Spoliarium
Sign in to saveThe Spoliarium 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 Exposición Nacional de Bellas Artes in 1884 in Madrid, where it garnered the first gold medal (out of three). The picture recreates a despoiling scene in a Roman circus where dead gladiators are stripped of weapons and garments. Together with other works of the Spanish Academy, the Spoliarium was on exhibit in Rome in April 1884.
Key facts
- Artwork.image_file
- 250px|
- Artwork.title
- Spoliarium
- Artwork.artist
- Juan Luna
- Artwork.year
- 1884
- Artwork.medium
- Oil on canvas
- Artwork.height_metric
- 4.22
- Artwork.width_metric
- 7.675
- Artwork.metric_unit
- m
- Artwork.imperial_unit
- ft
- Artwork.museum
- National Museum of Fine Arts, Manila
via Wikipedia infobox
Wikidata facts
- Image
- Juan Luna Spoliarium.jpg
- Height
- 400
- Width
- 800
Show 2 more facts
- inception
- 1884-00-00
- Commons category
- Spoliarium
Sources (2)
via Wikidata · CC0
~7 min read
Article
6 sectionsContents
- José Rizal and the Spoliarium
- Return to the Philippines
- Other versions
- Existing versions of the Spoliarium
- The ''boceto for Spoliarium''
- References
The Spoliarium 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 Exposición Nacional de Bellas Artes in 1884 in Madrid, where it garnered the first gold medal (out of three). The picture recreates a despoiling scene in a Roman circus where dead gladiators are stripped of weapons and garments. Together with other works of the Spanish Academy, the Spoliarium was on exhibit in Rome in April 1884.
In 1886, the painting was sold to the provincial government of Barcelona for 20,000 pesetas. It is currently displayed in the main gallery at the first floor of the National Museum of Fine Arts in Manila, and is the first work of art that greets visitors upon entry into the museum. The National Museum considers it the largest painting in the Philippines with dimensions of 4.22 meters x 7.675 meters.