Identify and describe the
Overall message of the
Paintings Year major elements of the
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
Spolarium 1884
gladiators are dumped and
devoid of their worldly
possessions.
This panting of Juan Luna is
a colorful depiction of two
woman ascending a set of
stairs. Both females are
wearing a dress for mestiza
which symbolizes cultural
and social character. With
Espana Y both their backs showed,
1886
Felipinas the woman in red is seen to
be guiding the other woman
to move forward.
This masterpiece painting
of Juan Luna’s painting
depicts a one-sided pact
The Sacred
1886 that results in Spaniards
Pact
conquering the majority of
the Philippines, as
painting
Overall message of the
painting Spoliarium was the
type of painting that catered
to the Filipinos' patriotic
needs, and on which Rizal
and others projected a
nationalistic symbolism that
roused the Filipinos to rise
up against the political
injustice of their Spanish
colonizers. Spoliarium, in
Rizal's words, represented
"our social, spiritual, and
political life: morality
unredeemed, purpose and
aspiration in open combat
with bigotry, fanaticism, and
injustice."
The taller woman in red
dress is a representation of
Spain while the other is a
representation of the
Philippines. It is a symbolism
of close relationship of the
Philippines with Spain, with
the latter pointing and
guiding the other towards
progress. The painting also
represents the aspirations of
Filipino reformists during this
period— an equitable
assimilation of Philippines
with Spain.
The Blood Compact portrays
the peaceful and even
friendly encounter of the two
peoples in 1565, when Datu
Sikatuna de Bohol and
Miguel López de Legazpi
performed a sandugo ritual.
 evidenced by the number of This interpretation of the
Spaniards in the region. Conquista invites us to
recognize Luna's ilustrado
status as proto-nationalistic,
and to consider the
Philippineness emphasized
by the pictorial discourse in
relation to a broader
belonging and cultural
identity, the Hispanidad
(Hispanity).

The Battle of Lepanto by As a consequence, this

Luna gives weight to the
"Spanish triumph over the
Turks." As a result, Queen
Regent Maria Christina of
Austria, the widow of King
Alfonso XII of Spain, was
the one who unveiled
Luna's masterpiece
painting, along with
Pradilla's La rendición de
granada, at the Senate Hall
The Battle of of Madrid in November
1887
Lepanto 1887. The victory at
Lepanto, however, was not
merely a Spanish victory
over the Turks. The victory
at Lepanto was a Catholic
victory over the invading
forces of Islam. At Lepanto,
a Catholic alliance defeated
the forces of Islam who
were attempting to conquer
and subjugate the West in
order to compel its people
to adhere to Islamic law.
The Parisian Life, also
known as Interior d'un Cafi,
is an impressionist painting
The Parisian by Filipino painter and
1892
Life political activist Juan Luna,
painted on canvas in 1892.
Since the state pension
fund moved management
painting is a symbol of
national pride because the
Spaniards were instrumental
in the victory at Lepanto, as
well as pride in the
Spaniards' Catholicism
because the war was fought
by the Catholics. Both
paintings are now on display
in the Madrid Senate Hall.
Luna was also awarded the
Medalla de Isabela La
Católica (Medal of Elizabeth
the Catholic) from the
Ministry of the High Seas
(Ministerio de Ultramar) by
Queen Regent Maria
Christina for the Filipino's
"outstanding service" to
Spain.
The Parisian Life not only
represents the "intangible
concepts of Filipino national
consciousness," but also
Luna's artistic capacity.
Luna is a "indefatigable
painter of women," as shown
by the painting Parisian Life.
of its collection to the
National Museum in March
2012, the painting currently
owned by the Government
Service Insurance System
is on display at the National
Museum of Fine Arts.
It also demonstrates that
Luna was a "enthusiastic
observer of the fairer sex,"
an artist with a "keen eye" for
women's "enigmatic
psychology." as well as a
painter who has a "obviously
sensitive insight into"
women's fragility, power,
pleasure, and solemnity.
Luna's sensitivity and
expertise in capturing a brief
moment of ordinary life and
imbuing it with "personality
and universal emotions" was
further demonstrated in The
Parisian Life.