''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, Juan Luna. It is an allegorical depictionOcampo, Ambeth
Juan Luna’s works
Looking Back, Inquirer Opinion/Columns, Inquirer, opinion.inquirer.net, October 24, 2007 of two women together, one a representation of Spain and the other of the Philippines.Arrizón, Alicia
Queering Mestizaje: Transculturation and Performance
pages 146-149, University of Michigan Press The painting, also known as ''España llevando a la gloria a Filipinas'' ("Spain Insuring the Glory of the Philippines") or ''España Guiando a Filipinas'' ("Spain Leading the Philippines"),Go, Kitty

, from "Sotheby's to auction Hidalgo's 'La Parisienne'", Inquirer News Service, inquirer.net is regarded as one of the “enduring pieces of legacy” that the Filipinos inherited from Luna.Revisiting the Lopez Museum
, asiantravelermagazine.com

Description

The

Spaniard Spaniards, or Spanish people, are a Romance ethnic group native to Spain. Within Spain, there are a number of national and regional ethnic identities that reflect the country's complex history, including a number of different languages, both ind ...

woman “Motherland" was drawn with “wide strong shoulders” while the

Filipino woman The role of women in the Philippines ( fil, Kababaihan sa Pilipinas) is explained based on the context of Filipino culture, standards, and mindsets. The Philippines is described to be a nation of strong women, who directly and indirectly run the ...

was illustrated as “graceful” and brown-skinned. Both were wearing female dresses known as ''traje de mestiza'' or "dress of the mestiza". The dressing of the women in traje de mestizas shows the cultural character, class consciousness, and social transformations resulting from 19th century

Hispanization Hispanicization ( es, hispanización) refers to the process by which a place or person becomes influenced by Hispanic culture or a process of cultural and/or linguistic change in which something non-Hispanic becomes Hispanic. Hispanicization is il ...

. Both women have their backs to the viewer, heading towards a far-away horizon, while embarking on the steps of a staircase. Side by side in the painting, Spain was shown to be leading the Philippines along the path to progress and development. The taller and maternal white figure of a woman is Spain, a representation of the "benevolent image of colonialism", is pointing ahead and guiding the "humbly dressed" Filipina to the "right way".Tan, Clarissa
Acceptance, satire, rebellion
– the Philippine and Mexican exhibitions at the Singapore Art Museum show us the many ways artists deal with the powers that be, clarissa-tan.com The painting appeared in the book entitled ''El legado de España a Filipinas'' or "the Spanish legacy in the Philippines" with the accompanying caption stating: ''España guiando a Filipinas por la senda del progreso'' (“Spain leads the Philippines on their way to progress”). It is further described as a painting that once linked the

colonize Colonization, or colonisation, constitutes large-scale population movements wherein migrants maintain strong links with their, or their ancestors', former country – by such links, gain advantage over other inhabitants of the territory. When ...

d with its former colonists,Rapadas, Don G
The Past is Just Nearby
, ''Two private museums within the metropolis tell our history and describe our identity'', Leisure, Philippine Business Magazine, Volume 8, No. 6, philippinebusiness.com a "

bucolic allegory A pastoral lifestyle is that of shepherds herding livestock around open areas of land according to seasons and the changing availability of water and pasture. It lends its name to a genre of literature, art, and music (pastorale) that depicts ...

" of the master and the servant "walking hand in hand".

Historical significance

Although an oil on canvas masterpiece"España y Filipinas"
, Juan Luna painting collection, lopez-museum.org; (...) ''"Having attained fame, Luna (...) received various government commissions. These commissions produced his great canvases, such as (...) "España y Filipinas."'' (..) that projected a close bond between Spain and the Philippines through feminine figures, it is a

propaganda Propaganda is communication that is primarily used to influence or persuade an audience to further an agenda, which may not be objective and may be selectively presenting facts to encourage a particular synthesis or perception, or using loaded ...

painting that revealed the true hope and desire of Filipino propagandists during the 19th-century: assimilation with Spain, reform, equality, modernization, and economic improvement. Contrary to Jose Rizal’s estimation that Luna was a “Hispanophile”, or a person who could never go against Spain, the ''España y Filipinas'' portrait is a “less combative posture” of Luna for showing to Spain and the viewers of the painting the needs of the Philippines at the time.

Paintings

Luna reportedly painted six versions of ''España y Filipinas'', though overall compositions are largely similar. Of the six versions made, only three have been presently located. The earliest version was painted in 1884 and is part of the permanent collection of the National Gallery Singapore. The work was commissioned by the Filipino politician Pedro Paterno, a known friend and patron of Luna. It was subsequently publicly exhibited at the 1893 ''Exposición Histórico-Natural y Etnográfica'' at the National Archaeological Museum in Madrid. Afterwards, the painting eventually ended up in the possession of Don José Vázquez Castiñeira, a former mayor of Sarria, a municipality in the province of

Lugo Lugo (, ; la, Lucus Augusti) is a city in northwestern Spain in the autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Galicia (Spain), Galicia. It is the capital of the Lugo (province), province of Lugo. The municipality had a population ...

in Spain for nearly 130 years. It is speculated that when Paterno became the new Director of the Museo-Biblioteca de Filipinas, the paintings were either sold or given to Vázquez Castiñeiras. Interestingly, Paterno was married to María Luisa Piñeiro de Paterno, who hailed from

Galicia Galicia may refer to: Geographic regions * Galicia (Spain), a region and autonomous community of northwestern Spain ** Gallaecia, a Roman province ** The post-Roman Kingdom of the Suebi, also called the Kingdom of Gallaecia ** The medieval King ...

, the same region as Vázquez Castiñeiras. In 1996, María Núñez Rodríguez, a widow without children and the late spouse of Don Francisco Vázquez Gayoso and descendant of José Vázquez Castiñeira, gathered her relatives to her residence in order to distribute her estate. Among the assets included in her estate were various Philippine artworks, such as the 1884 iteration of ''España y Filipinas'', a study of the Spoliarium, '' La Pintura'' by Luna's contemporary Félix Resurrección Hidalgo, and other notable Philippine artworks. Eventually, the painting later sold in 2012 at the Barcelona-based auction Balclis was eventually sold to a private Philippine art dealer. In 2013, the 1884 version of ''España y Filipinas'' was subsequently sold for a world record price of HK$25.88 million (US$2.693 million) at a Sotheby's auction sale in Hong Kong, becoming the most expensive work of Philippine art ever sold at auction. The second version, the largest of the series, was painted in 1888 and is part of the collection of the

Museo del Prado The Prado Museum ( ; ), officially known as Museo Nacional del Prado, is the main Spanish national art museum, located in central Madrid. It is widely considered to house one of the world's finest collections of European art, dating from the ...

in Madrid, with the piece being loaned on a long-term basis to the City Council of Cádiz. The commission for this artwork came from

Víctor Balaguer i Cirera Víctor Balaguer i Cirera (; 11 December 1824 – 14 January 1901) was a Spanish politician and author, was born at Barcelona (Catalonia, Spain) on 11 December 1824, and was educated at the university of his native city. Biography His firs ...

, who served as the Minister of Overseas in Spain. Impressed by the initial version created for Paterno, Balaguer requested a more detailed rendition from Luna. The purpose of this elaborate painting was to promote closer ties between Spain and the Philippines, effectively serving as a propaganda tool. The third version of the painting, created between 1888 and 1893, is a smaller rendition of the second version. It currently resides in the esteemed collection of the

López Museum and Library The López Museum and Library, also known as simply the Lopez Museum, is a Philippine art museum, art and history museum and library located in Pasig, Philippines at the ground floor of the Benpres Building, Exchange Road corner Meralco Avenue, ...

in Manila. Originally commissioned for Balaguer's post-retirement period, the artwork found its way to the

Biblioteca Museu Víctor Balaguer The Biblioteca Museu Víctor Balaguer (Víctor Balaguer Museum & Library) is located in Vilanova i la Geltrú and was founded in 1884 by Víctor Balaguer so as to thank the city for its support during his politician career. Since 2000 the museum ...

before being acquired by Filipino industrialist Eugenio López Sr. for the López Museum and Library. File:España y Filipinas (Spain and the Philippines) Juan Luna National Gallery Singapore.jpg, ''España y Filipinas'', Oil on canvas, 229.5 × 77.5 cm, National Gallery Singapore, Singapore File:España Guiando a Filipinas ("Spain Insuring the Glory of the Philippines") by Juan Luna Museo del Prado.jpg, ''España llevando a la gloria a Filipinas'' 1888, Oil on canvas, 442 x 167 cm,

, on loan to the City Council of Cádiz. File:Espana y Filpinas Juan Luna y Novicio Lopez Museum and Library.jpg, ''España Guiando a Filipinas'' circa 1888-1893, Oil on canvas, 249.3 × 79.5 cm,

, Manila

Description

Historical significance

Paintings

See also