''The Battle of Lepanto'' (

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Can ...

: ''La Batalla de Lepanto''"The Battle of Lepanto" by Juan Luna
, worltourist.us) is a 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 and revolutionary activist

Juan Luna Juan Luna de San Pedro y Novicio Ancheta (, ; October 23, 1857 – December 7, 1899) was a Filipino painter, sculptor and a political activist of the Philippine Revolution during the late 19th century. He became one of the first recogni ...

. Along with

Félix Resurrección Hidalgo Félix Resurrección Hidalgo y Padilla (February 21, 1855 – March 13, 1913) was a Filipino artist. He is acknowledged as one of the greatest Filipino painters of the late 19th century, and is significant in Philippine history for having been a ...

, Luna is one of the first

s to excel and earn recognition in the international field of

arts The arts are a very wide range of human practices of creative expression, storytelling and cultural participation. They encompass multiple diverse and plural modes of thinking, doing and being, in an extremely broad range of media. Both ...

and

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."The Battle of Lepanto" by Juan Luna
filipinokastila.com
, sunstar.comDaza, Jullie Y

Manila Bulletin, Manila Bulletin Publishing Corp. and Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan, June 16, 2007, encyclopedia.comAnderson, Benedict Richard O'Gorman
"The Battle of Lepanto" by Juan Luna
including Footnote No. 15, Under Three Flags: Anarchism and the Anti-Colonial Imagination, page 18. Painted by Luna in 1887, the masterpiece is about the

Battle of Lepanto The Battle of Lepanto was a naval engagement that took place on 7 October 1571 when a fleet of the Holy League, a coalition of Catholic states (comprising Spain and its Italian territories, several independent Italian states, and the Soverei ...

of October 7, 1571. The painting features Don Juan of Austria (also known as

Don John of Austria John of Austria ( es, Juan, link=no, german: Johann; 24 February 1547 – 1 October 1578) was the natural son born to Holy Roman Emperor Charles V late in life when he was a widower. Charles V met his son only once, recognizing him in a secret ...

) in battle while at the bow of a ship."The Battle of Lepanto" by Juan Luna
traditioninaction.org It is one of the “huge epic canvasses” painted by Luna (the others are the '' Spoliarium'' and '' The Blood Compact'')."The Battle of Lepanto" by Juan Luna
raco.cat"The Battle of Lepanto" by Juan Luna
raco.cat The painting is also known as ''The Battle of Lepanto of 1571''.

Historical significance

By becoming the second Filipino to win the first of the three gold medals during the Exposicion General de Bellas Artes (National Exposition of Fine Arts) in

Madrid Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a Madrid metropolitan area, metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the Largest cities of the Europ ...

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

in 1884 for his ''Spoliarium'' painting,Reyno, Cielo
When the Filipino First Proved Himself to the World
, nhi.gov.ph"The Battle of Lepanto" by Juan Luna
varsitarian.net"The Battle of Lepanto" by Juan Luna
varsitarian.net"The Battle of Lepanto" by Juan Luna
GoogleCachero, ''et al''
"The Battle of Lepanto" by Juan Luna
Getting the Meaning 5'2000 Ed., page 121. Luna became famous and obtained commissions from the

Spanish government gl, Goberno de España eu, Espainiako Gobernua , image = , caption = Logo of the Government of Spain , headerstyle = background-color: #efefef , label1 = Role , data1 = Executive power , label2 = Established , da ...

to create other canvasses. Although Luna decided to move from Madrid to

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, 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), ma ...

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in October 1884, he had to travel back and forth the two cities in order to meet the demands for portrait jobs, including the task of assisting Filipinos to push for reforms in the Philippines through the seat of the government of Spain in Madrid. Some of the commissioned paintings were ''The Battle of Lepanto'', together with '' Peuple et Rois'' and '' España y Filipinas''."The Battle of Lepanto" by Juan Luna
, lopezmuseum.org It was the Spanish Senate, through the influence of King

Alfonso XII of Spain Alfonso XII (Alfonso Francisco de Asís Fernando Pío Juan María de la Concepción Gregorio Pelayo; 28 November 185725 November 1885), also known as El Pacificador or the Peacemaker, was King of Spain from 29 December 1874 to his death in 188 ...

, who commissioned Luna to paint ''The Battle of Lepanto''. King Alfonso XII's plan was to hang Luna’s ''Battle of Lepanto'' side by side with

Francisco Pradilla Ortiz Francisco Pradilla Ortiz (24 July 1848 – 1 November 1921) was a prolific Spanish painter famous for creating historical scenes. Biography He was born in Villanueva de Gállego, in Zaragoza Province and began his studies in Zaragoza. He ...

’s 1878 grand-prize winning masterpiece '' La rendicion de granada'' (''

The Surrender of Granada ''La rendición de Granada'' (English language, English:''The Surrender of Granada'') is a work by the Spain, Spanish painter Francisco Pradilla Ortiz completed in 1882, which is located in the Conference Room or ''Salón de los Pasos Perdidos'' o ...

'')."The Battle of Lepanto" by Juan Luna
Popular Science, August 1899, page 474. Another reason for commissioning Luna to paint ''The Battle of Lepanto'' was to compensate Luna for not having been given the grand prize known as the “Prize of Honor” or “Medal of Excellence” for ''Spoliarium''. A biased jury, known as the "Jury of Honor" did not grant Luna the prize because he was a Filipino and in spite of the fact that “public sentiment felt” Luna “deserved the award”."The Battle of Lepanto" by Juan Luna
, kulay-diwa.com One year after, ''The Battle of Lepanto'' became a gold medalist
glphils.org during the 1888 Fine Arts Exhibition in

Barcelona Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within ci ...

, Spain."The Battle of Lepanto" by Juan Luna
globalpinoy.com During the victory gathering of Filipinos in Madrid, Philippine national hero José Rizal praised Luna and

Hidalgo Hidalgo may refer to: People * Hidalgo (nobility), members of the Spanish nobility * Hidalgo (surname) Places Mexico * Hidalgo (state), in central Mexico * Hidalgo, Coahuila, a town in the north Mexican state of Coahuila * Hidalgo, Nuevo Le� ...

for their achievements, “mastery and nationalism” through a speech. Graciano Lopez Jaena, another Filipino hero, also gave Luna and Hidalgo a “congratulatory speech” for their success."The Battle of Lepanto" by Juan Luna
, sunstar.com

Description

Luna’s ''The Battle of Lepanto'' provides significance to the “

victory against the

Turks Turk or Turks may refer to: Communities and ethnic groups * Turkic peoples, a collection of ethnic groups who speak Turkic languages * Turkish people, or the Turks, a Turkic ethnic group and nation * Turkish citizen, a citizen of the Republic ...

”. For this reason, the widow of King Alfonso XII of Spain,

Queen Regent A regent (from Latin : ruling, governing) is a person appointed to govern a state ''pro tempore'' (Latin: 'for the time being') because the monarch is a minor, absent, incapacitated or unable to discharge the powers and duties of the monarchy, ...

Maria Christina of Austria, herself was the person who unveiled Luna’s masterpiece painting at the Senate Hall of Madrid in November 1887, together with Pradilla’s ''La rendición de granada''. However, the victory at Lepanto was not merely a Spanish victory against the Turks. The victory at Lepanto was a Catholic victory over the invading forces of Islam. At Lepanto a coalition of Catholics defeated the forces of Islam who were attempting to conquer and subdue the West to force her citizens to submit to Islamic rule. Therefore, this painting is a portrayal of national pride because the Spanish were instrumental in the victory at Lepanto and it is also a portrayal of pride in the Spaniard's Catholicism since the battle resulted in a Catholic victory. Both paintings are still currently displayed at the Madrid Senate Hall."The Battle of Lepanto" by Juan Luna
, filipinopaintings.com Luna also received, through the royal order of Queen Regent Maria Christina, the ''Medalla de Isabela La Católica'' (Medal of Elizabeth the Catholic) from the Ministry of the High Seas ( Ministerio de Ultramar), for the Filipino's “outstanding service” to Spain.

References

External links

*A description of Juan Luna's ''The Battle of Lepanto'' painting, and of Juan Luna himself together with Félix Resurrección Hidalgo from ''Popular Science Monthly'', Volume 55, page 474 at wikisource.org {{DEFAULTSORT:Battle Of Lepanto Paintings by Juan Luna 1887 paintings Naval war paintings Paintings in Madrid Battle of Lepanto