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Paintings of Juan Luna in his prison cell at the military barracks in Manila as
photographed by M. Arias y Rodriguez, which appeared in the 06 August 1900
issue of La Ilustracion Artistica.
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Political prisoner Juan Luna was locked in a dungeon in the ground floor of the cavalry barracks, "leaving him completely incommunicado," according to Manuel Arias y Rodriguez. The famous Spoliarium artist was arrested on 23 October 1896"for having been implicated in the Philippine insurrection against Spain."
He was writing about Luna's paintings on his prison walls in the 06 August 1900 issue of La Ilustracion Artistica, a weekly journal published in Barcelona.
M, Arias y Rodriguez (1850-1924) is well-known for his photograph of Jose Rizal's execution on December 30, 1896. He was, in a way, a war correspondent, a photo journalist, of La Ilustracion Artistica, Said to be sympathetic to the Philippine revolution against Spain, he sent his photographs of the Filipino insurrectos to the Barcelona journal; he also covered the Spanish side of the war.
How did the famous painter of the Spoliarium get to paint while in confinement until he was pardoned and set free on 27 May 1897?
Apparently, he was privileged to be supplied of "books, colors and brushes" and thus, "for his pastime or leisure, [Luna] adorned the rough walls of the so-called dungeon with his works."
Arias y Rodriguez said that when Luna was released, he asked permission and was allowed by the head of the cavalry squadron to photograph the wall paintings.
He described Luna's prison cell: "The dungeon consisted of a small room about three meters long by two and a half wide: a meter from the floor was a wooden floorboard that occupied the entire cell to avoid the high humidity of the floor, located at a level lower than the patio. In front of the front door there was a square window with light iron bars. The half-bleached walls had an unequal surface, almost like a rough stone, and the innumerable holes and cracks on them showed that they had not been repaired for a long time."
He noted that "[s]ince this room had served as a dungeon for classes and soldiers, one could see in them some of those crude drawings that are usually found in such places, among which are the ones done by the aforementioned Filipino artist, which stand out."
The "ones done" by detainee Juan Luna were on the right and left walls.
What Arias y Rodriguez sent to La Ilustracion Artistica was the picture of the left wall paintings comprising various images like a clock marking the hour when he was arrested (Luna brought the clock with him), an imitation of a bas-relief, a portrait of a stranger, a little girl and Sarah Bernhardt (a popular concert artist of that time).
We can imagine what was on the right wall, which Arias y Rodriguez described as consisting of several figures including a wall calendar with the date when Luna was arrested, and the seal of the Customs of Manila for the dispatch of packages.
The walls tumbled down from the bombs of the Second World War, and the paintings were lost forever.
Unlike Luna's prison paintings, the art works produced by political detainees of recent memory--the Martial Law years, for example--were expressions of their advocacy and insurrection against the dictatorial regime of Marcos, and the continuing repression of political action after the EDSA revolution.
P.S. Juan Luna went back to Spain after his release from his dungeon at the military barracks. When he learned of the assassination of his brother Antonio by Aguinaldo's men in June 1899, he decided to come back. But on his way home, he had a heart attack in Hong Kong on 7 December that same year.
He noted that "[s]ince this room had served as a dungeon for classes and soldiers, one could see in them some of those crude drawings that are usually found in such places, among which are the ones done by the aforementioned Filipino artist, which stand out."
The "ones done" by detainee Juan Luna were on the right and left walls.
What Arias y Rodriguez sent to La Ilustracion Artistica was the picture of the left wall paintings comprising various images like a clock marking the hour when he was arrested (Luna brought the clock with him), an imitation of a bas-relief, a portrait of a stranger, a little girl and Sarah Bernhardt (a popular concert artist of that time).
We can imagine what was on the right wall, which Arias y Rodriguez described as consisting of several figures including a wall calendar with the date when Luna was arrested, and the seal of the Customs of Manila for the dispatch of packages.
The walls tumbled down from the bombs of the Second World War, and the paintings were lost forever.
Unlike Luna's prison paintings, the art works produced by political detainees of recent memory--the Martial Law years, for example--were expressions of their advocacy and insurrection against the dictatorial regime of Marcos, and the continuing repression of political action after the EDSA revolution.
P.S. Juan Luna went back to Spain after his release from his dungeon at the military barracks. When he learned of the assassination of his brother Antonio by Aguinaldo's men in June 1899, he decided to come back. But on his way home, he had a heart attack in Hong Kong on 7 December that same year.
References:
- Juan Luna prison wall painting. 1900 August 06. La Ilustracion Artistica. 19:971 (512, 518). Retrieved from Hemeroteca Digital, Biblioteca Nacional de Espana at http://hemerotecadigital.bne.es/issue.vm?id=0005530609
- Agencia Editorial. Manuel Arias y Rodriguez. Retrieved from http://www.nigelgooding.co.uk/Spanish/Business%20Firms/Agencia%20Editorial/AgenciaEditorial.pdf
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