Early Teachings

A true National Artist, Fernando Amorsolo painted Christians and non-Christians alike; more comprehensively, he also depicted our ancient ancestors, which to him were the progenitors of deep-seated Filipino indigenous values that even the Spanish conquerors in their zealous mission could not completely root out.

In Early Teachings, Amorsolo visually imagines a native elder teaching the children the native syllabary known as baybayin. This writing system came to the islands in the 13th century, derived from the Indian-influenced cultures of neighboring Indonesia and Malaysia. Before the baybayin, an oral
tradition recorded the natives’ folk history.

This painting by Fernando Amorsolo is an evocative work in the FEU collection as it projects the university core mission to promote learning and to instill noble social and cultural values among its students.