History

Of
Juan Luna

Submitted by: Marjo Ocon & Annabelle Carasi

Submitted to: Mr. Olpindo
 Juan Novicio y Luna
 Born in the town of Badoc, IlocosNorte in the northern Philippines, Juan Luna was the third
among the seven children of Don Joaquin Luna de San Pedro y Posadas and Doña Laureana
Novicio y Ancheta. In 1861, the Luna family moved to Manila and he went to AteneoMunicipal
de Manila where he obtained his Bachelor of Arts degree.
 Luna enrolled at Escuela Nautica deManila (now Philippine Merchant MarineAcademy). He took
drawing lessons under the illustrious painting teacher Lorenzo Guerrero of Ermita, Manila. He
also enrolled in the Academy of Fine Arts (Academia de Dibujo y Pintura) in Manilawhere he was
influenced and taught how to draw by the Spanish artist Agustin Saez. Unfortunately, Lunas
vigorous brush strokesdispleased his teacher and Luna was discharged from the Academy.
studies.
 Juan entered the Escuela de Bellas Artes de San Fernandouela, where he befriended the
painter Don Alejo Vera. Luna was discontented with the style of teaching in school and decided
that it would be much better to work with Vera.
 It was in 1878 when his artistic talents was established with the opening of the first art
exposition in Madrid which was called the Exposicion Nacional de Bellas Artes (National
Demonstration of Beautiful Arts). From then on, Luna became engrossed in painting and
produced a collection of paintings that he exhibited in the 1881 Exposition.
 His La Muerte de Cleopatra (The Death of Cleopatra) won him a silver medal and came in second
place. Lunas growing reputation as an artist led to apensionado (pension) scholarship at
600pesos annually through the Ayuntamiento of Manila. The condition was that he was obliged
to develop a painting which captured the essence of Philippine history which would then
become the Ayuntamientos property.
 In 1883 Luna started the painting demanded of him by the Ayuntamiento. In May 1884, he
shipped the large canvas of the Spoliarium to Madrid forthe years Exposición Nacional de Bellas
Artes. He was the first recipient of the three gold medals awarded in the exhibition and Luna
gained recognition among the connoisseurs and artcritics present.
 On June 25, 1884, Filipino and Spanish nobles organized an event celebrating Lunas win in the
exhibition. That evening, Rizal prepared a speech for his friend, addressing the two significant
things of his art work, which included the glorification of genius and the grandeur of his artistic
skills.
 Luna developed a friendly relationship with the King of Spain and was later commissioned by the
Spanish Senate to paint a large canvas which was called the La Batallade Lepanto (The Battle of
Lepanto).He moved to Paris in 1885 where he opened his own studio and be friended Hidalgo.
 OA year after, he finished the piece El Pacto de Sangre (The Blood Compact) in accordance with
the agreement he had with the Ayuntamiento of Manila. Depicted in this piece was the blood
compact ceremony between the Datu Sikatuna , one of the lords in Bohol island, and the
Spanish conquistad or Miguel López de Legazpi.
 It is now displayed in the Malacañan Palace. He also sent two other paintings in addition to the
one required; the second canvas sent to Manila was a portrait of López de Legazpi reconstructed
by Luna from his recollection of a similar portrait he saw in the hall of the Cabildo, and the third
was of Governor-general Ramón Blanco y Erenas.
 In 1887, Luna once again traveled back to Spain to enterin that years Exposition two of his
pieces, the La Batalla deLepanto and Rendición de Granada (Surrender ofGranada),
 He celebrated his triumph with his friends in Madrid with Graciano López-Jaena delivered Luna a
congratulatory speech. Luna’s paintings are generally described as being vigorous and dramatic.
With its elements of Romanticism, his style shows the influence of Delacroix, Rembrandt, and
Daumier.
 On December 8, 1886, Luna married Maria de la Paz Pardo deTavera, a sister of his friend
Felixand Trinidad Pardo de Tavera. The couple traveled to Venice and Rome and settled in Paris.
They had one son, whom they named Andrés, and a daughter nicknamed Bibi who died in
infancy. Luna was fond of painting his wife.
 However, the jealous Luna frequently accused Paz of having an affair with a certain Monsieur
Dussaq. Finally in a fit of jealousy, he killed his wife and mother-in-law and wounded his
brother-in-law, Felix, on September 23, 1892. He was arrested and murder charges were filed
against him.
 Luna was acquitted of charges on February 8, 1893,on grounds of temporary insanity; the
"unwritten law" at the time forgave men for killing unfaithful wives.
 He was ordered to pay the Pardo de Taveras a sum of one thousand six hundred fifty one francs
and eighty three cents, and an additional twenty five francs for postage, in addition to the
interest of damages. Five days later, Luna went to Madrid with his brother, Antonio Luna, and
his son, Andrés
 In 1891 Luna moved back to the Philippines and traveled to Japan in 1896, returning during the
Philippine Revolution of the Cry of Balintawak. Unfortunately, on September 16, 1896, he and
his brother Antonio Luna were arrested by Spanish authorities for being involved with the
Katipunan rebel army. Despite his imprisonment, Luna was still able to produce a work of art
which he gave toa visiting priest. He was pardoned by the Spanish courts on May 27, 1897 and
was released from prison and he travelled back to Spain.

 In 1898, he was appointed by the executive board of the Philippine revolutionary government as
a member of the Paris delegation which was working for the diplomatic recognition of the
República Filipina (Philippine Republic).In 1899, upon the signing of the Treaty of Paris (1898),
 Luna was named a member of the delegation to Washington, D.C. to press for the recognition of
the Philippine government.
 He travelled back to the Philippines in December 1899 upon hearing of the murder of his
brother Antonio by the Kawit Battalion in Cabanatuan. On December 7, 1899, Luna suffered a
heart attack and died there. His remains were buried in Hong Kong and in 1920 were exhumed
and kept in Andrés Luna’s house ,to be later transferred to a niche at the Crypt of the San
Agustin Church in the Philippines.
 Five years later, Juan would be reinstated as a world renowned artist and Peuple et Rois, his
last major work, was acclaimed the best entry to the Saint Louis World’s Fair in the United
States. Unfortunately some of his paintings were destroyed by fire in World War II.
 La Muerte de Cleopatra (The Death of Cleopatra)

Joaquin Damaso Novicio Luna

 Birthdate: December 11, 1874
 Birthplace: Manila, Metro Manila, Philippines
 He was a Businessman and Politician and brother to artist Juan and military tactician Antonio.
 He served as Governor of La Union from 1904 to 1908, Representative to the General Assembly
from 1907 to 1916 and Governor/Senator from 1916 to 1919 (Twelfth Senatorial District of Mt.
Province, Baguio, Nueva Vizcaya, Agusan, Bukidnon, Cotobato, Davao, Lanao, Sulu and
Zamboanga). He penned the bill that created the UP Conservatory of Music in 1908.

Doña Laureana Novicio San Ignacio y Ancheta

 Birthdate: estimated between 1797 and 1857
 Died in 1906 at age 77
Paintings by Juan Luna:

Spoliarium(January 1, 1884)
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.

At the center of Luna’s painting are fallen gladiators being dragged by Roman soldiers . On the
left, spectators ardently await their chance to strip off the combatants of their metal helmets
and other armory. In contrast with the charged emotions featured on the left, the right side
meanwhile presents a somber mood. An old man carries a torch perhaps searching for his son
while a woman weeps the death of her loved one.

The Spoliarium is the most valuable oil-on-canvas painting by Juan Luna, a Filipino educated at
the Academia de Dibujo y Pintura (Philippines) and at the Academia de San Fernando in Madrid,
Spain. With a size of 4.22 meters x 7.675 meters, it is the largest painting in the Philippines. A
historical painting, it was made by Luna in 1884 as an entry to the prestigious Exposicion de
Bellas Artes (Madrid Art Exposition, May 1884) and eventually won for him the First Gold
Medal.
 Las Damas Romanas (January 1, 1882)
Las Damas Romanas (literally, "The Roman Dames"), also known as The Roman Maidens, The
Roman Women, or The Roman Ladies, is an oil on canvas painting by Juan Luna, one of the
most important Filipino painters of the Spanish period in the Philippines. It was painted 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.

The Parisian Life (1892)

Parisian Life", also known as "Interior d'un Cafe" was painted in c 1892 by Juan Luna. The oil on canvass
painting, 22 inches long ~ and 31 inches in width, and now housed at the GSIS Museum of fA Art-Pasay
City, features three Filipino patriots - Jose Rizal, Juan Luna, and Ariston Bautista Lin. It was given by Juan
Luna to Ariston Bautista Lin who kept it in his Quiapo house, site of the Propaganda and Katipunan
movements.
 Picnic in Normandy ( circa 1880s)
It is an oil painting made on a canvas by Juan Nocivio Luna. From the name itself, the painting depicts
women and men having a picnic at a certain place in Normandy.

Light colours were used in the painting to accentuate the beauty and the magnificence of the place, a
hill or a grassy plain surrounded with flowers. There is an emphasis on the changing qualities of light on
colour and texture of the images. Visible brush strokes and unusual visual angles are used on the
painting giving it a somewhat blurred image instead of creating a detailed image. The flowers can be
seen even from a fair distance or at a momentary glance, but upon closer inspection, it is noticeable that
the flowers were just dabs of colour spread around the painting. The same style was applied with the
other images on the painting. It seems Mr. Luna emphasizes more on the overall effect of the painting
rather than on the details.

Plaza de San Marcos, Venezia, watercolor, ca. 1886

 En el Balcon

Joven En Un Jardin

Odalisque
 Despues del Baile

La Muerte de Cleopatra

Mercado de Portugalete
 Soldado Italiano

Philippine Flag

Vendedora de Flores
 Una Mestiza

La Burla, Roma, 1882

Street Flower Vendor

 Nu Femeni

España y Filipinas

La Bulaqueña
 Tampuhan

La Batalla de Lepanto