Fernando Amorsolo
Bagobo
1932
Oil on canvas
27.5 x 22 cm
This portrait of a Bagobo datu or chief is by National Artist Fernando Amorsolo (1892-1972). It is one of the few depictions that the artist made of indigenous peoples in Southern Philippines. The sitter wears ornate attire, befitting his rank. On his head is a red tangkulo, beaded and tasseled, and on his right ear, a large ornament called gading, worn by men of elite rank and likely made of ivory, which could only be sourced from trade with foreigners. His neck is adorned by tradebeads and he wears a jacket with decorative details. But the most striking element of this portrait is his gaze, “suffused with a quiet dignity, centering our focus on the person rather than the embellishments.”
Enrique Zóbel de Ayala, a fourth generation managing partner of Ayala y Compañía, precursor of Ayala Corporation, was Amorsolo’s patron, funding the artist’s travels to Europe and the United States.