Amorsolo's DEFENSE of a Filipina Woman's HONOR: An ART RESPONSE

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Defense of a Filipina Woman's Honor is one of many of Fernando Amorsolo's Word War ll-Era works. It shows a Filipino man holding a bolo, defending a tatter-clothed woman; either his wife or daughter from being raped by an unseen Japanese soldier; Note the Japanese military cap by his foot. Although it isn't very clear, the background shows a small table with what appears to be an basket or bowl of sorts as well as a few candles. To the right, a bed, likely belonging to the woman, disheveled from her struggling against her assailant. His WW2 paintings depict the suffering and turmoil of Manila from his point of view. Fernando Cueto Amorsolo was one of the most important and inspirational Artist of the Philippines. He was a portraitist and painter of rural Philippine landscapes. Amorsolo is most widely known for his craftmanship, as well as his signature usage of natural light.

The painting in its entirety boldly yells out "FEAR". Being so vulnerable and helpless, not knowing what to do; only hoping that someone could save you. As of February 2020, data indicates that there were 2, 162 reported rape cases in the Philippines. Over 2,000 reported and supposedly solved and yet, many are still ongoing behind close doors. 70% of rape victims in the Philippines are children, many of them being between the ages of 10 and 18, and most having been raped by their own fathers and uncles. Furthermore, a study in the US shows that 43.6% of sexual assault are performed by females. And that's not all, when a female perpetrator is reported, they are less likely to be investigated compared to male perpetrators who are dubbed as "more harmful". So not only is rape an offense against women but against every single human being as well. Nobody is completely safe, everybody is vulnerable. It is truly, a terrible image.

Seeing the painting brings up a lot of unpleasant thoughts, reminding me of the countless times I've seen "RAPE" in big bold letters on the news, many of the victims being around my age or younger. Knowing how, no matter how much I want to do something about it, I wouldn't even know where to start. I can't imagine how they must have felt when it happened; how they must feel after it happened. So, so many of these young women, men, and children have grown to either take their lives or destroy them. I hope that we could be assured that our future generations will be better. That our future generations will stay strong and do what they know is morally right, what they know is good. We can only hope.

"Defense of a Filipina Woman's Honor" is truly a masterpiece worth its recognition. Its depiction of the vulnerability and abuse of the women of that time is heart-wrenching. The fact that it has only become worse at this day and age; the victims spreading in variety from people of all genders, marital status, age, and wealth. Although we could simply take this literally, say how it is only about a Filipino man protecting a Filipina woman from getting raped by a Japanese soldier, we could say it's a representation of our cruel world. How the woman represents the helpless; the hungry; the abused and the broken, the man representing our loved ones, who want to protect us from the dangers of this world, and the foreign soldier representing the powerful; the cruel; all the unknown evils that, whether we like it or not, don't care if we're out and about or in our homes. They will always find a way to hurt us; to break us into every little insecurity we have inside and out.

Fernando Amorsolo's works are the result of compassion and ingenuity that were stimulated and grown by Philippine art schools of great renown. He was a loved son, husband, and father and I think we could all learn from him. To express ourselves as an artist would, to not be afraid to feel what we do. We should never be afraid to feel human. 



Sources: 

WikiWand: https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Fernando_Amorsolo/#over-view/

Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fernando_Amorsolo#Historical_paintings_and_portraits

BusinessMirror: https://businessmirror.com.ph/2020/03/09/more-women-raped-physically-abused-last-year-govt-data/

CamelonAssociation: https://www.cameleon-association.org/contexte-aux-philippines/?lang=en

TheAtlantic: https://www.theatlantic.com/science/archive/2016/11/the-understudied-female-sexual-predator/503492/


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