UNDER WAY at the University of the Philippines Jorge B. Vargas Museum until Nov. 16 are exhibits of the paintings and works of Fernando Amorsolo during the war years, from the Japanese invasion of the Philippines in 1941 to the liberation of Manila in 1945.

The exhibits are part of the seven-museum Amorsolo Retrospective to celebrate his art, which depicts the life and travails of the Filipino nation and its people as they underwent socioeconomic change from the 1920s to the 1960s. As one art critic who wrote a monograph of Amorsolo's works has pointed out, the prodigious works of Amorsolo must be viewed in the context of an artist and his time. Amorsolo's art was shaped by the milieu of events of his time. "The relationship of society and the artist, of socio-historic events and the resulting art are the light and shadow" of Amorsolo's works, according to a critic.

The retrospective is a visual rendition in canvas of Philippine social history, interpreted in colors rich in sunlight for which Amorsolo's paintings have been noted. As art critic Alfredo Roces succinctly puts it, "It was Amorsolo who discovered the quality of Philippine sunlight." And no Filipino artist captured the incandescence of this sunlight more strikingly than Amorsolo. The sunlight was Amorsolo's unmistakable signature to most Filipinos who have seen and admired his works. It permeated most of his works. Through his paintings, Amorsolo "discovered and depicted the true colors of Philippine shade," says Roces. "He gave the nation a sense of confidence in its culture, pride in its beauty, joy in its simple day-to-day living, and graciousness in the face of reality."

The "sweetness and light" of Amorsolo's works were most redolent during the 1920s and 1930s, evoking memories of and nostalgia for happier days of the nation. In those decades, Filipinos were looking forward and euphoric over their promised independence and tranquility prevailed in most of the countryside. Another critic, Jaime Laya, said that to most Filipinos, Amorsolo "is best known for his scenes of Philippine rural life, a typical Amorsolo brings one back to a time when fire trees are in bloom, baskets brim with the season's first mangoes, juicy red watermelons are heaped at the roadside stand; when farm folk ferry produce across a river; when women wash and children splash in sun-dappled stream--back to a happy time when it was as if the month of May would never end."

Laya said Amorsolo "painted the lives of ordinary people, their simple joys ... He did not paint the life of the rich or of the urban people. He painted portraits of the rich and powerful, yes, but not their daily life."

Laya added: "Amorsolo depicts the 1920s and 1930s that in fond memory were happy times, a time of plenty and of peace. The idyll abruptly ended when bombs dropped on Dec. 8, 1941 and three traumatic years began. After Manila burned in February 1945, our country and people changed forever."

The Vargas Museum holds the most exhibits of Amorsolo's wartime works than the other museums. This is what attracted me most. I wanted to know where Amorsolo's celebrated sunlight went during the war years and whether and how the destruction of Manila and the atrocities of Japanese occupation changed Amorsolo's outlook and style.

Amorsolo painted scenes of the bombing of the Intendencia in Intramuros (1942), Rizal Avenue on fire (1945), and the ruins of Sto. Domingo Church (1945). He sketched in black and white refugees evacuating and people bowing to Japanese sentries. Fire and smoke dominate the colors of these paintings, but curiously, in the bombing of the Intendencia, there still is a patch of the sunlight framed by black smoke and red flames in the background.

Amorsolo's works remained unscathed by the ideological propaganda of Japan's imposition of a New Order of Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere as the Japanese installed an occupation government headed by President Jose P. Laurel. The Japanese invaders sought to create among the conquered Asian nations an empire built on Asian values and repudiating Western influence. The Kalibapi was established by the occupation government as the cultural arm of the Co-Prosperity Sphere regime. It aimed to "ensure a stable foundation for the New Philippines by fostering ? the cultural, moral, spiritual and economic advancement of the people."

Paintings by Amorsolo reflected "the ideals promoted by the Japanese invaders." According to one critic, "consciously or not, their works (conformed) to programs of cultural rejuvenation." The ideology sought "to emphasize local customs and virtues, strong family values, and industriousness."

Interest in Philippine indigenous cultures "was also promoted as seen in portraits of individuals with distinct ethnic features and attire," according to some critics. "Landscape scenes portray lushness and abundance as well as serenity."

In this way, Amorsolo's works were transformed to make way to the conqueror's ideology. Thus, during this period, "sunrise scenes were viewed as symbolic of the 'Rising Philippines' through the initiatives of Japan." Amorsolo's celebrated sunlight--which never disappeared from his wartime works--was given a new twist.

The artist portrayed masses of people "together for mutual protection, fleeing the city with their belongings, going home from work, scouring the fields for remnants of food, or holding a secret meeting."