The Parisian Life

a painting of Juan Luna y Novicio, master impressionist painter

The Parisian Life

The Parisian Life

The Parisian Life
• Signed, inscribed and dated
‘LUNA, Paris 1892’
• Oil on 57cm x 79cm canvas
• Lighter in color and mood
• Originally owned by Ariston
Bautista Lin and his family
• The GSIS Museum bought
it for $870,000 (46M php)
• Displayed at National
Museum
 “Interior d’Un Café”, “Inside the Café”, “The Maid”, “Un Coquette”

What’s in it?

“A French lady wearing a flowery hat, in

a French dress with long sleeves,
ruffled ends and length reaching
beyond her ankles. From the right of
the lady (most left of the painting) are
three men who look like making gossips
about her. They are Dr. Jose Rizal who
is turned back, Ariston Bautista Lin who
is directly glancing to the lady, and
Luna himself at the center with an
evident mustache.”
Historical Importance

• Last major work of Juan Luna before he travelled back to the

Philippines

• The only painting where Juan Luna himself is a character in

the painting

• Juan Luna may simply want to show a glimpse of his life in

Paris with his friends

• A typical gathering in Juan Luna’s Parisian life

 The Parisian Life: Luna’s purpose
Three reasons discuss:

➢ Contribution to the
revolution

➢ Friendship: Dr. Jose

Rizal, Ariston Bautista
Lin, and Juan Luna
himself

➢ Warning to his wife Paz

Pardo de Tavera
 ➢Contribution to the revolution
• The three men were figuring out ways on how to
free the lady
• The lady is the reversed mirror image of the map of
the Philippine archipelago
• Sending a message about the uprising revolution to
free the Philippines from bondage
Imageries and symbolisms:
• The isolated prostitute
• Black turtle neck
• Navel/womb
• The French newspaper
• Overcoat beside the
lady
➢Friendship: Rizal, Luna, Bautista-Lin
• It is just an ordinary day of propagandists in
Europe enjoying their Bohemian lives
• The may have embraced the western
lifestyle but they still remained passionately
Filipino
• A capture of the last gathering of great
Filipinos on the eve of momentous events
 ➢Warning to Paz Pardo de Tavera
• The painting was Juan Luna’s call for
temperance
• September 22, 1892- Juan Luna shot to
death his wife and his mother-in-law and
wounded his brother-in-law
• Mental health evidence

• The Parisian lady is a

projection of his wife
Paz Pardo de Tavera
• It was fixated in
Luna’s mind that his
wife had adulterous
relationship
The Parisian Life
 References
• Ma. Rona Beltran, “The Parisian Life Painting of Juan Luna,” Travel and
Wellness with Maria, August 9, 2011.
http://www.mariaronabeltran.com/2011/08/juan-luna-and-his-parisian-
life.html
• Leeannexxv Wordpress. "The Parisian Life by Juan Luna." August 31, 2013.
https://leeannexxv.wordpress.com/2013/08/31/the-parisian-life-by-juan-luna-
2/
• Joseph Reylan Viray. "Parisian Life: Luna's Personal Call for Temperance."
January, 2016.
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/317329012_Parisian_Life_Luna's_
Call_for_Temperance
• Rey Arcangel. "Mysteries behind Luna's 'The Parisian Life,' revealed."
November 11, 2013. https://tawidnewsmag.com/mysteries-behind-lunas-
parisian-life-revealed/
The Burning of Manila
a painting by Fernando Amorsolo y Cueto
 The Burning of Manila

The Parisian Life

The Burning of Manila
• 1942, Manila City
• Oil on 24.9cm x 31.8cm Panel (Masonite)
• Monochromatic (beige, copper, and tan)
• Amorsolo shifted to portraying the destruction caused by war after the
World War II ended.
• Displayed in National Museum (On Loan)
The Burning of Manila: Amorsolo’s style

➢ Ominous glow
➢ Amorsolo used flames
and embers from the
burning ruins as his
primary light source.
➢ Amorsolo portrayed
“tragedy through subtle
means”
 The Burning of Manila: Amorsolo’s purpose
➢ To depict the tragedy and horror in the Battle of Manila
which happened February 3 to March 3, 1945.

Imageries and symbolisms:

➢ Colors beige, copper, tan: A
documentation of the tragedy
and death experienced by
Filipino people as the
burning city is tinged with red
from fire and blood
 The Burning of Manila: Amorsolo’s purpose
➢ To depict the tragedy and horror in the Battle of Manila
which happened February 3 to March 3, 1945.

Imageries and symbolisms:

➢ Colors beige, copper, tan: A
documentation of the tragedy
and death experienced by
Filipino people as the
burning city is tinged with red
from fire and blood
The Burning of Manila

➢ After the onset of World War II, Amorsolo’s depictions

were mostly of a war-torn nation
➢ Fernando Amorsolo spent his days at his home near
the Japanese garrison, where he sketched war
scenes from the house’s windows or rooftop
➢ He recorded World War II in his paintings as he
depicted it screaming with rage or wailing in intense
displays of emotion
The Parisian Life
References
• Edwin Martinez. "The War Years." Fernando C. Amorsolo Art Foundation,
April 8, 2009. http://www.fernandocamorsolo.com/bio3.html
• Artnet. "The Burning of Manila." Accessed October 8, 2020.
http://www.artnet.com/artists/fernando-cueto-amorsolo/the-burning-of-
manila-QsUqwpNHBF-p56-vTfrVXA2
• Ambeth Ocampo. “Amorsolo’s Brush with History”. Wayback Machine,
Lopez Memorial Museum, July 2, 2007
• Sylvia Amorsolo Lazo. “Remembering Papa”. Wayback Machine, Lopez
Memorial Museum, July 2, 2007
• Thomson Gale. “Dernando Amorsolo”. Encyclopedia of World Biography,
October 8, 2016