The Battle of Lepanto (Luna painting)

The Battle of Lepanto (Spanish: La Batalla de

The Battle of Lepanto
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] Artist Juan Luna
Year 1887
Location Palacio del Senado, Centro, Madrid
Contents
Historical significance
Description
References
External links

Historical significance
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
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]

References
1. "The Battle of Lepanto" by Juan Luna (http://www.worldtourist.us/ilocosnorte/laoag.html)
Archived (https://web.archive.org/web/20100324054610/http://www.worldtourist.us/ilocosnor
te/laoag.html) 2010-03-24 at the Wayback Machine, worltourist.us
2. "The Battle of Lepanto" by Juan Luna (http://filipinokastila.tripod.com/paint.html),
filipinokastila.com
3. "The Battle of Lepanto" by Juan Luna (http://www.sunstar.com.ph/static/cag/2003/10/12/life/j
uan.luna.and.our.heritage.html) Archived (https://web.archive.org/web/20080607215448/htt
p://www.sunstar.com.ph/static/cag/2003/10/12/life/juan.luna.and.our.heritage.html) 2008-06-
07 at the Wayback Machine, sunstar.com
4. Daza, Jullie Y. Ghost of Juan Luna. (Medium Rare) (http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1G1-1
65029335.html), Manila Bulletin, Manila Bulletin Publishing Corp. and Gale Group,
Farmington Hills, Michigan, June 16, 2007, encyclopedia.com
5. Anderson, Benedict Richard O'Gorman. "The Battle of Lepanto" by Juan Luna (https://books.
google.com/books?id=V_yqWb1Ba30C&pg=PA18&lpg=PA18&dq=The+Battle+of+Lepanto
+by+Juan+Luna&source=bl&ots=_aa431xIM-&sig=9PmqTKxw8yJfR8JhW5AkaZdaCF0&hl
=en&ei=kTCxS-2kBcP38Abgg_XbAQ&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=8&ved=0
CBoQ6AEwBzgo#v=onepage&q=The%20Battle%20of%20Lepanto%20by%20Juan%20Lu
na&f=false), including Footnote No. 15, Under Three Flags: Anarchism and the Anti-
Colonial Imagination, page 18.
6. "The Battle of Lepanto" by Juan Luna (http://www.traditioninaction.org/History/A_001_Lepan
to.html), traditioninaction.org
7. "The Battle of Lepanto" by Juan Luna (http://www.raco.cat/index.php/IllesImperis/article/view
File/69212/87162), raco.cat
8. "The Battle of Lepanto" by Juan Luna (http://google.com/search?q=cache:mvatTl5G31MJ:w
ww.raco.cat/index.php/IllesImperis/article/viewPDFInterstitial/69212/87162+The+Battle+of+
Lepanto+by+Juan+Luna&cd=50&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us)), raco.cat
 9. Reyno, Cielo. When the Filipino First Proved Himself to the World (http://www.nhi.gov.ph/ind
ex.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=15&Itemid=35) Archived (https://web.archive.or
g/web/20110721105128/http://www.nhi.gov.ph/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&i
d=15&Itemid=35) 2011-07-21 at the Wayback Machine, nhi.gov.ph
10. "The Battle of Lepanto" by Juan Luna (http://www.varsitarian.net/circle/juan_lunas_parisian_
life_comes_to_ust), varsitarian.net
11. "The Battle of Lepanto" by Juan Luna (http://www.varsitarian.net/printpdf/circle/juan_lunas_p
arisian_life_comes_to_ust), varsitarian.net
12. "The Battle of Lepanto" by Juan Luna (https://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&q=cache:jauVw
XiigJAJ:www.varsitarian.net/printpdf/circle/juan_lunas_parisian_life_comes_to_ust+The+Ba
ttle+of+Lepanto+by+Juan+Luna&hl=en&gl=us&pid=bl&srcid=ADGEESjyDMdPMZtgbJi8Rr
199HYc-edvTbyyPGYU8u-INA4XDHZ1uAFHRzS3VHAZOvPCxQ2E0yn0weqNv8K4NMc0
tnrN6PvTaeHoeb8jiSV2NLWiIfHjTs5hHOJqQk7SnejAuS3Njyx2&sig=AHIEtbTlfeL_Yotg01zj
z3UVegvWK8l0FA), Google
13. Cachero, et al. "The Battle of Lepanto" by Juan Luna (https://books.google.com/books?id=7
F1LgdMUYrsC&pg=PA121&lpg=PA121&dq=The+Battle+of+Lepanto+by+Juan+Luna&sour
ce=bl&ots=b3-R97JSy7&sig=xKrSfsBMx0vbg8PICsr8wu9S3yM&hl=en&ei=yS2xS97XPIK8
8ga1sMDgAQ&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=10&ved=0CCIQ6AEwCTgU#v=o
nepage&q=The%20Battle%20of%20Lepanto%20by%20Juan%20Luna&f=false), Getting the
Meaning 5'2000 Ed., page 121.
14. "The Battle of Lepanto" by Juan Luna (http://filipinopaintings.com/personalities.php?bio=52)
Archived (https://web.archive.org/web/20110711001536/http://filipinopaintings.com/personal
ities.php?bio=52) 2011-07-11 at the Wayback Machine, filipinopaintings.com
15. "The Battle of Lepanto" by Juan Luna (http://www.lopezmuseum.org.ph/bio_luna.html)
Archived (https://web.archive.org/web/20100129074649/http://www.lopezmuseum.org.ph/bio
_luna.html) 2010-01-29 at the Wayback Machine, lopezmuseum.org
16. "The Battle of Lepanto" by Juan Luna (https://books.google.com/books?id=3SIDAAAAMBAJ
&pg=PA474&lpg=PA474&dq=The+Battle+of+Lepanto+by+Juan+Luna&source=bl&ots=dbja
X5DLXI&sig=Stmd3yQDsu4xUM5I_RYeAtvia74&hl=en&ei=uy6xS-bNOsH78AaGmYTYAQ
&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=7&ved=0CBsQ6AEwBjge#v=onepage&q=The%
20Battle%20of%20Lepanto%20by%20Juan%20Luna&f=false), Popular Science, August
1899, page 474.
17. "The Battle of Lepanto" by Juan Luna (http://www.kulay-diwa.com/juan_luna) Archived (http
s://web.archive.org/web/20100623070507/http://www.kulay-diwa.com/juan_luna) 2010-06-
23 at the Wayback Machine, kulay-diwa.com
18. "The Battle of Lepanto" by Juan Luna (http://www.glphils.org/famous-masons/fjluna.htm),
glphils.org
19. "The Battle of Lepanto" by Juan Luna (https://web.archive.org/web/20050206095144/http://w
ww.globalpinoy.com/ch/ch_category.php?category=heroes&name=Juan%20Luna&table=ch
_heroes&startpage=1&endpage=15), globalpinoy.com
20. "The Battle of Lepanto" by Juan Luna (http://www.sunstar.com.ph/bacolod/lizares-passionat
e-juan-luna) Archived (https://web.archive.org/web/20100226013832/http://www.sunstar.co
m.ph/bacolod/lizares-passionate-juan-luna) 2010-02-26 at the Wayback Machine,
sunstar.com

External links
A description of Juan Luna's The Battle of Lepanto painting, and of Juan Luna himself
together with Félix Resurrección Hidalgo from Popular Science Monthly, Volume 55, page
474 at wikisource.org
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?
title=The_Battle_of_Lepanto_(Luna_painting)&oldid=1049442531"

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