SEEING THE PHILIPPINES IN JUAN LUNA'S SPOLIARIUM

GROUP 1

READINGS IN PHILIPPINE HISTORY

DEPARTMENT OF ARTS AND SCIENCES
CAVITE STATE UNIVERITY-CARMONA

APRIL 2021
Content and Contextual Analysis of Juan Luna's Spoliarium

INTRODUCTION
 PRESENTATION OF HISTORICAL PRIMARY SOURCE

“The largest work, the most frightful,

The most discussed work of the Exposition.”

“It is more than a painting, it is a book, a poem.”

“It is something more than

the mere mechanism
of genius, of the art composition
. . . Luna is a thinker.”

( National Commission for Culture and Arts)

Image Source: WIKIMEDIA COMMONS ('Spoliarium' by Juan Luna.jpg)

More than a hundred years have passed since a piece of art was created by a well-
known Filipino artist named Juan Luna de San Pedro y Novicio Ancheta who was more
commonly known as Juan Luna. It was in the late 1800s ( Philippine Revolution ) when Juan
Luna was recognized as one of the most famous political activists, sculptors, and internationally
renowned Filipino artists (NCCA 2015). He is popular for being “The First International Filipino
Painter, as he the man behind the well-known painting entitled Spoliarium, an exceptional art
that brought historical victory and significant changes in the Political course of Philippine history
(-----).

The Spoliarium often miscalled "Spolarium”. The term Spoliarium comes from a Latin
word with reference to the basement of the Roman Colosseum where fallen gladiators are
discarded and stripped of their armor and weapons before their corpse disposed of. It was the
year 1883 when Juan Luna started to create this particular painting. According to the historical
paper he spent eight months to finish this award winning masterpiece on a greatly huge canvas.
(Leon Ma. Guerrero, "The First Filipino" 2007). a life-size art made with oil paint in poplar (wood)
canvas which is approximately measuring four meters in height and seven meters in width, As
visualizing the historical masterpiece, it depicts a chamber under the Roman arena where fallen
gladiators are being dragged by Roman soldiers into a the shadowy area to be put in a pile of
corpses.

The Spoliarium gives off majestic aura mood and visual effect that this painting portrays
can be considered to be suffering, mourning, pain, and defeat (National Museum, Dec 2015).
Nevertheless, There is various interpretation in regards of this painting according to some
expert this masterpiece of Juan Luna depicts the suffering of the Filipino people experienced
during the Spanish colonial period, It is believed that the woman squatting on the right side of
the pictures is the Mother country or the “Inang bayan” who cries for her Philippines. On the
contrary, some say that Spoliarium speaks generally of the prejudices that lie in society
(portrayed by the gladiators, as the slaves while the Roman soldiers are the oppressors) and
how superiority dominates and divides humanity.

In 1884, As Filipino painter who was a

colonial subject having with exceptional talent Juan
Luna himself proven that Filipinos can be
surpassed Spaniards as he won the first gold
medal at the Madrid National Exposition De Bellas
Artes (yoonggippuem,2013). knowing, before he
created this masterpiece, Filipino's in Spain was
treated as if they value less than animals but this
event change everything.
The front page of a Spanish newspaper
features an illustration of the Spoliarium
in Madrid, where it won a First Class
Medal in the Madrid Exposition of 1884
 Spoliarium painting brought popularity and respect in terms of talent, and abilities not
just to Juan Luna but to whole country. As stated in the article presented by Erick Torres titled
“The art of Juan Luna” Torres share a random reaction of the public and critics on the news
paper of Madrid ,Barcelona, and Paris:

“The largest work, the most frightful,

The most discussed work of the Exposition.”

“It is more than a painting, it is a book, a poem.”

“It is something more than

the mere mechanism
of genius, of the art composition

. . . Luna is a thinker.”

(Torres, 2014)

In addition , As stated in special report entitled “The Painter and the Revolution”.

“The year was 1884, an excellent one for the Filipino

intellectual living in Madrid. A painter
named Juan Luna bagged the gold medal for Spoliarium”.
-(Tatler Philippines, June 2005)

After being recognized, in 1886 The Spoliarium of Juan Luna was sold for 20,000
pesetas to Diputaciom Provincial de Barcelona. Later on the winning masterpiece relocated to
Modern Museum. Nevertheless, the museum was set ablaze during the Civil War in 1937. The
damage painting was sent a again to Madrid for restoration and preserve for 18 years,
Spoliarium has yet to be seen in the Philippines until the 1950’s when Spain gifted the painting
to the Philippine government. Spoliarium would be cut into three parts because of it life-size,
and later, expertly restored by the help of Filipino artist named Antonio Dumlao would later the
masterpiece rebuild to what it looks like before (Morighan's Miuse, 2015)

Nowadays, It is currently hangs in the main gallery on the ground floor of the National
Museum of the Philippines in fine arts Manila, and this exceptional masterpiece of Juan Luna
first greets visitors upon entry into the museum (IInquirer,2021). At last, this exceptional winning
masterpieces entitled Spoliarium is considered as ;

“The most valuable painting made by Juan Luna”

(National Museum , 2015).

Perhaps it is considered as most valuable one because, this historical masterpiece

shows the symbol of Filipino mastery, exceeding expectations and proving that the Filipinos or
they called indios were capable of being intellectually competitive to his Colonial Masters,
superseding the Spaniard’s skill level and was able to beat him at his own game.

Content and Contextual Analysis : Seeing the Philippines

in the Juan Luna's Spoliarium

Juan Luna the illustrious painter of Badoc, Ilocos Norte has produced one of the most important
most popular painting in the Philippines, the Spolarium.

Initial Contextualization:
Juan luna Won at the Madrid National Exposition De Bellas Artes