''The Blood Compact'' ( Spanish: ''El Pacto de Sangre'') is an 1886 “
historic
History (derived ) is the systematic study and the documentation of the human activity. The time period of event before the invention of writing systems is considered prehistory. "History" is an umbrella term comprising past events as well ...
and
historical
History (derived ) is the systematic study and the documentation of the human activity. The time period of event before the invention of writing systems is considered prehistory. "History" is an umbrella term comprising past events as well ...
'"The Blood Compact" by Juan Luna from Juan Luna Selected Paintings from the Bank of the Philippine Islands Collection, ayalamuseum.orgOcampo, Ambeth "The Blood Compact" by Juan Luna from Juan Luna's Works, Looking Back, Inquirer Opinion/Columns, Inquirer, opinion.inquirer.net, October 24, 2007 painting by
Filipino
Filipino may refer to:
* Something from or related to the Philippines
** Filipino language, standardized variety of 'Tagalog', the national language and one of the official languages of the Philippines.
** Filipinos, people who are citizens of th ...
painter Juan Luna."The Blood Compact" by Juan Luna from The Home of Great Filipino Painter Juan Luna, Treasures of Ilocandia and the World, ilocandiatreasures.com, January 3, 2010
Description
''The Blood Compact'' portrays the 1565 '' Sandugo'' (
blood compact
Blood compact (Spanish: ''Pacto de sangre''; Filipino: ''Sanduguan'') was an ancient ritual in the Philippines intended to seal a friendship or treaty, or to validate an agreement. The contracting parties would cut their hands and pour their blood ...
ritual) between
Datu Sikatuna
Datu Sikatuna (or ''Catunao'') was a Datu or chieftain of the Bool Kingdom (or Kedatuan of Dapitan) in the island of Bohol in the Philippines. He made a blood compact ('' sanduguan'') and alliance with the Spanish explorer Miguel López de Legazp ...
of
Bohol
Bohol (), officially the Province of Bohol ( ceb, Lalawigan sa Bohol; tl, Lalawigan ng Bohol), is an island province of the Philippines located in the Central Visayas Regions of the Philippines, region, consisting of the island itself and 75 m ...
and
Miguel López de Legazpi
Miguel López de Legazpi (12 June 1502 – 20 August 1572), also known as '' El Adelantado'' and ''El Viejo'' (The Elder), was a Spaniard who, from the age of 26, lived and built a career in Mexico (then the Viceroyalty of New Spain) and, i ...
, surrounded by other
conquistador
Conquistadors (, ) or conquistadores (, ; meaning 'conquerors') were the explorer-soldiers of the Spanish and Portuguese Empires of the 15th and 16th centuries. During the Age of Discovery, conquistadors sailed beyond Europe to the Americas, O ...
s. Datu Sikatuna was described to be 'being crowded out of the picture by Miguel López de Legazpi and his fellow conquistadores'."The Blood Compact" by Juan Luna , from Juan Luna Collection, lopezmuseum.org.ph
Historical background
Juan Luna completed ''The Blood Compact'' in 1886, a year after he moved to
Paris
Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...
to open a studio. It was also the year after Luna became a friend of Félix Resurrección Hidalgo, another known Filipino painter."The Blood Compact" by Juan Luna , from Lizares: The Passionate Juan Luna, sunstar.com In 1904, the painting won the first prize in
Paris
Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...
,
France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
. The masterpiece was painted by Luna"The Blood Compact" by Juan Luna from Juan Luna Hero of the Philippine Revolution, Filipino.biz.ph during his four-year ''pensionadoship'' from the Ayuntamiento de Manila, enabling him to continue studying painting in
Rome
, established_title = Founded
, established_date = 753 BC
, founder = King Romulus (legendary)
, image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg
, map_caption ...
."The Blood Compact" by Juan Luna from the "''Las Damas Romanas'' (Roman Maidens) " article, Juan Luna (The Philippines 1857-1899), Christies.com It is one of the three paintings Luna gave the Government of Spain, even though he was only obligated to paint just one canvas during the pensionadoship."The Blood Compact" by Juan Luna , from lopezmuseum.org.ph The other paintings are ''Don Miguel Lopez de Legazpi'', a painting that was burned during the Philippine Revolution, and ''Governor Ramon Blanco'', a work that became a part of the Lopez Museum collection. This is one of the last paintings created by Luna."The Blood Compact" by Juan Luna from Juan Luna, National Heroes, globalpinoy.com
José Rizal
José Protasio Rizal Mercado y Alonso Realonda (, ; June 19, 1861 – December 30, 1896) was a Filipino nationalist, writer and polymath active at the end of the Spanish colonial period of the Philippines. He is considered the national he ...
and Trinidad H. Pardo de Tavera helped Luna in completing the painting by providing historical advice and posing for the painter: Rizal posed as Sikatuna while Pardo de Tavera posed as Legazpi.
''The Blood Compact'' is currently displayed in Malacañan Palace, the official residence of the
President
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, located at the top of the Grand Staircase leading towards the Ceremonial Hall.
Exhibition
In 2008, ''The Blood Compact'' and other Luna works became a part of a twenty-three painting exhibition from the collection of the Bank of the Philippine Islands. The public exhibition celebrated the thirtieth anniversary of the Bank of the Philippines Islands, and marked the first time that the so-called "BPI collection" was shown to the public. ''The Blood Compact'' and the other paintings are considered as the 'expression of the coming of the age of the Filipino and the birth of the Philippines as a nation in the late 19th century.'
See also
*''
Spoliarium
The ''Spoliarium'' (often misspelled ''Spolarium'') is a painting by Filipino painter Juan Luna. Luna, working on canvas, spent eight months completing the painting which depicts dying gladiators. The painting was submitted by Luna to the ''Expos ...
''
*''
España y Filipinas
''España y Filipinas'' (“Spain and the Philippines") is a series of oil on wood paintingsHonasan, Alya B"España y Filipinas" by Juan Luna, Into the 21st Century, lopezmuseum.org.ph by Filipino painter, Ilustrado, and revolutionary activist, Jua ...
''
*''
Las Damas Romanas
''Las Damas Romanas'' (literally, "The Roman Dames"), also known as ''The Roman Maidens'', ''The Roman Women'',The Death of Cleopatra
''The Death of Cleopatra'' ( es, La muerte de Cleopatra), also known simply as ''Cleopatra'', is an 1881 oil painting on canvas by the Filipino painter Juan Luna, currently on display at the Museo del Prado in Madrid, Spain. Depicting the death ...