PAMANTASAN NG LUNGSOD NG MAYNILA

PAMANTASAN NG LUNGSOD NG MAYNILA

Term Paper

Submitted to
Dr. Dolores B. Liwag
Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Maynila
Intramuros, Manila

by

Jaira S. Hernandez
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The Spoliarium

A true work of art can often speak for itself and releases its true artistic meaning just

by looking at it. No doubt that the painting commands attention and gives off a majestic

aura. As we analyze the story behind the Spoliarium you will be amazed. It is truly an

overwhelming type of art. You’d be filled with astonishment at the mere sight of the

painting. And it will make you so proud that you are a Filipino and it’s a proof that Filipino’s

can do such amazing things.

This painting describe as the tragic and hardship. It represents various emotions being

portrayed especially during that period wherein people are too brutal and vicious to value the

importance of life and how hug an impact it leaves to a lot of people and this is being

presented by the woman in the portrait. It is believed that the woman crouched on the right

side of the paintings is the Mother Country or the Inang bayan who weeps for her

Philippines.

We can see the blood of every person dragging by the soldiers in one place. The

blood thirsty crowd to the left represents the social cancer at that time. These people being

drag in some certain place in the painting are the fallen gladiators who are being dragged in

the painting are the Filipino people that had been slave by the Romans. The dragging of the

body of the gladiator shows how useless they find one’s life in which is why they exploit it

more often just for the entertainment of the Romans or the representative of the Spanish rule.

Romans drag the gladiators to the rooms which Romans will rip their lives, and some people
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claimed that this was only room for their slaves but they will brutally hurt them. The

gladiators are dragged away from the wide and powerful arena as they attempted to fight

their Roman oppressors, with their own precious God given lives.

Diagonal lines are very noticeable in the two soldiers dragging bodies of brutally

killed persons. Thus, we imagine tension, adding to it is the use of contour lines seen in the

gladiator’s arms, legs, and back. On the left side, there is so much energy and their emotions

are running high with tension while on the right a more somber mood is seen by a lady and an

old man. The painting gives us a clear picture of how we can bloodily fight for our liberty.

Just like the dead persons being dragged who were so desperate to be free and fought to their

fullest capabilities or strength.

In addition these slaves on this world-renowned painting of Juan Luna wee physically

stripped of their clothing in order to gratify the lewd and devilish contempt of those roman

oppressors. This artwork had excellently embodied the essence of the political, moral and

social lives of the Filipino, based on the critical analysis of Dr. Jose Rizal, the national hero

of the Philippines and a contemporary of Luna.

According to the author of Noli Me Tangere, the masterpiece of Juan Luna centered

on the severe ordeal of the Filipino nation, in which its encompassing human nature, had

never been regained. Also, his Spoliarium had provided a distinctive picture and persona of

an open struggle against reason and idealism, which were coupled with justice, fanaticism

and cases of prejudice.

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The embers of Philippine history are as colorful as the Filipinos regard for Philippine

visual arts. These types of artworks depict the inner political and socio-cultural views; as

well as the sentiments of a Filipino master painter, like Juan Luna.

Spoliarium often misspelled as “Spolarium” is a masterpiece painted by the Fiipino

painter named, Juan Luna. With the help of Felix Resurreccion Hidalgo and won the gold

medal for this particular painting during the Exposicion Nacional de Bellas Artes in 1884.

Spoliarium is a Latin word referring to the basement o the Roman Collosuem was the fallen

and dying gladiators are dumped and devoid of their worldly possessions.

Any viewer of the painting will feel dwarfed by the large painting and may feel

overwhelmed by the magnanimity of it. The next thing we'll notice about the painting is the

rich in colors used. Mostly, the painter made use of warm colors for his work of art, with reds

being a central color that attracts the most attention. As what other's personal experience, the

colors are striking and quite unique.

The Spoliarium of Juan Luna was sold for 20,000 pesetas to Diputaciom Provincial

de Barcelona. Hence, the said genial craftsmanship of Luna can be found at the National

Museum in the Philippines. Based on historical accounts, the young and brilliant Juan Luna

had spent almost eight months of his fruitful life, to finally finish the historically significant

Spoliarium.

It is later moved to the Museum of Modern Art. There is remained in storage for

years till the museum got burned and looted during the Spanish civil war in 1937. The

damaged painting was then sent to Madrid for restoration, and for 18 years, it stayed there till
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the 1950’s when it was sent to manila as a gift from the Spanish government to the

independent government of the Philippines.

It’s a microscopic view of the past and the forgotten memory of the Filipinos, it let us

see the memory of those who live in the era where the Filipinos are under the tyranny of an

overlord. Neoclassicism like this may seem severe and blunt but so much is happening in

Juan Luna’s The Spoliarium. Interplay of historical, personal, political and aesthetic pieces

build together to force us to see what we don’t know, to make us look at something beautiful

and make us realize the things that we should know.

Thus, to make it a world-class work of art, it was painted on a very large canvass with

utmost love, care and beyond compare perfection. To prove this astonishing impression by

the author of this article, a famous Filipino historian by the name of Ambeth Ocampo had

once said, “The fact that remains that when Juan Luna and Felix R. Hidalgo won the top

awards in the Madrid Exposition of 1884, they had proved to the world that indios can,

despite their supposed barbarian race, paint better than the Spaniards who colonized them.”

Of course, even if Rizal was a genius in a very subtle way, the greatest influence of

Spoliarium can never be denied nor eradicated, from his conscious and critical views of the

socio-political realities in the Philippines. In line with this, he had proudly lauded this

momentous achievement of Juan Luna alongside with Felix Hidalgo, during an exclusive

gathering of expatriates which were incidentally, all Filipinos. With this magnificent

painting, Rizal was happy to know that at long last, there were Filipino artists who had

bluntly fought the tyrannical regime of the Spaniards through a simple; but, meaningful work

of art.
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As I conclude, I want to announce that this kind of situation which is demonstrated in

the painting is still happening in our world today. As we see or hear the news about

corruption, exploitation, war and etc. we can confirm that there is still high possibility of that

the more powerful countries might attempt to colonize or overrule other less powerful

countries. This is also because human’s greed prides or wishes still exist that we cannot deny

that there is not. Consequently, I ask everyone not to think about their own benefit but see the

society as a whole and the power of their country or society as their own power and pride.

If there is one thing that can be said about the art, it is that the art being a

representation of reality viewers can with some imagination and see what they want to see.
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References:

https://nicoleeeco.wordpress.com/2011/11/09/the-spolarium/

http://driftwoodjourneys.com/the-historical-triumph-and-social-relevance-juan-lunas-
spoliarium/

https://www.quora.com/What-is-a-good-analysis-of-the-painting-Spoliarium-by-Juan-
Luna

https://steemit.com/philippines/@vonromulobalsamo/juan-luna-s-spoliarium-a-short-
critique

https://www.antiessays.com/free-essays/Spoliarium-590028.html

https://yoongippeum.wordpress.com/2011/12/09/spoliarium/

http://www.populopost.ph/francisjay/2017/04/09/understanding-art-spoliarium-by-
juan-luna/

https://medium.com/@shaynamaydagelet/spoliarium-by-juan-luna-6d13bffd1f58

https://prezi.com/zdjpv3l7d2lx/spoliarium/

https://opinion.inquirer.net/103923/see-one-wants-see