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National Museum Part 2: The Spoliarium
After the Museum of the Filipino people, our tour group went of to the National
Gallery of Art. Our first stop was the Philippines’s most prized painting the Spoliarium. It is a massive piece measuring almost four meters in height. Overwhelming in stature and stateliness, it owned the room.
The painting depicted the Roman chamber where they would drag off the dying gladiators during that infamous bloodthirsty era. In it, you could see two men almost life-sized being dragged in totally bloodied with several limbs mangled. On the right side sits the only woman, so pained by the sight she cannot even look. This painting done by Juan Luna won the top award in the Madrid Exposition of 1884. A victory for all Filipinos, it proved that an Indio, or native islander, can win a prestigious worldwide art competition against even the Spanish.
On the night Juan Luna was honored, Jose Rizal gave a toast where he proceeded to talk lengthily in what can be summed up in this thought, “If a Filipino can be equal to the Spaniards in the arts, then why can’t they be equal politically. Patriarchy is dead.” This caused an immediate uproar. Newspapers all over the Philippines soon reported it and Rizal was branded a subversive. Soon after, he became more radical in his approach to gain independence from Spain.
Such is the power and influence of the Spoliarium. It elevated a Filipino artist into greatness, but more importantly, it strengthened the resolve of Rizal to go down the path that would eventually make him the national hero. Rizal’s interpretation of Spoliarium was that the Romans were the Spaniards and they made Filipinos ruthlessly fight each other. The woman was the Philippines, so helpless, all she could do was turn away.
Nothing in the museum comes close to the Spoliarium. The galleries and the collections they hold feel disjointed. However, its eventual improvement gives us all something to look forward to in the coming months.