The National Artist Fernando Amorsolo, while known more for his countryside scenes, was also an illustrator for novels and komiks. In fact, he provided the illustrations for the popular comic strip, “Ganito pala sa Maynila,” which satirized the social issues during the American of occupation of the Philippines, serialized in the Bagong Lipang Kalabaw magazine from 1922 to 1924.

Some of Amorsolo’s illustrations from 1909 to 1924 are showcased in “Tell-tale: The Artist as Storyteller, Amorsolo as Co-Author” at the Lopez Museum.

As an illustrator, Amorsolo had collaborated with early twentieth-century writers like Tagalog novelists Iñigo Regalado and Severino Reyes, editor Lope K. Santos, and writer-educator Camilo O. Osias.

Amorsolo illustrated the first Tagalog novel Regalado Madaling Araw (1909) and likewise rendered drawings in the cover of Liwayway magazines where Regalado served as editor. Amorsolo’s illustrations for Reyes’ first Tagalog novel Parusa ng Diyos (1911) were collaborations with the author and with other artists–Irineo Miranda and N. Reyes–done when he was a student. Osias’ Philippine Readers (1924), used in the primary grade schools in the Philippines, were illustrated by Amorsolo, bringing to life the stories of virtues and examples of good and proper behavior.  Ganito Pala sa Maynila was a collaboration with Santos.

The exhibit is part of the eight-month, seven-museum exhibit on the national artist entitled Amorsolo Retrospective: His Art, Our Heart, which takes a different look at the country’s first national artist. It will run until April 4, 2009.

Until April, other Amorsolo exhibits will run at the Ayala Museum, GSIS Museum of Art, Metropolitan Museum of Art, National Art Gallery of the National Museum of the Philippines, UP Jorge B. Vargas Museum and the Filipiniana Research Center, and the Yuchengco Museum. Each museum will tackle a different theme, covering Amorsolo’s range of subjects.

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Amorsolo for Kids at Museo Pambata