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Juan Luna

Juan Luna y Novicio (October 24, 1857 – December 7, 1899), better known as Juan
Luna was a Filipino painter,sculptor and a political activist of the Philippine Revolution
during the late 19th century. He became one of the first recognized Philippine artists.

The death of cleopatra

The Death of Cleopatra, also known simply as Cleopatra, is an 1881 painting made by
the Filipino painter Juan Luna. The painting was a silver medalist or second prize
winner during the 1881 National Exposition of Fine Arts in Madrid (Exposicion Nacional
de Bellas Artes). The 1881 Madrid painting contest was Luna’s first art exposition.
Because of the exposure, Luna received a pension scholarship at the Ayuntamiento de
Manila. After the painting competition, Luna sold it for 5,000 Spanish pesetas, the
highest price for a painting at the time.

Spoliarium

The Spoliarium is a painting by Filipino painter Juan Luna. 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). In 1886, it was sold to the Diputación Provincial de
Barcelona for 20,000 pesetas. It currently hangs in the main gallery at the first floor of
the National Museum of Fine Arts in Manila, and is the first work of art that greets
visitors upon entry into the museum. The picture recreates a despoiling scene in a
Roman circus where dead gladiators are stripped of weapons and garments.

The Parisian Life

The Parisian Life has a “playful” and “relaxed mood” that does not provide “the slightest
hint of the tumultuous happenings to come” in Luna’s personal life. It portrayed a scene
inside a café in Paris with a woman identified as a courtesan or a prostitute representing
fallen womanhood, who was about to rise from a sofa overshadowing three men placed
at the far left corner of the painting. Apart from the prominent figure of the female
wearing a pale lavender frock and a hat embellished with flowers, fronted by two
glasses of beers and an empty beer mug belying a company of men, The Parisian Life
portrayed a glimpse of Luna’s own life in the capital of France while accompanied by
two close friends.

The painted illustration captured the gathering of three significant personas and heroes
in Philippine History having a discussion about the Philippines “on the eve of
momentous events” during the springtime in Paris. The three gentlemen dressed in
European garb – top hats and coats – at the left of the image are Luna himself, José
Rizal, and Ariston Bautista Lin, who were on an “expedition” during a casual evening in
a café believed to be named as Maxim’s, brimming with self-confidence while enjoying a
moment inside the café. They were described as Filipino gentlemen who “embraced
Western lifestyle while remaining Filipino at heart Ocampo, Ambeth R. (2000). Rizal
without the Overcoat. Anvil Publishing Juan Luna’s Parisian Life: comes to UST, Vol.
LXXV, No. 8, The Varsitarian, The Official Publication of the University of Santo Tomas,
Manila, Philippines, January 15, 2004, varsitarian.net

Ang Labanan sa Lepanto

(Kastila: La Batalla de Lepanto) ay isang tanyag na pintang larawan ng Pilipinong pintor

at bayani na si Juan Luna. Si Luna ay isa sa mga naunang Pilipinong kinilala at
naparangalan sa pandaidigang larangan ng sining at kultura). Ipininta ni Luna noong
1887, ang itinatampok ng obra maestra ang Labanan sa Lepanto noong Oktubre 7,
1571. Ipinapakita sa larawan si Don Juan ng Austria (kilala rin na Don John ng Austria)
sa labanan habang ang nasa proa ng barko. Ito ay isa sa “malaking epikong canvas” na
ipininta ni Luna (ang isa pa ay ang Spoliarium at Ang Sandugo). Kilala rin ang pinta sa
The Battle of Lepanto of 1571
Battle of Lepanto
October 7, 1571), naval engagement in the waters off southwestern Greece between
the allied Christian forces of the Holy League and the Ottoman Turks during an Ottoman
campaign to acquire the Venetian island of Cyprus. The battle marked the first
significant victory for a Christian naval force over a Turkish fleet and the climax of the
age of galley warfare in the Mediterranean.

Ottoman Empire, empire created by Turkish tribes in Anatolia (Asia Minor) that grew to
be one of the most powerful states in the world during the 15th and 16th centuries.

Why juan luna paint battle of lepanto?

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. Some of the commissioned paintings were
The Battle of Lepanto, together with Peuple et Rois and España y Filipinas. 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). 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” or “Medal of
Excellence” for Spoliarium. A biased jury, known as the "Jury of Honor" did not grant
Luna the prize because he was a Filipino and in spite of the fact that “public sentiment
felt” Luna “deserved the award”. One year after, The Battle of Lepanto became a gold
medalist during the 1888 Fine Arts Exhibition in Barcelona, Spain. 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. Graciano
Lopez Jaena, another Filipino hero, also gave Luna and Hidalgo a “congratulatory
speech” for their success
The Blood Compact
The Blood Compact portrays the 1565 Sandugo (blood compact ritual) between Datu
Sikatuna of Bohol and Miguel López de Legazpi, surrounded by other conquistadors.
Datu Sikatuna was described to be 'being crowded out of the picture by Miguel López
de Legazpi and his fellow conquistadores'.

CONUISTADOR one of the Spanish conquerors of Mexico and Peru in the 16th century.

Juan Luna completed The Blood Compact in 1886, a year after he moved to Paris to
open a studio. It was also the year after Luna became a friend of Félix Resurrección
Hidalgo, another known Filipino painter. In 1904, the painting won the first prize in Paris,
France and at the St. Louis Exposition in the United States. The masterpiece was
painted by Luna during his four-year pensionadoship from the Ayuntamiento de Manila,
enabling him to continue studying painting in Rome. It is one of the three paintings Luna
gave the Government of Spain, even though he was only obligated to paint just one
canvas during the pensionadoship. The other paintings are Don Miguel Lopez de
Legazpi, a painting that was burned during the Philippine-Spanish war, and Governor
Ramon Blanco, a work that became a part of the Lopez Museum collection. This is one
of the last paintings created by Luna.

Why Juan Luna painted blood compact?

Luna was required to do the painting for the city government of Manila in return for a
scholarship that covered his studies and expenses in Madrid and Rome. “El Pacto de
Sangre” was exhibited in Barcelona and the Universal Exposition in St. Louis in 1904
before it was enshrined permanently in Malacañang.

Where to find?

Juan Luna completed The Blood Compact in 1886, a year after he moved to Paris to
open a studio. It was also the year after Luna became a friend of Félix Resurrección
Hidalgo, another known Filipino painter. In 1904, the painting won the first prize in Paris,
France and at the St. Louis Exposition in the United States. The masterpiece was
painted by Luna during his four-year pensionadoship from the Ayuntamiento de Manila,
enabling him to continue studying painting in Rome. It is one of the three paintings Luna
gave the Government of Spain, even though he was only obligated to paint just one
canvas during the pensionadoship. The other paintings are Don Miguel Lopez de
Legazpi, a painting that was burned during the Philippine-Spanish war, and Governor
Ramon Blanco, a work that became a part of the Lopez Museum collection. This is one
of the last paintings created by Luna.

Peuple et Rois

Peuple et Rois (People and Kings) is the French title of an 1892 painting by Juan
Luna. Finished in the academic style of painting, Luna intended to send and enter
Peuple et Rois for the 1892 Chicago Universal Exposition in the United States, but the
plan was aborted when Luna shot his wife and mother-in-law because he suspected his
wife of having an affair with a French doctor. Luna was acquitted for murder by the
French court on February 3, 1893.
Luna painted Peuple et Rois after attaining fame for winning a gold for Spoliarium
during the 1884 Exposición General de Bellas Artes in Madrid, Spain. The painting was
destroyed in WWII.
Our Filipino national hero, Juan Luna, made a painting on the Battle of Lepanto 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. 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). 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” or “Medal of Excellence” for Spoliarium...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, together with Pradilla’s La rendición de granada....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.
 Reference

- J. Foreman (1906) the Philippines history, n.m.wikipedia.org

- A.Ocampo (1857) Las Damas Romanas, "The Death of Cleopatra" by Juan

Luna

- L. Guerero(1974) Spoliarium, The First Filipino: A Biography of José Rizal

- E. Bencyrus (2003) .the parisian life, Juan Luna and Our Heritage

- Q. Sugon Jr. (October 18, 2014). Rebuilding the Faith and Nation. Retrieved from
https://monkshobbit.blogspot.com/2014/10/battle-lepanto-feast-lady-holy-rosary-juan-
luna-painting.html

- Blood Compact. (2019, September 3). Retrieved from

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blood_compact

- Peuple et Rois (2019, June 24). Retrieved from

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peuple_et_Rois