SPOLIARIUM

Spoliarium is one of the most famous paintings in the Philippines. It was painted by a
Filipino artist or painter and in 1886, it was rewarded the first gold medal out of three from the
Exposición Nacional de Bellas Artes, then afterwards, In 1886, the paint was sold to the
Diputación Provincial de Barcelona for 20,000 pesetas and it is currently hanged in the main
gallery at the ground floor of the National Museum of the Philippines, and it is the very first pain
which buys visitors’ interest, entertain and greets or honor in the gallery. Spoliarium, the paint,
shows how the Filipinos were treated before when they were colonized by Spaniards. It shows
that they were forced to entertain the Roman oppressors and the Spaniards with their lives and
sacrifice themselves for the Roman’s and Spaniard’s honor. Furthermore, they were just treated
as if they value less than animals. In fact, the hero, Jose Rizal, noted while he was giving his
speech that Spoliarium, represented the significance and essence of the Filipino’s social, moral
and political life that includes humanity in severe ordeal, humanity unredeemed, reason and
idealism in open struggle with prejudice, fanaticism and justice. He actually indicated the
purpose of Juan Luna for painting Spoliarium which is painted to awaken Filipinos from
ignorance, blindness, mental darkness and oppression. They both knew that Filipinos are lagged
behind compared to other countries due to being colonized. Hence, I assume that while Rizal was
trying to enlighten Filipinos through speech and writing, Juan Luna was trying to awaken or
rouse Filipinos from oppression through his painting which is Spoliarium. Basically, Spoliarium
is emphasized the violation of human rights towards the colonizers of Spain and Juan Luna
expressed his patriotism through it.

Moreover, he created such a harmonious relationships between different colors such as

between the red color in the center with the shade of green in the dark sides. In addition, through
producing well-balanced lights, he was able to point out the interest of the paint which is the
horror of dragged corpses and the mourning lady and because of the effect of the light; it created
divisions in the painting. Hence, it catches more interest and attention of people. Furthermore,
the shape applied in there makes it more harmonious. In fact, the corpses that are being dragged
by the oppressors are painted with a ratio of 9:1 which means the bodies of the corpses are drawn
nine times bigger than that of the head and same for the others and this is for the effect of more
realistic expression of human body which highlights real life. On top of it, the line is a very
importance element in painting. Actually, Juan Luna used diagonal lines and those lines create
formation of triangular patterns that emphasize stability of the painting. Therefore, Spoliarium
becomes a united one with asymmetrical patterns of components and this asymmetrical pattern
provides a comparison between light and darkness. As all of this factors combined, the message
of this painting which is human rights violation is well-pointed out.

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.
 I can promote art in my locality or regions by simply patronizing and
utilizing our fellow citizens' works, I will acknowledge the roles of artists in
the creation, preservation, and promotion of Philippine art. Citizens should
conserve our country's arts through experience or education, and there are
certain festivities and events that encourage our own arts. There are various
organisations in the Philippines that support Philippine arts, heritage, and
culture. Some examples are the Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP), the
National Commission for Culture and Arts (NCCA), the National Historical
Commission of the Philippines (NHCP), and several others. Can any of these
organizations, therefore, contribute to the preservation and promotion of
Philippine heritage, culture, and arts? Group participation, pride in Filipino
cultural heritage, and patriotism are created and nurtured as a result of this.
To fully execute all of the agencies' roles and obligations, they must all
collaborate and work together. The agencies are all linked and share a
shared goal: to protect and encourage Philippine culture and arts, as well as
to ensure Filipino citizens' nationwide participation. As a consequence, I
conclude that withdrawing any one of the above entities will be unjustifiable
and false, since they are all necessary to us and our country. I assume that
each organisation has a specific role to play in making the Philippines known
to a large number of people outside of the Philippines. I also believe that
they are necessary because, nowadays, many people are less interested in
local products, especially the arts, because they prefer foreign products.
They hold Philippine art alive through these organisations. We learn to
respect and enjoy our own because of them. And one day, hopefully soon,
we Filipinos will be able to encourage and be proud of our own literature,
heritage, and culture. We can also promote through different kinds of
Promotional Arts such as print ads- brochures, leaflets, include in your
school paper, while you can also include in media arts such as news
reporting, advertisements and marketing strategies such as holding trade
fairs and exhibits. Promoting through the social media is also the most
effective and efficient way because of the Corona Virus pandemic, social
media became even more effective as a communication tool.