• The painting Spoliarium by Juan Luna shows the cruelty, injustices, sufferings and helplessness experienced by the

gladiators.

• It represents a scene from the Roman Empire in which men dragged the bloodied remains of slave gladiators from the
vast and mighty arena into an unknown darkness, wherein more cruelly dead gladiators are transported.

• Gladiators (the subject of the painting) are armed combatants who entertained audiences in the Roman Republic and
Roman Empire in violent confrontations with other gladiators, wild animals, and condemned criminals.

• The Romans dragging the almost lifeless body of the gladiators illustrates their unfeelingness towards their fellow
human beings.

• The most disgusting people were those that were cheering on the left side of the painting. They are the cancers of
human society, waiting for the gladiators to die so that they can take their possessions. Not only did they not disapprove
of such entertainment, but they also strongly supported such events for their selfishreasons.

• The gladiators illustrate the helplessness that humans undergo just because they lack power.

• It is a representation of how the people of the Philippines suffered during Spanish control. Its dark colors represents
the horrible things made by the Spaniards to the Filipinos.

• Another is that the chosen colors in the painting portrays sadness, mourning, pain, suffering, and defeat against the
powerful Spaniards because even the lives of Filipinos are being sacrificed just to honor the will and the names of the
Spaniards. We were mistreated. discriminated, denied our freedom, voiceless, and made to feel wretched in our own
nation. People cried out for peace and for their rights, and they were clearly in pain, yet they continue to drag us down,
make us feel useless, and propagate their wickedness.

• The painting reveals how people were deprived of their freedom and rights. This painting keeps on reminding us of
how important freedom is in each and every one.

• The significance of always looking back on this artwork to reminisce our past, to learn and to be more optimistic in our
future life. It is not only our freedom that Juan Luna tries to inculcate in us, but also the importance of equality in society
and the respect that each and everyone we must acquire. And also to uplift our self and the society to achieve peace and
harmony. Moreover, this painting can serve as an eye opener to every Filipino. It can be seen how courageous the artist
was to make a bold revelation about how brutal the Spaniards were during their reign in our beloved land, the
Philippines. Thus, this painting was very popular because of its deep meaning that has been input by the artist in the
painting

• Overall, Juan Luna's spolarium focuses primarily on the abuse of human rights under Spanish rule, and he created this
picture to convey his patriotism and commitment to our nation. In addition, he created such harmonious interactions
between different colors, resulting in a beautiful image that sends an incredible message. A lesson that we can use in
reality and in our daily lives, that no matter what the world throws at us, we can learn to overcome it, just like the
Filipinos conquered the Spanish colonists back then. This artwork of Juan Luna screams misery and mystery. It portrays
the inner political and socio cultural viewpoints; as well as the emotions of a Filipino master painter, like Juan Luna.
Hence, this had well integrated the nature of the political, moral, and social lives of the Filipino.