Painting by Fabian Cueto De La Rosa

FABIAN CUETO DE LA ROSA

DE LA ROSA, FABIAN CUETO b. Paco, Manila 5 May 1869 d. 14 Dec 1937. Painter. He was the second

child of Marcos de la Rosa and Gregoria Cueto. He was married to Gorgonia Tolentino. Simon Flores y de la

Rosa was probably an uncle; Fernando and Pablo Amorsolo were nephews. His first art lessons were from an

aunt, Mariana de la Rosa, at the age of 10. He later enrolled at the Escuela de Bellas Artes y Dibujo under

Agustin Saez but dropped out after three years. He also received lessons from Lorenzo Guerrero and Miguel

Zaragoza. In 1908 the Germinal Cigar Factory sent him to Europe as a scholar. The schools he attended

included the Academi de Julien in Paris. Back in Manila, together with a number of artists, he became one of

the first faculty members of the University of the Philippines (UP) School of Fine Arts. He introduced and

taught decorative painting at the UP. During the period 1927-1937, he became the director of the school. In

1928 he sailed to Europe for the second time, with his wife. He painted in Paris for four months and then

traveled to Munich, Geneva, Rome, and Madrid. In 1928 he presented a much acclaimed exhibition of his

paintings at the Ateneo de Madrid.

He is reputed to have produced about 1,000 works in his lifetime. Aurelio S. Alvero divides his works into

three periods. In the first period, De la Rosa's emphasis is academic, detailing figures but forgetting

atmosphere. Works of this period include Transplanting Rice which won the gold medal in the International

Exposition of St Louis, Missouri, in 1904; and The Death of General Lawton which won the bronze medal in

the same exposition. The second period, which includes works he did in Europe, shows a transition for

academic figures to atmosphere. Examples of this period are El kundiman, 1930, and Marikina Road, ca 1939.

In his third period, De la Rosa emphasizes play of colors in favor of massing and spacing, in the manner of

hues. Typical of this period is Fishermen's Huts on Balut Island, Tondo, considered by Alvero as his best

landscape. Other paintings of De la Rosa are Landscape with Dark Trees, 1927; La pintora (Woman Painter),

1926; La bordadora (The Embroiderer), ca 1926. He also did the View of Santa Ana.

De la Rosa received posthumously the Patnubay ng Sining at Kalinagan award from the City of Manila in

1968.

Above: Signature of Artist Fabian Cueto De La Rosa