MODULE 5

ASSESSMENT TASK
SPOLIARIUM
 SPOLIARIUM

•The Spoliarium is a painting by Filipino painter Juan Luna. Luna, working on canvas,
spent eight months completing the painting which depicts dying gladiators. The painting
was submitted by Luna to the Exposición Nacional de Bellas Artes in 1884 in Madrid,
where it garnered the first gold medal.
•Spoliarium is a Latin word referring to the basement of the Roman Colosseum where the
fallen and dying gladiators are dumped and devoid of their worldly possessions. At the
center of Luna's painting are fallen gladiators being dragged by Roman soldiers.
•The subject of Spoliarium is Gladiator
 HISTORY

Near the end of the 19th-century the Filipinos, oppressed by their Spanish masters for 300 years, was like a cup whose
contents were nearly going to overflow. The result of that overflow would be much bloodshed and deaths for years to
come. But this was only if you were a peasant working in the fields in some province of Luzon. Miles away in Europe, a
bloodless war was being fought by the more privileged Filipinos. The Illustrados, the privileged sons of the Filipino
people, hoped that one day Spain would recognize the country as a formal province of Spain and the Filipino people be
given equal rights to those citizens of Spain. One such man was the famous painter Juan Luna.

His full name was Juan Luna y Novicio. Born in Badoc, Ilocos Norte on October 23, 1857, he was the third son of
Joaquín Posadas Luna. He grew up as an artist, influenced by many Filipino and Spanish artists, but he was a sailor by
profession, graduating from Escuela Nautica de Manila (currently known as the Philippine Merchant Marine Academy).
He studied in prestigious art schools both in the Philippines and abroad.
•The Spoliarium was a project that took him three-quarters of a year to finish, partly due to its size.
He began the work in 1883 and finished it in 1884. He first shipped the painting to be submitted to
the Exposition in Madrid that year. It won a gold medal of that year. By 1886 he sold the painting to
the government for 20,000 pesetas.
•The Spoliarium (often misspelled Spolarium) is a painting by Filipino painter Juan Luna. Luna,
working on canvas, spent eight months completing the painting which depicts dying gladiators. The
painting was submitted by Luna to the Exposición Nacional de Bellas Artes in 1884 in Madrid, where
it garnered the first gold medal (out of three).[1] The picture recreates a despoiling scene in a
Roman circus where dead gladiators are stripped of weapons and garments. Together with other
works of the Spanish Academy, the Spoliarium was on exhibit in Rome in April 1884.
How was Spoliarium related to Philippine history?
•Spoliarium was the kind of painting that lent itself to the patriotic needs of the Filipinos and on which Rizal
and others projected a nationalistic symbolism that helped rouse the Filipinos to rise up against the political
oppression of their Spanish colonizers.

What is the message of Spoliarium?

•Basically, Spoliarium is emphasized the violation of human rights towards the colonizers of Spain and Juan
Luna expressed his patriotism through it. Moreover, he created such a harmonious relationships between
different colors such as between the red color in the center with the shade of green in the dark sides.
What is the story behind the Spoliarium painting?
•The painting features a glimpse of Roman history centered on the bloody carnage brought by gladiatorial
matches. Spoliarium is a Latin word referring to the basement of the Roman Colosseum where the fallen and
dying gladiators are dumped and devoid of their worldly possessions.
 
Why did Juan Luna paint the Spoliarium?
•Spoliarium is one of the most famous paintings in the Philippines. He actually indicated the purpose of Juan
Luna for painting Spoliarium which is painted to awaken Filipinos from ignorance, blindness, mental darkness
and oppression
Valuable
•The Spoliarium is the most valuable, iconic oil painting by Juan Luna which features a glimpse of Roman
history focused on the gory bloodshed brought by gladiatorial matches. This historical painting was an entry
to the prestigious Exposicion de Bellas Artes in 1884 which eventually got Juan his first gold medal.

What does Spoliarium symbolize?

•In Rizal's words, Spoliarium was a symbol of “our social, moral, and political life: humanity unredeemed,
reason and aspiration in open fight with prejudice, fanaticism, and injustice
LEONARDO, PABLO IV S.

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