THE USE OF SPACE

AND MOVEMENT IN
JUAN LUNA’S The Aesthetic
Qualities of Selected

SPOLIARIUM Artworks

FIRST UP 1
CONSULTANTS
 Juan Luna
• Painter, sculptor, political activist- Philippine
Revolution

• Literary and historical scenes, some with an

underscore of political commentary.

• Inspired with classical balance, and often

showed figures in theatrical poses.

FIRST UP 2
CONSULTANTS
 Spolarium
• Eight-meter painting (7.75m x
4.25m) that won a gold medal at
the Madrid Art Exposition in 1884.

• Good example of a well-managed

space in painting

• Carries with it social content that

exposes the plight of the Filipino
people under the Spanish
colonizers FIRST UP 3
CONSULTANTS
 FIRST UP
CONSULTANTS
 Prominent in the
painting are two
dead gladiators in
ropes being dragged
by two men.
A figure pulling
another gladiator—
suggested by the
way he grapples the
ropes in his hand.

FIRST UP
CONSULTANTS
Two onlookers (very
old men) are staring
at the most
prominent corpse, as
if trying to recognize
the dead gladiators.

FIRST UP
CONSULTANTS
Five men and two
women, heads looking
right, suggesting there
are more corpses being
dragged into the place.

FIRST UP
CONSULTANTS
At least two figures visible in the
dark, one lit by a small bonfire, and
the other, a woman slumped on the
floor, in a mourning position.
Very Filipino
Colors: hues of
yellow, yellow Men and a corpse
ochre, orange, are wearing red
red and brown and tangerine.

FIRST UP
CONSULTANTS
Luna assigned
these red
clothings to the
four men that
form a trapezoid
composition to
complement the
diagonal position
of the corpses.

FIRST UP
CONSULTANTS
How was Luna able to balance this obvious imbalance?

FIRST UP
CONSULTANTS
1. Control of
Light
- Contrast of
dark background
heightens drama

1. Use of
diagonal
composition
suggests
movement

FIRST UP
CONSULTANTS
• First, he had perfect control of light.
• His overhead light bathes the corpses,
their draggers and the two old onlookers.
• Light diminishes at the left side so that
although their are eight people near the
wall, their faces are half-lit, making them
less crowded than real.
• Darkness covers one third of the frame
with only the back and foot of the seated
woman catch some light.

FIRST UP 1
CONSULTANTS
• This is sufficient to bring the viewer’s
attention across the frame.
• The strong contrast between the dark
background heightens the drama that the
artwork conveys.
• Secondly, the use of diagonal composition
suggests movement.
• The viewer’s eye is led from the legs of
the most prominent dead gladiator to his
arm and on to his dragger, forming a
diagonal line drawn across the frame.
FIRST UP 1
CONSULTANTS
• A horizontal line guides the eye from the
left side of the frame all the way to the
seated woman on the right.
• Painted in the classic romanticist style
typical of the 1850’s, the strong emotions
and exotic literary subjects was provided
by a popular book by Charles Louis
Dezobry: Rome in the time of Augustus,
Adventures of a Gaul in Rome.

FIRST UP 1
CONSULTANTS
• In a passage of this book, the protagonist
hears the sound of lamentation coming
from the Roman amphitheatre and on
descending to the basement beholds a
tragic scene: the bloody bodies of
gladiators dead or dying, being mourned
by their families.
• This “backstage: picture of the Roman
circus is what Luna chose for his colossal
canvas and the Spoliarium apotheosizes
tragedy itself: the pity and the terror.
FIRST UP 1
CONSULTANTS
OTHER ART WORKS OF
JUAN LUNA

FIRST UP
CONSULTANTS
 BLOOD COMPACT
Sandugo between Datu
Sikatuna of Bohol and
Miguel López de Legazpi,
surrounded by other
conquistadors.

Datu Sikatuna was

described to be 'being
crowded out of the picture
by Miguel López de
Legazpi and his fellow
conquistadores'.
FIRST UP
CONSULTANTS
TAMPUHAN
Depicts a Filipino
man and a
Filipino woman
having a lovers'
quarrel.

FIRST UP
CONSULTANTS
BAY OF BISCAY

FIRST UP
CONSULTANTS
USING SOME GUIDE QUESTIONS,
LET US ANALYZE THE
AESTHETIC QUALITIES OF THE
SPOLIARIUM.

FIRST UP
CONSULTANTS
THE FORM:

• What are the dominant elements?

• How are these used in the painting?
• How is the main subject matter treated in
relation to the background?
• How is space used within the frame?
• How does the dominant element affect you?
• Is there a balance of forms or do some
objects cover most of the frame?

FIRST UP
CONSULTANTS
ANALYSIS

• Space and movement are the dominant

elements in the painting.
• The composition assigned the several human
figures in different spots that when looked at as
a whole, does not distract the viewer’s vision
and focus.

FIRST UP
CONSULTANTS
• Through the use of light and dark, the painting
does not look crowded.
• Rather, the subject matter is bathed in light for
anyone not to miss.
• Balance is seen in the diagonal composition of
the painting.
• No part is heavier than the other.

FIRST UP
CONSULTANTS
THE MEDIUM:
• What is the medium used by the artist?
• Does this medium enhance the beauty of the
image?
• How well does the medium selected show the
artistic representation?
• If the artist chose another medium, do you think
the same effect will be achieved? Why and
how?

FIRST UP
CONSULTANTS
ANALYSIS
• Luna chose oil on canvas to express his
nationalistic sentiments.
• Oil brought out the brightness of the main
figures and made the less impersonal ones
recede through dark shades.
• The mural could not be neglected because
of its size, hence his message was strongly
felt and seen by the viewers.

FIRST UP
CONSULTANTS
THE SUBJECT MATTER

• What is the main figure in the artwork?

• How do the other figures in the artwork affect
the main figure?
• What is the significance of the figure/s to you in
terms of : personal, historical, social or
political value?

FIRST UP
CONSULTANTS
ANALYSIS

• The main figures are two dead gladiators in

ropes being dragged by two men.
• The figures in the background looking at
different directions only heighten the emotion
of waiting in anxiety and sadness for more
gladiators to come in dead or dying.
• The painting was a strong medium of
expression that exposed the plight of the
Filipino people under the Spanish colonizers.

FIRST UP
CONSULTANTS
THE STYLE:

• What particular characteristics does this

artwork have that are also present in other
works by the same artist?
• Describe the use of elements of art and
principles of organization that identify the
artwork with the other works done in the same
era or movement.

FIRST UP
CONSULTANTS
ANALYSIS

• As in other paintings by Luna, he had perfect

control of light on his subject matter and a
composition so dynamic, its message cannot
be neglected.
• This romantic revolt in bold textures of oil,
dynamic composition and dramatic human
subjects, are typical of romantic artists such
as Eugene Delacroix of France, Francisco Goya
of Spain and Joseph W. Turner of England.

FIRST UP
CONSULTANTS