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PA I N T I N G – S P O L I A R I U M ( 1 8 8 4 )
WORK ANALYSIS:
1. Semiotic Analysis

Title: Spoliarium(1884)
Size: 4mx7m
Medium: Oil Paint
Location/Gallery: National Museum of Fine Arts
Signature: N/A
Price: ?
WORK ANALYSIS:
2. Iconic Analysis

Subject: Gladiator
Type: Landscape
Source: The painting features a glimpse of Roman history centered on the bloody
carnage brought by gladiatorial matches.
Description of painting by the artist: A Spoliarium is a Latin word referring to the
basement of the Roman Colosseum where the fallen and dying gladiators who fight to the
death for the entertainment of their Roman oppressors are dumped and devoid of their
worldly possessions.
WORK ANALYSIS:
3. Contextual Analysis

The Spoliarium by Juan Luna is truly an overwhelming type of art. You’d be left in awe
at the mere sight of it. It makes you feel proud to be a Filipino and it’s also proof that Filipino’s
can do amazing things.
Colors: The Formal Elements used in this art are first, lines making up the different images you see in the
painting. Second would be the shape which is geometric with the different objects present and also Organic
with the shape of the people in the painting plus volume, because of the mass you get from the present
figures in the painting. Third is the light and value how it shows some sort of manipulated light. Fourth, the
colors he used were kind of mournful, serious and it gives off the tone and emotion of the painting. Lastly
would be the visual texture he used giving off a certain illusion texture to make the characters in the
painting seem real.
The Principles of Design used in this artwork would be Unity and Variety of the painting, it looks one and
whole. Every part seems necessary to make the painting look complete and there are a lot of variations in
the images you see. The next would be Balance, it has pictorial balance. The next would be Emphasis on the
focal point which is the body being dragged. It also has a rhythm as it gives the viewer a sensory impression
of sorrow and loss. Scale and proportion also play a part with the Hierarchical scaling as it gives the viewer
an actual scale of a real person in the painting and of course the painting itself is giving of a really big
proportion. Lastly he used a style which is a mix of realistic art and representational art. The form he used is
a two dimensional painting type of artwork.