THE USE OF SPACE AND

MOVEMENT IN JUAN LUNA’S

SPOLIARIUM

BY: Juan Luna

PRESENTED BY:

LIM, HANNAH REPEKAH P.

NARIO, JEANETTE O.
 • Oil Canvas
• Measurements: 4.22m x 7.675m
• Where it was made: Rome
• Time period: 19th Century, 1884
• Awards: 1st prize, gold medal at
Exposition de Bellas Artes of
Oil Painting in Madrid
Juan Luna
• Location: National Museum
A Spoliarium is a Latin word referring to the basement of the Roman Colosseum
where the fallen and dying gladiators who fight to the death for the
entertainment of their Roman oppressors are dumped and devoid of their worldly
possessions.
Dr. Jose Rizal footnoted in his speech
that the Spoliarium,

“Embodied the essence of our social,

moral and political life: humanity in
the severe ordeal, humanity
unredeemed, reason, and idealism in
open struggle with prejudice,
fanaticism, and injustice.”
The people on the stairway though they are above all other characters, but
they’re not really given any solid form as if they’re not important. As if they’re
just a mere background.
You can clear define where the lights shine from above. Telling who is in the
center stage.
The warrior being drag can be represented as Filipinos. Dead from fighting with
another gladiator.
Dead bodies being dragged into the darkness, to be forgotten in the limited
scope of history, some are remembered for their action.

The woman crouched on the right side of the painting is believed to be the
Mother Country or the Inang Bayan who weeps for her Philippines.
 • Heavy strong brush strokes – expressed his
anger over the abuses and cruelties.

• Lines and color – he captured pathos and

barbarism of a decadent empire.

• Vertical lines – evidenced by the straight body

of an oppressor suggest strength and stability.

• Horizontal lines – seen impression of serenity

and repose.
• The technique used by the artist is
symbolism.
• Diagonal lines – clearly shown in the arms of
men pulling the wounded gladiator toward the
- It is symbol of our social, moral, and
other room
political life: humanity unredeemed, reason
and aspiration in open fight with prejudice,
fanaticism, and injustice.
THE FORM:

Questions: Answers:

• 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 the 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?
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 vision and focus. 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.
THE MEDIUM:

Questions:
Answers:
• What is the medium used by the
artist? Luna chose oil on canvas to
• Does this medium enhance the express his nationalistic sentiments.
beauty of the image ? Oil brought out the brightness of the
main figures and made the less
• How well does the medium
important ones recede through dark
selected show the artistic
shades. The mural could not be
representation?
neglected because of its size, hence
• If the artist chose another medium, his message was strongly felt and
do you think the same effect will be seen by the viewers.
achieved? Why and how?
THE SUBJECT MATTER:
Questions:
• What is the main figure in the
artwork?
• How do the 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?
Answers:
The main figures are two dead
gladiators in rope being dragged by
two men. The figures in the
background looking at different
directions only heighten the emotion
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.
THE STYLE:
Questions:
• 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.
Answers:
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.
END..