Was born on October 23, 1857, Badoc, Philippines and died on December 7, 1899, Hong Kong. An Ilocano Filipino painter, sculptor and a political activist of the Philippine Revolution during the late 19th century, he became one of the first recognized Philippine artists.
España y Filipinas, meaning “Spain and the
Philippines” in translation, is an 1886 oil on wood by Filipino painter,
ilustrado, propagandist, and paladin, Juan Luna. The Spaniard woman or “Mother Spain” was drawn with “wide
strong shoulder” while the Filipino woman was
illustrated as “graceful” and brown-skinned. Both were wearing female
dresses known as traje de mestizas 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. 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". It is further described as a painting that once linked
the colonized with its
former colonists, a
"bucolic allegory" of the master and the servant "walking hand
in hand".
I chose this artwork because it projected a close bond between Spain and the Philippines through feminine figures, it is a propaganda painting that revealed the true hope and desire of Filipino propagandist during the 19th-millenia: assimilation with Spain, reform, equality, modernization, and economic improvement.
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