PREPARED BY: BROSAS, BUESA, JANOBA, TAGAPULOT

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BACKGROUND OF THE ARTIST

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 BACKGROUND OF THE ARTIST

JUAN LUNA Y NOVICIO

◉ He was a Filipino painter,

sculptor, and a political activist
of the Philippine Revolution
during the late 19th century.

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• Born in the town of Badoc, Ilocos Norte
• He was one of the first recognized Philippine artists.
• Luna received his early education at the Ateneo Municipal de
Manila where he obtained his Bachelor of Arts degree.
• He also went to Escuela Nautica de Manila and became a
sailor.
• He took drawing lessons from Lorenzo Guerrero, the illustrious
painting teacher of Ermita, Manila.

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• He also enrolled in Academia de Dibujo y Pintura where he
was influenced and taught how to draw by the Spanish artist
Agustin Saez.
• He entered the Escuela de Bellas Artes de San Fernando in
Madrid.
• He took private lessons under Alejo Vera, a famous
contemporary painter in Spain.

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HISTORICAL BACKGROUND

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WORKS OF LUNA

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LA MUERTE DE CLEOPATRA
(THE DEATH OF CLEOPATRA)

◉ An 1881 painting made by

Luna.
◉ The painting was a silver
medalist during the 1881
Exposicion Nacional de Bellas
Artes.

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• The 1881 Madrid painting contest was Luna’s first art
exposition.
• He received a pension scholarship at Ayuntamiento de Manila
because of the exposure.
• After the competition, he sold the painting for 5,000 spanish
pesetas.
• As Luna’s graduation work, “The Death of Cleopatra” was
acquired by the Spanish government for one thousand duros.

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 SPOLIARIUM

◉ The painting was submitted

by Luna to the Exposicion
Nacional de Bellas Artes in
1884 in Madrid.
◉ It garnered the first gold
medal.

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• Luna spent eight months to finish this masterpiece on a huge
canvas (4.22 meters x 7.675 meters)
• It was sold to the Diputacion Provincial de Barcelona for 20,
000 pesetas.
• It depicts bloody carcasses of slave gladiators being
dragged away from the arena where they had entertained
their Roman masters, with their lives.
• It currently hangs in the main gallery of the National Museum
of the Philippines.

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THE BLOOD COMPACT
(EL PACTO DE SANGRE)

• The Blood Compact portrays

the 1565 Sandugo (blood
compact ritual) between
Datu Sikatuna of Bohol and
Miguel Lopez de Legazpi,
surrounded by other
conquistadors.
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• Luna completed “The Blood Compact” in 1886, a year after
he moved to Paris.
• In 1904, the painting won the first prize in Paris, France and at
the St. Louis Exposition in the United States.
• The masterpiece was painted during his four-year
pensionadoship from the Ayuntamiento de Manila.
• It is one of the three paintings Luna gave the Government of
Spain.
• This is one of the last paintings created by Luna.

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• Jose Rizal and Trinidad H. Pardo de Tavera helped Luna in
completing the painting by providing historical advice and
posing for the painter.
• Jose Rizal posed as Sikatuna while Pardo de Tavera as
Legazpi.
• The Blood Compact is currently displayed in Malacañang
Palace.

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 ESPAÑA Y FILIPINAS
◉ It is an 1886 oil on wood.
◉ It is an allegorical depiction of two
women together.
◉ Also known as España Guiando a Filipinas.
◉ It is regarded as one of the “enduring
pieces of legacy” that the Filipinos
inherited from Luna.
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• The Spaniard woman “Motherland” was drawn with “wide
strong shoulders” while the Filipino woman was illustrated as
“graceful” and brown-skinned.
• Both were wearing female dresses known as traje de mestiza.
• Side by side in the painting, Spain was shown to be leading
the Philippines along the path to progress and development.

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LAS DAMAS ROMANAS
(THE ROMAN DAMES)
• It is an oil on canvas
painting.
• It was painted by Luna when
he was a student of the
school of painting in the Real
Academia de Bellas Artes de
San Fernando in Madrid,
Spain in 1877.
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• It is one of the early works of Luna that resurfaced in the past
quarter of a century after being thought lost or missing.
• It depicted a domestic scene in ancient Roman life, portraying
two women lying on the steps of a house.
• There are three major elements of Las Damas Romanas,
namely the women, the dogs, and the doves.
• The masterpiece was a classic work painted in the highest
conventions of the academic style.

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ANALYSIS OF THE IMPORTANT
HISTORICAL INFORMATION
FOUND IN THE PAINTING

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• Cleopatra was discovered dead in her chamber by Augustus
Caesar’s men, dressed in her royal ornaments on her golden
bed;
• One handmaiden, Iras, was dead at her feet
• While the other, Charmion, was on the verge of collapsing
• Luna captures this moment with a striking composition that is
rich in colour and exquisite detail, form the distinct carvings
and embellished fabrics to the gold jewelry.
• The two sculpture standing, half-bodied, represents the twin
son of Cleopatra.

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• Barely noticeable in the painting is the tail of an asp peeking
from the base of the right pillar, revealing Luna´s partiality
to the popular theory that Cleopatra committed suicide by
getting bitten by the poisonous snake.

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• Embodies the essence of our social, moral and political life:
humanity in the severe ordeal, humanity unredeemed, reason,
and idealism in open struggle with prejudice, fanaticism, and
injustice.

• Lines and colours - he captured pathos (sadness) and

barbarism of a decadent empire.

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• Vertical line - evidenced by the straight body of an
oppressor suggests strength and stability.

• Diagonal lines clearly shown in the arms of men pulling the

wounded gladiator toward the other room

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• Horizontal line - seen impression of serenity and repose.

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• Dead bodies are being dragged into the darkness, to be
forgotten in the limited scope of history, some are
remembered for their action.

• The gladiator on the center can be depicted as well as the

Filipino heroes who fought bravely. But in every battle, in
every war, there are those who are fought and yet they’re
names and faces are forgotten.

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• The Blood Compact that Luna painted is the perfect opposite
of the Leyenda Negra (Black Legend), a version of the
Conquista highlighting the illegitimacy of the Spanish colonial
presence in the Philippines.
• Black Legend means anti-Spanish.
• In contrast, The Blood Compact depicts the peaceful and even
friendly meeting of the two peoples, through the Sandugo
ritual between Datu Sikatuna de Bohol and Miguel López de
Legazpi, in 1565.

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BACKGROUND OF THE ARTIST

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 BACKGROUND OF THE ARTIST

FERNANDO CUETO
AMORSOLO
◉ He is the first National Artist of
the Philippines for painting.
◉ Born on May 30, 1892 in Paco,
Manila.
◉ “Grand Old Man of Philippine
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• In 1905, Amorsolo was apprenticed to Fabian de la Rosa, a
genre painter.
• His first commercial success came when he sold watercolor
postcards for 10 centavos each.
• In 1908, he won the second prize for the painting “Levando
Periodico” at the Bazar Escolta.
• Amorsolo enrolled at the Art School of the Liceo de Manila the
following year.
• In 1909, he began attending the University of the Philippine
School of Fine Art.

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• He graduated with honors in 1916 and began his dual career
as an art instructor and commercial artist.
• Enrique Zobel de Ayala, a prominent businessman,
commissioned Amorsolo to create the artwork for Ginebra
San Miguel.
• Zobel sponsored Amorsolo to study at the Academia de San
Fernando in Madrid.
• In 1918, he came home to the Philippines, barely 27 years
old, but years ahead in the mastery of his craft.

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HISTORICAL BACKGROUND

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WORKS OF AMORSOLO

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LEYENDO EL PERIODICO

◉ His painting took second

place at the Bazar Escolta, a
contest organized by the
Asociacion International de
Artistas.

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THE MAKING OF THE
PHILIPPINE FLAG

◉ It shows three women namely

Marcella Marino de Agoncillo
(the mother of the Philippine
flag), with the help of
Lorenza and Delfina Herbosa
de Natividad.

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DEFENSE OF A FILIPINA
WOMAN’S HONOR
• It showed a Filipino
man holding a bolo
about to defend his
wife and daughter
from being raped by
an unseen Japanese
soldier.
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BOMBING OF INTENDENCIA

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THE FILIPINO FAMILY

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ANALYSIS OF THE IMPORTANT
HISTORICAL INFORMATION
FOUND IN THE PAINTING

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• Marcela Marino de Agoncillo (regarded as the Mother of the
Philippine Flag) to sew the first flag for the new republic, with
the help of Marcela’s daughter Lorenza and Delfina Herbosa
de Natividad.
• The painting shows a contrasts of colors of brown to yellow, it
is not harmonious.
• The yellow background signifies that it is a beautiful sunny
day.

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• It is believed that Fernando Amorsolo made this painting to
show the citizen of the Philippines of how the Philippine flag
was made and to remind them the traditions and customs that
we did not realize it becomes faded.
• National Flag symbolizes: white triangle stands for equality
and fraternity; the blue field for peace, truth and justice; and
the red field for patriotism and valor.

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• The eight rays of the sun stands for the first eight provinces
(Manila, Bulacan, Pampanga, Nueva Ecija, Tarlac, Laguna,
Batangas, & Cavite) that the colonizers have put under
martial law.
• The three stars symbolize Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao.
• It shows that Amorsolo is a Nationalistic person.
• His painting depicts the serenity of place and the people are
humble like they have no worries in their minds.

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CONTRIBUTION AND RELEVANCE
OF THE PAINTING IN
UNDERSTANDING THE GRAND
NARRATIVE OF PHILIPPINE
HISTORY
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 JUAN LUNA

◉ Developed an appreciation and deeper understanding of

political, moral, and social lives of the Filipinos.
◉ Spanish influences to Filipinos perspective in terms of progress
and development.
◉ Consciousness in our nationalism.

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 FERNANDO
AMORSOLO
◉ His paintings often portrayed traditional Filipino customs,
culture, fiestas and occupation.
◉ It helped shape and stylize the image of the ideal Filipina.
◉ It depicts the destruction of many landmarks in Manila and
the pain, tragedy and death experienced by Filipino people.
◉ His paintings frequently portrayed the lives and suffering of
Filipina women during World War II.
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RELEVANCE IN THE MODERN
TIMES

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• Amorsolo’s paintings are deeply rooted in Philippine culture,
he pays homage to the Filipino tradition and way of life.
• Amorsolo found beauty in the ordinary. He believed that art
was for everyone and not reserved only for the affluent. He
sought to communicate that beauty surrounded us, even in the
most mundane situations.

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 BROSAS, ANGEL JAMES
BUESA, DAVID
JANOBA, RYN JACEL
TAGAPULOT, MARY ELIZA

BSCE – 2A
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