PHILIPPINE POPULAR CULTURE

Sheena Mai S. Abo BSOA-IIIE

MEANING:
The painting Spoliarium by Juan Luna shows the cruelty, injustices, sufferings and helplessness experienced by the
gladiators. It represents a scene from the Roman Empire in which men dragged the bloodied remains of slave
gladiators from the vast and mighty arena into an unknown darkness, wherein more cruelly dead gladiators are
transported. Gladiators (the subject of the painting) are armed combatants who entertained audiences in the
Roman Republic and Roman Empire in violent confrontations with other gladiators, wild animals, and condemned
criminals. The Romans dragging the almost lifeless body of the gladiators illustrates their unfeelingness
towards their fellow human beings. The most disgusting people were those that were cheering on the left side of the
painting. They are the cancers of human society, waiting for the gladiators to die so that they can take
their possessions. Not only did they not disapprove of such entertainment, but they also strongly supported such
events for their selfish reasons. The gladiators illustrate the helplessness that humans undergo just because they lack
power.
It is a representation of how the people of the Philippines suffered during Spanish control. Its dark colors represent
the horrible things made by the Spaniards to the Filipinos. Another is that the chosen colors in the painting
portrays sadness, mourning, pain, suffering, and defeat against the powerful Spaniards because even the lives of
Filipinos are being sacrificed just to honor the will and the names of the Spaniards. We were mistreated,
discriminated, denied our freedom, voiceless, and made to feel wretched in our own nation. People cried out for peace
and for their rights, and they were clearly in pain, yet they continue to drag us down, make us feel useless, and
propagate their wickedness.
The painting reveals how people were deprived of their freedom and rights. This painting keeps on reminding us of
how important freedom is in each and everyone. The significance of always looking back on this artwork to reminisce
our past, to learn and to be more optimistic in our future life. It is not only our freedom that Juan Luna tries to
inculcate in us, but also the importance of equality in society and the respect that each and every one we must acquire.
And also, to uplift our self and the society to achieve peace and harmony. Moreover, this painting can serve as an
eyeopener to every Filipino. It can be seen how courageous the artist was to make a bold revelation about how brutal
the Spaniards were during their reign in our beloved land, the Philippines. Thus, this painting was very popular
because of its deep meaning that has been input by the artist in the painting.
Overall, Juan Luna's spolarium focuses primarily on the abuse of human rights under Spanish rule, and he created this
picture to convey his patriotism and commitment to our nation. In addition, he created such harmonious
interactions between different colors, resulting in a beautiful image that sends an incredible message. A
lesson that we can use in reality and in our daily lives, that no matter what the world throws at us, we can learn to
overcome it, just like the Filipinos conquered the Spanish colonists back then. This artwork of Juan Luna
screams misery and mystery. It portrays the inner political and socio-cultural viewpoints; as well as the emotions of a
Filipino master painter, like Juan Luna. Hence, this had well integrated the nature of the political, moral, and social
lives of the Filipino