on October 23 1857 in the Ilocos Norte province in the municipality of badok the painter Juan Luna was born the parents of Owen Luna were Joaquin Luna and Lorena novicho he has four brothers Manuel Jose Joaquin and Antonio he began his education at Ateneo Municipal then transferred to the Escuela notica de Manila to become a Marine officer a position that took him all over Asia but every time he returned to Manila Luna would enroll in painting classes at the Academia Ventura Don Lorenzo Guerrero his first art teacher recognized the young painter's potential right away Don Lorenzo persuaded Luna's parents to send their son to Spain to hone his skills as a result in 1877 Luna and his brother Manuel traveled to Spain to study at the San Fernando School of Fine Arts in Madrid Luna's Talent was quickly recognized in Spain he immediately won the first academic prize in his first year of school he took private lessons from Alejo Vera a well-known contemporary painter in Spain while still in school Vera was so impressed with Luna's abilities that when he had to travel to Rome for commissions he would bring his student with him [Music] Luna adored the Splendor of Rome [Music] he was captivated by The Works of the Masters and openly absorbed The Passion of classical painters such as Michelangelo and Rafael because Rome encouraged self-expression he created the majority of his award-winning works there this is where he painted Daphne and Cleo and the death of Cleopatra Daphne Cleo was his entry to the licio artistico de Manila where he won a silver palette and the death of Cleopatra earned him his first International prize a silver medal from the Madrid exposition of Fine Arts while the beauty of Rome lifted the Filipino painter's Spirits the same could not be said for his living conditions among the blossoming artistic Vision was the most pitiful work environment it is a mystery how Luna managed to create his Masterpiece in the most despicable neighborhood the artist lived in Via marguta a rundown Ali where Horsemen would park their horses which were the city's mode of transportation at the time the areas mailed strongly of horse dung and the horses were given showers there so pedestrians were easily soaked [Music] Luna lived in squalor during his first few months in Rome and it was in such circumstances that he painted the death of Cleopatra which earned him his first International prize in 1881. he went on to say that it outperformed the painting submitted by Italian and Spanish artists and was only three votes away from winning the gold medal Luna Rose to prominence after winning a silver medal at the Madrid art exposition suddenly the young Filipino painter picked the interest of European art guilds the Philippine colonial government granted him a four-year pension for his rise to fame the artist was required to paint a canvas for the Spanish government as part of this obligation Luna eventually ended up painting three instead of just one the artist was no longer concerned about his day-to-day expenses thanks to his monthly stipend and he was ready to embark on his next project while still enjoying the success of the death of Cleopatra the artist was already planning the Gory images for the spolarium the inspiration came from Charles Louis the zobry's book Rome in the time of Augustus The Adventures of Gaul in Rome the main character is awakened in the story by crying voices from the Roman Amphitheater when he goes to the basement to check he encounters a tragic scene a wounded girl Gator crying in pain surrounded by morning family members thank you when Luna decided to immortalize that agonizing moment on a massive canvas the end result was a stunning work of drama pity and Terror and while the book may have inspired him many believed Luna was also influenced by his grief over the death of his favorite brother Manuel was only 11 months older they both attended nautical school before moving to Spain to pursue their respective crafts Luna went on to become a painter while Manuel went on to become a vironist no one was aware of Luna's intention to participate in the Madrid art Exposition but he was working in public [Music] visitors flocked in droves to the artist's humble Workshop in Via marguita they were Ardent Luna observers who scrutinized every line in his drawing and brushed stroke from his palette one Luna wanted to immerse himself in the artistic environment of Paris after his victory in Madrid so he opened a studio at 65 Boulevard arago in 1885. other Filipino expatriates were also drawn to the city of lights and the Filipinos in Paris would congregate in Luna's Place eventually organizing themselves into Los Indios Bravos the members of Los Indios Bravos were Jose Rizal graciano Lopez Haina Mariano Ponce Marcelo del Pilar and several others the Barcelona provincial committee bought the spolarium for 20 000 pesos [Music] Luna married past Pardo de Tavera and they have two children then something tragic happened the artist hurt his brother-in-law Felix and committed the murders of his wife and mother-in-law out of jealous rage Luna was acquitted of murder and partyside charges a few months later on February 7 1893 by a French Court however according to a different account he was found guilty but received a light sentence because it was a crime motivated by Passion from France he was banished whichever version is true it does not matter because he returned to Madrid after leaving France with his son he returned to the Philippines after spending 17 years away and began to paint the country's landscapes he was detained on suspicion of sedition two years later as a result of his involvement with a propaganda movement in Europe fortunately Luna was among those who received a pardon from King Alfonso the 13th on the Monarch's birthday May 27 1897 the following month Luna went back to Spain after the Spanish-American war of 1898 Luna was chosen to represent the Philippines at the Paris convention which sought diplomatic recognition for the Philippine Republic his brother Antonio was an active member of the Revolutionary Katipunan movement Antonio Luna became a general of the Revolutionary Army under the command of President Emilio aguinaldo following a dispute between Antonio Luna and Emilio aguinaldo soldiers who supported Emilio aguinaldo killed Antonio Luna Juan Luna left for Hong Kong as soon as he found out about his brother's murder he suffered a heart attack while in Hong Kong and passed away he was initially buried in the Happy Valley Cemetery but his remains were exhumed in 1920 and kept in the house of his son they were later relocated to a niche in the San Agustin great Chapel Lunas polarium painting was given to the Philippines as a gesture of Goodwill by the Spanish government in 1953. the painting traveled to various provinces in the Philippines before being given to the National Museum unfortunately the canvas had to be cut into four pieces for 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