Juan Luna was a prominent Filipino painter born in Badoc, Ilocos Norte in the Philippines in 1857. He studied art in Manila and Madrid, winning medals for his works. His painting Spoliarium earned him recognition in Spain. Luna lived in Paris producing paintings and was commissioned for works by the Spanish government. However, he killed his wife and mother-in-law in 1892 in a fit of jealousy and was acquitted of charges by reason of temporary insanity. Luna later held government positions for the Philippines but died of a heart attack in 1899.

2. Born in the town of Badoc, Ilocos
Norte in the northern Philippines, Juan
Luna was the third among the seven
children of Don Joaquin Luna de San
Pedro y Posadas and Doña Laureana
Novicio y Ancheta.
In 1861, the Luna family moved
to Manila and he went to Ateneo
Municipal de Manila where he obtained
his Bachelor of Arts degree.

3. Luna enrolled at Escuela Nautica de
Manila (now Philippine Merchant Marine
Academy). He took drawing lessons under the
illustrious painting teacher Lorenzo
Guerrero of Ermita, Manila.
He also enrolled in the Academy of Fine
Arts (Academia de Dibujo y Pintura) in Manila
where he was influenced and taught how to
draw by the Spanish artist Agustin Saez.
Unfortunately, Luna's vigorous brush strokes
displeased his teacher and Luna was
discharged from the Academy. studies.

4. Juan entered the Escuela de
Bellas Artes de San Fernandouela,
where he befriended the painter
Don Alejo Vera. Luna was
discontented with the style of
teaching in school and decided that
it would be much better to work
with Vera.

5. O It was in 1878 when his artistic talents
was established with the opening of the
first art exposition in Madrid which
was called the Exposicion Nacional de
Bellas Artes (National Demonstration
of Beautiful Arts). From then on, Luna
became engrossed in painting and
produced a collection of paintings that
he exhibited in the 1881 Exposition.

6. His La Muerte de Cleopatra (The
Death of Cleopatra) 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 of Philippine history which would
then become the Ayuntamiento's property.

7. In 1883 Luna started the painting
demanded of him by the Ayuntamiento.
In May 1884, he shipped the large
canvas of the Spoliarium to Madrid for
the year's Exposición Nacional de Bellas
Artes. He was the first recipient of the
three gold medals awarded in the
exhibition and Luna gained recognition
among the connoisseurs and art
critics present.

8. O 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.

9. Luna developed a friendly
relationship with the King of
Spain and was later commissioned by
the Spanish Senate to paint a large
canvas which was called the La Batalla
de Lepanto (The Battle of Lepanto).
He moved to Paris in 1885 where he
opened his own studio and befriended
Hidalgo.

10. OA year after, he finished the
piece El Pacto de Sangre (The Blood
Compact) in accordance with the
agreement he had with the
Ayuntamiento of Manila. Depicted in
this piece was the blood compact
ceremony between the Datu
Sikatuna , one of the lords in Bohol
island, and the Spanish conquistador
Miguel López de Legazpi.

11. It is now displayed in
the Malacañan Palace. He also sent
two other paintings in addition to the
one required; the second canvas sent
to Manila was a portrait of López de
Legazpi reconstructed by Luna from
his recollection of a similar portrait
he saw in the hall of the Cabildo, and
the third was of Governor-general
Ramón Blanco y Erenas.

12. In 1887, Luna once again
traveled back to Spain to enter
in that year's Exposition two of
his pieces, the La Batalla de
Lepanto and Rendición de
Granada (Surrender of
Granada),

13. O He celebrated his triumph with his
friends in Madrid with Graciano
López-Jaena delivered Luna a
congratulatory speech. Luna's
paintings are generally described as
being vigorous and dramatic. With its
elements of Romanticism, his style
shows the influence
of Delacroix, Rembrandt,
and Daumier.

14. On December 8, 1886, Luna
married Maria de la Paz Pardo de
Tavera, a sister of his friend Felix
and Trinidad Pardo de Tavera. The
couple traveled to Venice and Rome
and settled in Paris. They had one
son, whom they named Andrés, and
a daughter nicknamed Bibi who died
in infancy. Luna was fond of
painting his wife.

15. O However, the jealous Luna
frequently accused Paz of having an
affair with a certain Monsieur
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.

16. 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.

17. O He was ordered to pay the Pardo de
Taveras a 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, Andrés

18. In 1891 Luna moved back to the
Philippines and traveled to Japan in 1896,
returning during the Philippine Revolution of
the Cry of Balintawak. Unfortunately, on
September 16, 1896, he and his
brother Antonio Luna were arrested by Spanish
authorities for being involved with
the Katipunan rebel army.
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.

19. In 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
the República Filipina (Philippine Republic).
In 1899, upon the signing of the Treaty of
Paris (1898), Luna was named a member of
the delegation to Washington, D.C. to
press for the recognition of the Philippine
government.

20. He traveled back to the Philippines in
December 1899 upon hearing of the
murder of his brother Antonio by
the Kawit Battalion in Cabanatuan. On
December 7, 1899, Luna suffered a heart
attack and died there. His remains were
buried in Hong Kong and in 1920 were
exhumed and kept in Andrés Luna's house,
to be later transferred to a niche at the
Crypt of the San Agustin Church in the
Philippines.

21. O Five years later, Juan would be
reinstated as a world renowned
artist and Peuple et Rois, his last
major work, was acclaimed the
best entry to the Saint Louis
World's Fair in the United States.
Unfortunately some of his
paintings were destroyed by fire
in World War II.

24. La Muerte de Cleopatra (The Death of
Cleopatra)

44. THE END