  These images are often accented with flame trees and villagers, enjoying a few moments of respite before continuing with their busy day.   

Compare that idyllic scene of a weathered ancient church, to the still smoldering remains of a residential street.  Huge chunks of concrete are missing from the structures that recede into the distance, where bombs had blasted their symmetric shapes into irregular hulks.  Uncontrolled fires still rage within these buildings, with no sign of life anywhere to be seen.   

Amorsolo’s pastoral renditions of Manila Bay usually entail fisherman with their families, unloading the day’s catch, with a magnificent sunset in the background.  Not so in one of his most famous scenes, “Bombing of the Intendencia.”  Panicked civilians run for their lives across the pier, while several bombed ships spew billowing black smoke skyward from their oil fires.  In the background, the beautiful Manila Bay sunset remains, as if the artist is saying, this horror will one day pass, and normalcy will again reign – a message of hope. 

ATTROCITY PAINTINGS

A ruthless Japanese soldier looks down upon the dead body of a beautiful Filipina he has presumably just murdered – with the likelihood of his having committed other foul deeds upon her before that eventuality.  She faces heaven, likely having prayed for a savior that never came.  Her clothing is disheveled, with her long hair spread out far past her limp form.  The solider appears to be fixing the sleeve of his uniform, perhaps grabbed by the fallen maiden during her desperate struggle for life.   

In another heart rendering work, a desperate woman flees the nearby fighting with her infant child, clutched to her breast.  Dead bodies are strewn around her, and a man with a cane strides behind her, carrying what appears to be either the remains of a child, or possibly one wounded and still clinging to life that he is seeking to help.  Smoke and destruction consume the background, and one might imagine this scene was repeated time and again.   

One of the most profound war images, shows a beautiful Filipina kneeling.  Her gaze is to the heavens, and she clutches her yellow head scarf.  The smoke of the battle behind her takes on a religious glow, encircling her head in a way one would usually associate with depictions of Mary or a Saint.  At her knees is a dead Philippine soldier, presumably her husband. 

RISING FROM THE ASHES 

Fernando Amorsolo used his art to capture the terrible consequences of war,  aptly detailing the gruesome results of the Japanese occupation of his country.  When the war was over, he painted a scene called “Defend Thy Honor,” originally gifted to General Frank Lowe in 1945, but now on permanent exhibit at the National Gallery, Singapore.   

In this scene, which is a rare interior painting, a young Filipino man stands to the viewer’s right.  A raged unmade bed is to his right, representing the post-war destruction that was prevalent in the country.  To his left is a table set with candles and fruits, conveying that light and prosperity would eventually return.  The man looks out at the viewer, holding a beautiful, frightened Filipina, dutifully protecting her with a menacing Bolo knife.  At his feet is the uniform cap of a Japanese soldier, who he presumably just chased from their house.