The Battle of Lepanto 

(Luna painting)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Jump to navigationJump to search

The Battle of Lepanto

Artist Juan Luna

Year 1887

Location Palacio del Senado, Centro, Madrid

The Battle of Lepanto (Spanish: La Batalla de Lepanto[1]) is a painting

by Filipino painter[1] and revolutionary activist Juan Luna. Along with Félix Resurrección
Hidalgo, Luna is one of the first Filipinos to excel and earn recognition in the
international field of arts and culture.[2][3][4][5] Painted by Luna in 1887, the masterpiece is
about the Battle of Lepanto of October 7, 1571. The painting features Don Juan of
Austria (also known as Don John of Austria) in battle while at the bow of a ship.[6] It is
one of the “huge epic canvasses” painted by Luna (the others are
the Spoliarium and The Blood Compact).[7][8] The painting is also known as The Battle of
Lepanto of 1571.[6]

Contents

 1Historical significance
 2Description
 3References
 4External links

Historical significance[edit]
By becoming the second Filipino to win the first of the three gold medals during the
Exposicion General de Bellas Artes (National Exposition of Fine Arts [1])
in Madrid, Spain in 1884 for his Spoliarium painting,[9][10][11][12][13] Luna became famous and
obtained commissions from the Spanish government to create other canvasses.
Although Luna decided to move from Madrid to Paris, France in October 1884, he had
to travel back and forth the two cities in order to meet the demands for portrait jobs,
including the task of assisting Filipinos to push for reforms in the Philippines through the
seat of the government of Spain in Madrid.[14] Some of the commissioned paintings
were The Battle of Lepanto, together with Peuple et Rois and España y Filipinas.[15] It
was the Spanish Senate, through the influence of King Alfonso XII of Spain, who
commissioned Luna to paint The Battle of Lepanto. King Alfonso XII's plan was to hang
Luna’s Battle of Lepanto side by side with Francisco Pradilla Ortiz’s 1878 grand-prize
winning masterpiece La rendicion de granada (The Surrender of Granada).[16] Another
reason for commissioning Luna to paint The Battle of Lepanto was to compensate Luna
for not having been given the grand prize known as the “Prize of Honor” [9] or “Medal of
Excellence”[2] for Spoliarium. A biased jury, known as the "Jury of Honor" [9] did not grant
Luna the prize because he was a Filipino [2] and in spite of the fact that “public sentiment
felt” Luna “deserved the award”.[17] One year after, The Battle of Lepanto became a gold
medalist[18] during the 1888 Fine Arts Exhibition in Barcelona, Spain.[5][19] During the victory
gathering of Filipinos in Madrid, Philippine national hero José Rizal praised Luna
and Hidalgo for their achievements, “mastery and nationalism” through a speech.
[2]
 Graciano Lopez Jaena, another Filipino hero, also gave Luna and Hidalgo a
“congratulatory speech” for their success. [20]

Description[edit]
Luna’s The Battle of Lepanto provides significance to the “Spanish victory against
the Turks”. For this reason, the widow of King Alfonso XII of Spain, Queen
Regent Maria Christina of Austria, herself was the person who unveiled Luna’s
masterpiece painting at the Senate Hall of Madrid in November 1887, [9] together with
Pradilla’s La rendición de granada. However, the victory at Lepanto was not merely a
Spanish victory against the Turks. The victory at Lepanto was a Catholic victory over
the invading forces of Islam. At Lepanto a coalition of Catholics defeated the forces of
Islam who were attempting to conquer and subdue the West to force her citizens to
submit to Islamic rule. Therefore, this painting is a portrayal of national pride because
the Spanish were instrumental in the victory at Lepanto and it is also a portrayal of pride
in the Spaniard's Catholicism since the battle resulted in a Catholic victory. Both
paintings are still currently displayed at the Madrid Senate Hall. [14] Luna also received,
through the royal order of Queen Regent Maria Christina, the Medalla de Isabela La
Católica (Medal of Elizabeth the Catholic) from the Ministry of the High Seas (Ministerio
de Ultramar), for the Filipino's “outstanding service” to Spain.[9