READINGS IN THE PHILIPPINE

HISTORY

Works of
Luna and
Amorsolo Presented by
Fronda, Joshua E.
Mejia, Mark Wiliam T.
 Background of the
Luna Author
Juan Luna de San Pedro y Novicio, better known as Juan Luna was a famous
Filipino painters, sculptors and political activists. During the Philippine
Revolution in the late 19th century he was one of the first recognized
Philippine artists. Juan Luna’s masterpieces and artworks mainly focuses on
Romanticism and Realism. His most popular painting is the Spolarium and it was
set out at the Philippine National Museum to exhibit.
Born : Born in Badoc, Ilocos Norte, on October 23, 1857
Died: Died in Hongkong at the age 41 on December 7, 1899

Amorsolo
Fernando Amorsolo Y Cueto, was a famous Filipino painter in the early 20th
century. Declared as the first National Artist in Painting in 1972 and the so-called
“Grand Old Man of the Philippine Art”. He was known for portraits and landscape
and one of Asia’s most prominent artists. He uses classical realism as his art
technique. He is popularly know for his craftsmanship industry in the use of light.
He usually did it in his works like The Offering, The Burning of Manila,
Fruit Gatherer.
Born: Born on May 30, 1892 in Paco, Manila
Died: Died on April 24, 1972 at the age of 79
 Brief Background
of the Document
The primary historical reading showcases the artworks of both
Juan Luna and Fernando Amorsolo. One of Juan Luna’s first art
exposition and garnered a silver medal during the 1881 National
Exposition of Fine Arts in Madrid, Spain was the The death of
Cleopatra. His artwork, The Spolarium recreates an upsetting scene
in a circus of the romans where weapons and garments are used
to striped dead gladiator. He also had an artwork where it shows
the Datu Sikatuna and Miguel Lopez de Legazpi had a blood compact
ritual in 1565 at Bohol. Amorsolo’s painting represents the struggles
of Filipino women. Where it represents what Filipina women
went through during the Japanese occupation. The Planting rice
with Mayon Volcano was one of the well known art works of
Amorsolo, which depicts the beauty of the countryside of the
Philippine with bright sunlight and joyful people.
 Works of Juan Luna
1. Governor 2. La 3. Las Damas 4. Spoliarium,
Ramon Blanco, Muerte De Romanas (The (July, 1883 –
1880’s Cleopatra Roman Dames), March, 1884)
(The Death 1882
Of
Cleopatra),
1881 7. Espana Y
5. Odalisque, 6. Una Chula II, Filipinas (Spain 8. El Pacto De
1885 And The Sangre (The
1885 Blood
Philippines), Compact), 1886
1886.

9. The Battle Of 10. The Parisian 11. Tampuhan, 12. Souvenir De

Lepanto, 1887 Life, 1892 1895 1899, 1899.
Works Of Juan
Luna
Governor Ramon Blanco,
1880's
• Portrait of Governor Ramon Blanco, Spanish Governor-
General of the Philippines from 1893 to 1896.

• Became part of the Lopez Museum collection.

Works Of Juan
Luna
La Muerte De Cleopatra
(The Death of Cleopatra) ,
• A 250 cm x 340 cm (98.41881
in x 132 in) oil on canvas was
awarded silver medal by Exposición Nacional de Bellas
Artes (National Exposition of Fine Arts) in Madrid in 1881.
• Sold it for 5,000 Spanish pesetas
• Acquired by the Spanish government for one thousand
duros.
• Now in Museo del Prado
Works Of Juan
Luna Las Damas Romanas
(The Roman Dames),
1882
• Oil on canvas painting by Luna when he was a student of the
school of painting in the Real Academia de Bellas Artes de San
Fernando (Royal Academy of Fine Arts of San Fernando) in
Madrid, Spain in 1877. Alejo Valera, a Spanish painting teacher,
took Luna as an apprentice and brought him to Rome where Luna
created Las Damas Romanas in 1882. Luna spent six years in Rome
from 1878 to 1884.
• One of the early works of Luna as a painter that resurfaced in the
past quarter of a century after being thought lost or missing
• Three major elements of the painting: the women, the dogs
(companions of women), the doves (connote eroticism)
• Luna was awarded a Diploma of Honor at the Munich Art
Exposition (Munich Salon) for this painting
• A classic work that represented abundant richness of life, with
humankind, represented by women in the painting, being in
harmony with nature
Works Of Juan
Luna(July 1883-
Spoliarium
March 1884)
• Spoliarium is a Latin word referring to the basement at the Roman
Colosseum where the fallen and dying gladiators are dumped and
devoid of their worldly possessions
• The painting was submitted by Luna to the Exposicion National de
Bella Artes on 1889 in Madrid where it garnered .
• A 4.22 m x 7.675 m (13.8 ft x 25.18 ft.) oil on canvas depicts bloody
carcasses of slave gladiators being dragged away from the arena where
they had entertained their Roman masters, with their lives.
• won the first gold medal in the Madrid Exposition of Fine Arts in
1884
• In 1886, it was sold to the Diputación Provincial de Barcelona for
20,000 pesetas.
• It currently hangs in the main gallery at the ground floor of the
National Museum of the Philippines, and is the first work of art that
greets visitors upon entry into the museum.
• The original painting won the most coveted First Gold Medal, was
donated by the Spanish Government to the Filipino people on the
centennary of Juan Luna’s birthday in 1956..
Works Of Juan
Luna
Odalisque, 1885
• The Odalisque one of Luna’s “Academic Salon portraits”
that followed the standards of proper proportion and
perspective, and realistic depictions with “an air of dignity
and allure”.
• Although less polished compared to Luna’s other works of
art, the Odalisque is typical of the well-planned
characteristic of the artist’s portraits.
• Is one of the paintings that made Luna as an officially
accepted artist at the Salon of Paris.
• Was a part of the painting collection of Philippine national
hero Jose Rizal.
Works Of Juan
Luna
Una Chula II, 1885
• Is an 1885 painting portraying a lower class Madrileña
(woman from Madrid) sitting squarely with arms resting on
a chair, a pose that “almost mannishly exuding sexual
confidence and worldliness, holding a lit cigarette between
two fingers in a flirtatious way. The burning tip of the
cigarette acts as an enhancement to the female’s “painted
lips” that supports a “slight smile”.
Works Of Juan
Luna
Espana Y Filipinas
(Spain and the Philippines)
• Espana y Filipinas is oil1886
on wood painting, it is an
allegorical depiction of two women together, one a
representation of Spain and the other of the Philippines.

• A.k.a España Guiando a Filipinas, is regarded as one of the

“enduring pieces of legacy” that the Filipinos inherited from
Luna
Works Of Juan
Luna
El Pacto De Sangre
(The Blood Compact) 1886
• The Blood Compact portrays the 1565 blood compact
ritual between Rajah Sikatuna of Bohol and Miguel Lopez
de Legazpi who is accompanied by other conquistadors.
• In 1904, the painting won first prize in Paris, France and at
the St. Louis Exposition in the United States
• One of the last paintings of Luna
• Currently displayed in the Malacañang Palace
Works Of Juan
Luna
The Battle of Lepanto, 1887
• Features Don Juan of Austria in battle in October 7, 1571
while at the bow of a ship.

• Now in Palacio del Senado, Centro, Madrid

• Provides significance to the Spanish victory against the

Turks
Works Of Juan
Luna
The Parisian Life, 1892
• Also known as interior d’Un Café or “Inside a Cafe”,
even titled in some book as “ the Maid” and “Un Coquette”
or literally someone who is one step lower than prostitute
painted by Juan Luna. He is known to use prostitutes as
models in his paintings sessions for a very obvious reason–
they’re paid cheap.
• In 1904 at the World Fair’s Saint Louis Exposition in the
United States, this painting won Silver medal.
• 57cm × 79cm (22 inches × 31 inches)
Works Of Juan
Luna
Tampuhan, 1895
• Is a classic oil on canvas painting that depicts a Filipino
man and a Filipino woman having a lovers’ quarrel.
• In Filipino courtship, culture, and values, tampuhan or
sulking is in essence a disagreement between lovers where
they do not speak to each other , sometimes called “silent
treatment”
• The setting is also significant to the Philippine culture for
the reason that the couples is inside a traditional colonial
Filipino house known as Bahay na bato, with its iconic
interior Capiz Windowpane and Ventanilla, while the
woman is wearing Maria Clara gown
• Now in Rosalinda Orosa collection.
Works Of Juan
Luna
Souvenir De 1899, 1899
• Was completed on May 21, 1899, in Leitmeritz, Bohemia,
after his meeting with Rizal’s bosom friend, Dr. Ferdinand
Blumentritt.

• Shows our flag defiantly flying in the breeze, while an

unidentified town across a river is consumed by a raging
fire, presumably caused by the colonizing Americans whose
flag is faintly visible.
 Works of Fernando
1. Portrait of
Amorsolo
2. Planting 3. Workers on 4. The
Fernanda De Rice, 1922 the Field, 1926 Cockfight,
Jesus, 1915 1932

5. Afternoon 6. The 8. The First

Meal of the Rice Marketplace, 7. Defense of
A Filipina Baptism in the
Workers, 1939 1942 Philippines,
Womans 1949
Honor
9. Planting Rice
with the Mayon 10. The Making 11. Fruit
Volcano from a of the Philippine Gatherer, 1950 12. The
Distance, 1949 Flag, 1951e Tinikling,
1960.
Works of Fernando
Amorsolo
Portrait of Fernanda
De Jesus , 1915
• Known as a “Dalagang Filipina”
• Oil on canvas painting
• The aim of this image is to represent and celebrate an ideal
example of Filipino womanhood
• The physical features of a Filipino woman are conveyed -
softly rounded face with clear light brown rose-tinted
complexion and a hint of a smile, framed with black hair.
The subject also holds a tray of flowers that she seems to
offer, which implies the Filipino woman’s role is to give
pleasure and offer services- all in all presenting herself as an
offering fit for the entitled male
Works of Fernando
Amorsolo
Planting Rice, 1922
• The painting is set on a rice field wherein farmers,
regardless of their gender, are on with their usual work
under a bright sunny day.
• Its visual weight is light because the colors used were
mostly pastel in nature. No dark colors were used to produce
a feeling of calm and peace. Even though rice planting is
definitely hard work, the painting made it look like the other
way around.
Works of Fernando
Amorsolo
Workers on the Field,
• Oil on canvas painting
1926
• Signed and dated in Manila 1926
Works of Fernando
Amorsolo
The Cockfight, 1932
• Oil on canvas painting

• 72 cm x 91.5 cm
Works of Fernando
Amorsolo
Afternoon Meal of the
Rice Workers, 1939
• Oil on canvas
• Won first prize at the New York World’s Fair
• 56 cm x 76 cm
Works of Fernando
Amorsolo
The Marketplace, 1942
• Oil on canvas painting
• Marketplace during the Occupation 1942
• Collection of National Heritage Board, Singapore
• At a 1996 Christie’s auction, Amorsolo’s The Marketplace
went for $174,000.
Works of Fernando
Amorsolo
Defense Of A Filipina
Woman’s Honor, 1945
• A representative of Amorsolo’s World War II-era paintings.
Here, a Filipino man defends a woman, who is either his
wife or daughter, from being raped by an unseen Japanese
soldier (note the military cap at the man’s foot)
• Created on January 1, 1945
Works of Fernando
Amorsolo
The First Baptism in the
Philippines, 1949
• Featured in Ayala Museum together with his other
pioneering artworks

• Actually the gift of Insular Assurance Co. To the Ayala

Museum
Works of Fernando
Amorsolo
Planting Rice with the
Mayon Volcano in the
• Oil in canvas Distance, 1949
• Shows that the farmers are planting in the daylight.
• The Filipino farmers are dressed in colorful clothes and
have straw hats in their heads which they are planting rice
with one plow. This painting is a scenery in the rice field
with lots of green and brown colors on the canvas. We can
see the triangle shape of the Mayon volcano and the
circles of the straw hats.
• The mood of the painting is serious yet we find the farmers
determined in planting rice.
Works of Fernando
Amorsolo
Fruit Gatherer, 1950
• . An oil on canvas
• Depicts a woman sitting under a bamboo tree holding a
winnowing basket full of fresh fruits.
• It also portrays the everyday lives of a lady living in the
province where fruits, vegetables, and other edible things
can be found fresh.
• (59 cm x 74 cm)
Works of Fernando
Amorsolo
The Making of the
Philippine Flag, 1951
• Depicting Agoncillo and company’s manual sewing

• World War II, also known as the Second World War, was a
global war that lasted.
• To show the citizen of the Philippines of how the
Philippine flag was made and to remind them the traditions
and customs that we did not realize it becomes faded.
Works of Fernando
Amorsolo
The Tinikling, 1960
• Using oil on canvas
• Farmers dancing the traditional bamboo dance, named
after the field birds that jump about with their long legs.
• signed and dated 1960
• 61 cm x 86 cm
 Analysis
Juan Luna
• Juan Luna’s artwork showed the reformist perspective- how
Filipinos fought for democracy.
• Luna’s works show more drama and bravura.
• A Filipino art critic spoke of Luna thus: Vigor and
realism characterize his art. In a single brush stroke, he paints
a fair of emotions that fills the beholder with drama and
tragedy of his theme…Luna was graver, more profound in his
emotions.
• Luna sought inspiration not from his contemporaries,
the Impressionists, but from the Romantic Delacroix,
Rembrandt and Daumier from whom he learned imparting
power and mysticism to his works.
 Analysis
Fernando Amorsolo
• Fernando Amorsolo’s paintings depict what the Philippine
society was in different eras.
• He left behind a trail of legacies around the world in the
form of priceless paintings that depicted virtue showed his
sense of optimism.
• His oeuvre is characterized by scenes of a Filipino
countryside, harmoniously composed and richly colored,
saturated with bright sunlight and populated by beautiful,
happy people; it is an art of beauty, contentment, peace and
plenty- which perhaps explains its enduring popularity in the
Philippines to this day.
• Amorsolo was committed to two fundamental ideas in
his art: the classical notion of idealism and the conservative
concept of Filipino national character as rooted in rural
communities and the cycles of village life.
 Relevance
Relevance of the Artworks in the
Understanding of the Grand Narrative
of Philippine History
• to recognize that the Filipino artists bluntly fought the tyrannical regime of the
Spaniards through a simple; but, meaningful work of art
• be conscious and critical of the socio-political realities in the Philippines
• to prove the world that Indios can, despite their supposed barbarian race, paint
better that the Spaniards who colonized them
• to prove that the Filipinos or Indios were capable of being intellectually
competitive, as other foreigners could also be.
• to tell the whole world that painting is an expression of one's idea of liberty,
self-respect, and views of the social ills of the nation.
 Relevance
Relevance of the Artworks in Modern
Time
• provide a magnificent view of nationalism with burning blazes of pride and self-
respect

• help shape the consciousness of young people who would grow up to lead the
nation
Thank
You!