Early lifeBorn in the town of Badoc,Ilocos Nortein the northern
Philippines, Juan Luna was the third among the seven children of
Don Joaqun Luna de San Pedro y Posadas and Doa Laureana Novicio y
Ancheta. In 1861, the Luna family moved toManilaand he went
toAteneo Municipal de Manilawhere he obtained hisBachelor of
Artsdegree. He excelled in painting and drawing, and was influenced
by his brother,Manuel Luna, who, according to Filipino patriotJos
Rizal, was a better painter than Juan himself.Luna enrolled at
Escuela Nautica de Manila (nowPhilippine Merchant Marine Academy)
and became a sailor. He took drawing lessons under the illustrious
painting teacherLorenzo GuerreroofErmita, Manila. He also enrolled
in theAcademy of Fine Arts(Academia de Dibujo y Pintura) in Manila
where he was influenced and taught how to draw by the Spanish
artistAgustin Saez. Unfortunately, Luna's vigorous brush strokes
displeased his teacher and Luna was discharged from the academy.
However, Guerrero was impressed by his skill and urged Luna to
travel to Cubao to further pursue his work.Travel abroadIn 1877
Manuel and Juan Luna traveled to Europe, where Manuel studied music
and Juan painting. Juan entered theEscuela de Bellas Artes de San
Fernando, where he befriended the painter DonAlejo Vera. Luna was
discontented with the style of teaching in school and decided that
it would be much better to work with Vera.Vera brought him to Rome
for some of his commissions, and Luna was exposed to the art of
theRenaissancepainters. It was in 1878 when his artistic talents
was established with the opening of the first art exposition
inMadridwhich was called theExposicin Nacional de Bellas
Artes(National Demonstration of Fine Arts). From then on, Luna
became engrossed in painting and produced a collection of paintings
that he exhibited in the 1881 Exposition.In 1881, hisLa Muerte de
Cleopatra(The Death of Cleopatra)[1][2]won him a silver medal and
came in second place. Luna's growing reputation as an artist led to
apensionado(pension) scholarship at 600 pesos annually through the
Ayuntamiento of Manila. The condition was that he was obliged to
develop a painting which captured the essence ofPhilippine
historywhich would then become the Ayuntamiento's property.AS AN
ARTISTIn 1883 Luna started the painting demanded of him by
theAyuntamiento. In May 1884, he shipped the largecanvasof
theSpoliariumto Madrid for the year's Exposicin Nacional de Bellas
Artes. He was the first recipient of the three gold medals awarded
in the exhibition and Luna gained recognition among
theconnoisseursandart criticspresent. On June 25, 1884, Filipino
and Spanish nobles organized an event celebrating Luna's 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 theKing
of Spainand was later commissioned by the Spanish Senate to paint a
large canvas which was called theLa Batalla de Lepanto(The Battle
of Lepanto).[3]He moved to Paris in 1885 where he opened his own
studio and befriended Hidalgo. A year after, he finished the
pieceEl Pacto de Sangre(The Blood Compact)in accordance with the
agreement he had with the Ayuntamiento of Manila. Depicted in this
piece was theblood compactceremony between theDatu Sikatuna, one of
the lords in Bohol island, and the Spanish conquistadorMiguel Lpez
de Legazpi.[4]It is now displayed in theMalacaan Palace. He also
sent two other paintings in addition to the one required; the
second canvas sent to Manila was a portrait of Lpez de Legazpi
reconstructed by Luna from his recollection of a similar portrait
he saw in the hall of theCabildo, and the third was of
Governor-generalRamn Blanco y Erenas.In 1887, Luna once again
traveled back to Spain to enter in that year's Exposition two of
his pieces, theLa Batalla de LepantoandRendicin de
Granada(Surrender of Granada), which both won in the exhibition. He
celebrated his triumph with his friends in Madrid withGraciano
Lpez-Jaenadelivered Luna a congratulatory speech. Luna's paintings
are generally described as being vigorous and dramatic. With its
elements ofRomanticism, his style shows the influence
ofDelacroix,Rembrandt, andDaumier.Juan Luna masterpiece A Do...Va
la Nave? sold for P46.8M at Makati auction.[5]MarriageOn December
8, 1886, Luna marriedMaria de la Paz Pardo de Tavera, a sister of
his friend Felix andTrinidad Pardo de Tavera. The couple traveled
toVeniceand Rome and settled in Paris. They had one son, whom they
named Andrs, 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 certainMonsieur
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.[6]He was ordered to pay thePardo de
Taverasa 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,
Andrs.MurciaA few years later, in October 1889, the artist
travelled to southeast Spain, Murcia, as contained in the news
release at the time, was provisionally installed in Moratalla where
he made a portrait of the daughter of Juan Tamayo, an eminent man
in this town. Passing through Murcia gave two portraits of the
Queen Regent had made to the Provincial and City Council,
respectively, and one of these was acquired by the provincial body
for five hundred seventy-five pesetas installed on top of the Hall
of Sessions of the Provincial Palace and then going to the
presidential office in April 1932, one year after the proclamation
of the Second Spanish Republic, enters as a deposit Museum of
Murcia along with several official portraits of royal iconography,
being included in the different inventories and catalogs without
sufficient data or references, just a terse "DJ.LUNA" as artistic
attribution.Final yearsIn 1894 Luna moved back to the Philippines
and traveled to Japan in 1896, returning during thePhilippine
Revolution of theCry of Balintawak.Unfortunately, on September 16,
1896, he and his brotherAntonio Lunawere arrested by Spanish
authorities for being involved with theKatipunanrebel
army.[7]Despite his imprisonment, Luna was still able to produce a
work of art which he gave to a visiting priest. He was pardoned by
the Spanish courts on May 27, 1897 and was released from prison and
he traveled back to Spain in July.[8]:394He returned to Manila in
November 1898.[8]:394In 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 theRepblica Filipina (Philippine Republic). In 1899, upon the
signing of theTreaty of Paris (1898),[9]Luna was named a member of
the delegation to Washington, D.C. to press for the recognition of
thePhilippine government.He traveled back to the Philippines in
December 1899 upon hearing of the murder of his brother Antonio by
theKawit BattalioninCabanatuan. He traveled to Hong Kong and died
there on December 7, 1899 from aheart attack. His remains were
buried in Hong Kong and in 1920 were exhumed and kept in Andrs
Luna's house, to be later transferred to a niche at the Crypt of
theSan Agustin Churchin the Philippines. Five years later, Juan
would be reinstated as a world-renowned artist andPeuple et Rois,
his last major work, was acclaimed the best entry to theSaint Louis
World's Fairin the United States.[10]Unfortunately some of his
paintings were destroyed by fire in World War II.
LAS DAMAS ROMANAS
Las Damas Romanas(literally, "The RomanDames"), also known asThe
Roman Maidens,The Roman Women,[1]orThe Roman Ladies,[2][3]is anoil
on canvaspainting byJuan Luna, one of the most important Filipino
painters of the Spanish period in the Philippines.[4]It was painted
by Luna when he was a student of the school of painting in theReal
Academia de Bellas Artes de San Fernando(Royal Academy of Fine Arts
of San Fernando) inMadrid,Spainin 1877. Alejo Valera,
aSpanishpainting teacher, took Luna as an apprentice and brought
him to Rome where Luna createdLas Damas Romanasin 1882.[5]Luna
spent six years in Rome from 1878 to 1884Las Damas Romanasis one of
the early works of Luna as a painter that resurfaced in the past
quarter of a century after being thought lost or
missing.[5][7]Before its reappearance in Paris many years before
2008, it had been documented only as a title and as a listed work
of Luna in the 1957 biography of Luna written by Carlos E. Da
Silva. The painting had also been documented through a black and
white photograph from the files of Alfonso T. Ongpin, a historian
and pre-war art dealer. In 1980, the image from Ongpin was
reprinted by Santiago Pilar[5]in the book "Juan Luna: The Filipino
As Painter".[6]DescriptionThe concept for the 100 cm x 170 cm
size[6]painting was based by Luna onancient Romanhistory. It
depicted a domestic scene in ancientRomanlife, portraying
twowomenlying on the steps of a house. The hand of onewomanwas
holding thereinsof two pet dogs[5]or hunting dogs,[4]in order to
prevent them from scaring away somedoves.[5]The doves symbolized
divinity[4]The background of the painting presented a shelf of
artifacts. To the left of the shelf was ashrinewith apedimentshaped
like a triangle. In front of the pediment was aburnerwith a
smokingincense.[5]There are three major elements ofLas Damas
Romanas, namely the women, the dogs, and the doves. Roman life
involved having dogs because they were employed by the ancient
Romans for hunting activities, guardians of the home and their
property, and as pets. In Luna's painting, the leashed pet dogs
were acting as companions of women. Doves, on the other hand, were
animals that connoteeroticism.[5]In relation to one of the women,
there was a suggestion that the woman on the right with dark hair
could be Maria de la Paz Pardo de Tavera. The notion was discarded
because Luna was unmarried when he paintedLas Damas Romanas.Luna
finishedLas Damas Romanasafter winning a silver medal forThe Death
of Cleopatrapainting in 1881 and before obtaining a gold medal for
the masterpieceSpoliariumin 1884 (both were presented during the
Madrid Exposition during the years mentioned).[5]In 1886, Luna was
awarded a Diploma of Honor at the Munich Art Exposition[4](also
known as the Munich Salon) for paintingLas Damas Romanas.[2][3]The
masterpiece was a classic work painted in the highest conventions
of the academic style, and it was a representative of the "abundant
richness of life, with humankind", represented by women in the
painting, being "in harmony with Nature".[4]Valuation[edit]Long
thought lost or missing, the painting emerged in an estate sale
outside Paris, France, before 2008. During this art auction, the
painting was originally priced between 10,000 and
20,000euros(623,000 and 1.3 million), a range that rose to greater
than 200,000 euros (12.4 million) when the painting was bought by a
French art dealer. The painting was auctioned once again on
November 30, 2008, atChristie'sinHong Kongwith an estimated value
ranging from$1 million to $1.2 million,[6]the equivalent
ofHK$8,000,000 to HK$10,000,000.[4]The work sold for far less than
the estimate, however, achieving $609,193, or HK$4,700,000,
including buyer's premium.
The presence of a large frond (in the right foreground) of what
appears to be gabi or yam (or a large lily plant) grabs ones
attention away from the basket as it practically leads the eye
toward its big, green leaf and then to the bunch of doves lifting
up from the bottom step, apparently startled by two dogs on a
leash.The area in the whole foreground seems to tell us a couple of
things: First, that it depicts disarray or chaos after an activity.
The basket of flowers may have been an ornament used for a
ceremonial or religious rite where people offered incense (which
still burns on the metal stand on the left) to a god ensconced in a
small altar above the burner. Secondly, the maidens either have
taken time to rest after the rite before cleaning up the place or
they were the very culprits who caused all that disarray around
them. That is, they might have capered around with their pet dogs
in the courtyard, thus, toppling the basket and littering up the
place. Agitated by the doves presence, the dogs may have obliged
the young maidens caprice.As the scene unfolds, the two maidens
seem to be taking their rest while the dogs and the doves continue
to enact their playful chase. Hence, the stark disorder in the
foreground contrasts with the harmonious, supine postures of the
maidens and the seeming friendly rapport between the animals. The
sight of truly fierce and ravenous dogs should have sent all those
doves skyward by then; but that does not happen as they all are
somewhat acquainted with one another, pets sharing common masters
and domicile. The doves, wisely enough, do keep a safe distance
from the dogs while the dogs do a quiet, tame dance with the doves,
as opposed to a raging, fearsome pursuit of those fowls in the
wild.The restfulness of the whole scene, of course, is borne wholly
by the two main figures in the painting, Las Damas Romanas two
Roman maidens in different modes of repose. One, half-sitting (as
she leans against a wall-end) and half-reclining (as her right leg
stretches upon the carpet spread on the steps), oversees the
action. The other maiden, almost in a horizontal position except
for her head which turns toward the dogs she is restraining with a
single leash, observes and controls the action. Their bodies form a
nexus of warm friendship involved in an overtly playful yet
inwardly dangerous recreation.The first maiden, wearing a thin,
open-shouldered, pinkish and almost see-through dress, covers (has
actually wrapped) her body from waist down with a thick, white
linen blanket, giving Luna reason to exhibit his abilities in
rendering furls and folds of fabric to mimic the common technique
of Roman sculptors such as the great Michelangelo. (Luna executed
this painting during his stay in Rome as an apprentice to a Spanish
professor of painting in Madrid.) The contrasting show of
upper-body flesh and covering of her lower parts (except for her
right foot whose role seems to be to lead the eye back to the
doves) seems to be Lunas balanced concession to his masculine
passion for the feminine allure vis--vis his feelings of modesty
and decency. For the perfect choice of her pink dress and her white
cover seems to exude natural freshness, purity and dignity. She
could very well be the symbol of wisdom, freedom or peace often
utilized by artists in their works. With flowers on her head, Luna
imbues her further with beauty and honor. Her reflective bearing,
in fact, reminds one of Michelangelos legendary La Pieta not of
sorrow or resignation though, but of security and compassion. She
only betrays a slight concern for the doves with her left hand on
her upper chest or is it fear or uncertainly which every person has
for her pets? And, yes, every devoted mother has for her
children.The other maiden wears brighter shades of colors a white
topping (somewhat merging with the white blanket) with color prints
and a scarlet, velvety skirt with a wide, greenish hemline. Like
her companion, it could be that she has wrapped herself with a
blanket, as her legs appear to be under different clothes. We
wonder whether it is cold (the blankets) or warm (the thin blouse)
Lunas reference, perhaps, to his tropical origin? Moreover, she
rests her torso on the first maidens lap as she keeps the dogs at
bay. Obviously, this maiden has forearms that are quite big and
muscular as if she could be a friend-maid of the first maiden. She
it is who has the dogs in her care and wears less regale clothing.
But who can be sure of that? Also, compared to the first maiden,
she is duskier, with a tinge of brown on her complexion against the
others fairer skin. Is she pure Roman at all or half-Roman,
half-barbarian? Half-civilized, half-ruled-by-passion? Half-pure,
half-corrupt? Half-human, half-animal (or led by instinct, that
is)? Half-retarding, half-adventurous? Is Luna using her for
something else close to his heart?Here is where we bring the
symbolism into focus. The first maiden basks in the light emanating
from the upper left (see the shadows of the doves). The glow
emphasizes her pose and makes her to be the focal point of the
whole story. Her importance is contained in the said aura Luna
created for her role. He obviously uses her to bring everything
back to her attention as she herself tries to point literally to
her own given role as the source of strength and light. Is she the
freedom indeed of Lunas country he so desired as he painted her?
The peace of his faraway land that he and his compatriots in Europe
eagerly worked for?And the other woman: Is she the dear country
Luna left to pursue his studies abroad? In contrast, she emanates
from the dark background which covers almost a third of the entire
canvas. Her whole body, seemingly covered in blood, seems to be
oppressed by the whole weight of the shadows behind and above her,
like a struggling nation whose darkened past (relics on the shelves
behind her seem to portray a mini-museum) she is only beginning to
unravel as she learns from the wisdom of the Universe she lives in.
(Like Luna learning from Western civilization while discovering his
Asian heritage?) She is only learning to restrain the wildness and
the violence that surround her that seek to destroy the freedom,
peace and joy that fly freely in her own sunlit skies. The dogs and
the doves describe the forces that beset Lunas country then and now
violence, greed, corruption and idealism, faith and progress.The
rite that had brought about the chaos in the scene depicts the
volatile religious and political ferment back home that Luna
described visually. Order in society only comes when the forces of
the darkness (the dogs rule in the shadows) are overcome (put on
leash) so that the forces of light (the doves dwell freely in the
light) may reign supreme.Though the dogs chase after the doves,
they have wings to fly with toward freedom. Alas, among the many
doves the many fighters of freedom on hand only one aims to fly
back to the source of light and salvation. Hence, while most of the
doves fly away in many directions and one plump dove smugly walks
among the disarray, unmindful of others around her (like the fat,
indolent and indifferent rich, perhaps), one triumphant dove
manages to fly up to the mother of peace and honor. Only that dove
no one else shares the confinement of the golden carpet upon which
the maidens (country and freedom) have established themselves the
place of honor reserved for those who pursue the highest
calling.Alas, only a few choose to seek the light. Luna knew the
price for the struggle for truth. His next painting, La Spoliarium,
would prove it further.Apart from proving himself through this
painting as a master in composition, Luna has succeeded in
enshrining and immortalizing the human struggle for idealism in
aesthetic form. The dynamic movement of the elements of the
picture, seen in the synergistic symbolism Luna seems to evoke,
continues in an endless visual and virtual cycle that turns until
now. The picture and the story is the one, unending struggle for
awareness and progress. What Luna, Hidalgo, Rizal, Del Pilar,
Mabini and the rest of our heroes fought for then continue to
challenge us today.Luna created a lasting vista of what he and
others bore valiantly as our predecessors. Is it not proper then
that we as a nation give honor to his vision by reclaiming this
work of art and showcasing it in our midst where its message and
energy may propel us to continue the search for truth and justice?
Only then will the flowering of the nation toward the renewing
light when chaos turns to order and the harvest of prosperity is
assured finally arrive.Las Damas Romanas is up for bid at a
starting price of about $1,300,000. I would willingly put up a
small portion of my meager earnings to start a fund that would
hopefully bring this masterpiece to these beloved islands. That
would be a fitting and lasting gift for our nation on the occasion
of todays National Heroes Day.(The concept above has been made into
a storyline for a screenplay. The copyright will be submitted to
The Film Academy of the Philippines for safekeeping..)
