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was born in Badoc, Ilocos Norte, on October 23,
1857.
Ú The young Luna received his early education at the 6



 and later at the  


 



.
Ú In 1873, he became an apprentice officer and traveled to
various Asian ports. Whenever his ship was in port in Manila,
he took painting lessons in the 6




 
of Fr. Agustin Saiz.
G Influenced by his brother, Manuel Luna, who,
according to Filipino patriot José Rizal, was a better
painter than Juan himself.
G Don Lorenzo Guerero, who easily recognized the
young man's natural talent, was the first tutor of
the young Luna.
G In 1877 Manuel and Juan Luna traveled to Europe,
where Manuel studied music and Juan painting.
G Juan entered the Escuela de Bellas Artes de San
Fernando, where he befriended the painter
Don Alejo Vera.
G Vera brought him to Rome for some of his
commissions, and Luna was exposed to the art of
the Renaissance painters.
Ú Subsequently, he exhibited several canvases at
the   





6
in Madrid and won a
silver medal (2nd class) for 







Ú Luna's growing reputation as an artist led to
a pensionado (pension) scholarship at 600 pesos annually
through the Ayuntamiento of Manila. The condition was
that he was obliged to develop a painting which captured
the essence of Philippine history which would then become
the Ayuntamiento's property.
Ú What really deeply influenced his mature period was "social
realism," the extension into art of the socialist movement.
However, despite experiments in what would now be called
"proletarian art," the basic style of Luna remained classical,
because classic dignity was what he desired for the Filipino
and his dreamt-of republic.
Ú In 1883 Luna started the painting demanded of him by
the Ayuntamiento. In May 1884, he shipped the
large canvas of the Spoliarium to Madrid for the year's
Exposición Nacional de Bellas Artes. He was the first
recipient of the three gold medals awarded in the exhibition
and Luna gained recognition among
the connoisseurs and art critics present.
G The Spoliarium is very large, measuring four
meters in height and seven meters in width.
G The painting depicts the bodies of dead
gladiators being dragged from a Roman arena. In
a half-lit corner, brutal force squeezed close
together unbroken figures so realistically that
fascinated and startled at the same time. A slain
gladiator lay inert and unfeeling, despite the
muscular stretching as it is pulled. At one side
were an old Roman painfully eyeing his slain son, a
widow bent over in tears for her dead husband,
and onlookers mute and helpless to do anything --
all pressed together in deep protest against
human insensitivity, unmitigated power,
inexorable death. Juan Lunaǯs brief brushstrokes
made him world famous deservedly.
G
Ú It was a classic example of Luna's
Rome/Madrid period, characterized by a
dramatic and allegorical style, frequently
depicting heroic figures in deep tumult, in
the grip of larger-than-life themes such as
courage and country.
Ú In ancient Rome, the
word spoliarium referred to the Coliseum's
morgue.
Ú The sheer grandeur of the painting made it a
symbolic and appropriate end to Luna's first
artistic period. Certainly, the grand accolades
it received throughout Europe marked it as
the zenith of a spectacular academic career,
and a high point of Filipino history. (Today
the ë 
 hangs in the Philippines
National Museum and is considered a
national treasure.)
Ú Luna developed a friendly
relationship with the King of
Spain and was later commissioned
by the Spanish Senate to paint a
large canvas which was called
the La Batalla de Lepanto (The
Battle of Lepanto). This won a gold
medal at the Exposicion Universal
de Barcelona in 1888.
Ú El Pacto de Sangre (The Blood Compact) in accordance with
the agreement he had with the Ayuntamiento of Manila.
Depicted in this piece was the blood compact ceremony
between the Datu Sikatuna, one of the lords in Bohol island,
and the Spanish conquistador Miguel López de Legazpi. It is
now displayed in the Malacañang Palace.
GLuna's canvases show a distinct
contrast to those of Hidalgo's. In
contrast to the ever-delicate paintings
of Hidalgo, Luna's work show more
drama and bravura. A forceful dynamic
man, Luna has his personality stamped
on every canvas of his. His power and
joie de vivre were notable
characteristics of his works.
Úè
 

   
 



  





  
 

 
  
  





 
 
      



è
Ú Luna sought inspiration not from his
contemporaries, the Impressionists, but
from the Romantic Delacroix,
Rembrandt and Daumier from whom he
learned imparting power and mysticism
to his works. All these influences were
incorporated in a style that was Luna's
own.
G October of 1884, Luna moved to Paris and
began the second, and more beguiling
period of his artistic work. His style began
to move away from the dark colours of the
academic palette and became increasingly
lighter in colour and mood. This post-
academic, or Parisian period, would
continue until the artist's abrupt departure
from the French capital in February 1893.
Ú December 8, 1886, Luna married Maria de la Paz
Pardo de Tavera, a sister of his friend Felix
and Trinidad Pardo de Tavera.
Ú couple traveled to Venice and Rome and settled in
Paris
Ú Luna was fond of painting his wife.

Ú September 23, 1892. He was arrested and murder

charges were filed against him.
Ú During this 8 year in Paris, Luna
painted  
 
6 (1886) which
depicted the artist's wife intimately as she
lay in bed seemingly oblivious to the artist's
gaze, a work that demonstrated 'Luna at his
spontaneous best'
Ú Parisian Life, (also known as 9

) dated in
1892 is a work from this distinctive period. Even more
importantly, it dates fro the last year of Luna's own
Parisian life, painted barely a few months before the artist
would be caught up in dramatic events that would climax
in September 1892.
Ú To one side, Jose Rizal, Ariston Bautista Lin, and Luna
himself can be seen.
Ú Parisian Life encapsulates the intangible ideas of the
Filipino national consciousness. Dressed in European top
hats and coats, with an air of exuberant self-confidence as
they enjoy a moment in a Parisian cafe, the 3 gentlemen
have embraced the Western lifestyle while remaining
passionately Filipino at heart.
La Marquesa de Monte Olivar

G In Philippine art criticism, Luna's paintings are loosely

described as "impressionistic." This is a fine example of a
Philippine impressionist work. Luna was intrigued by the
Impressionists and was quick to grasp the essence of
their style. He described his own works to compatriot
Jose Rizal, another Filipino in Europe, as a "mosaic of pure
colors of the rainbow. " Luna applied colors directly from
the paint tube, dabbing his applications side by side on
the canvas, allowing the viewer's eyes to blend them
together to form a unified image. Although the
Marquesa's face is achieved through thinly applied layers
of paint, her figure was subjected to thicker layers of
paint.
 !"#
G Luna's Tampuhan is a depiction of two persons staying
inside the sala or living room of a house. The two people
are Filipino lovers sulking Ȃ experiencing "tampo" Ȃ
because of an argument. The man is looking out at the
street from a window. The woman on the other hand is
focusing her eyes on the floor of the room. According to
Rosalinda Orosa, the man is Ariston Bautista Lin, a friend of
Luna who studied medicine in Europe. Orosa further
described that the woman is Emiliana Trinidad. Trinidad is
the ancestor of the owner of the painting, and is claimed by
Orosa to be the same woman who posed for Luna's La
Bulaqueña, another Luna artwork that illustrates Filipino
culture.
G "total silent treatment" between them is evident.
UNA BULAQUEÑA
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