España y Filipinas Group 3

España y Filipinas
by Juan Luna
Espana y Filipinas is an allegorical painting meaning “Spain and the Philippines”. It is an 1884 oil
in wood canvas and also known as España Guiando a Filipinas or “Spain Leading the Philippines” by Juan
Luna. There are multiple versions of this painting, 6 versions to be exact, highlighting the importance he
gave to the subject and the attention it drew from patrons, with this version having been made for
Luna’s friend, the nationalist intellectual Pedro Paterno. This painting will be analyzed using four planes
of art analysis: the basic semiotic, iconic, contextual and the evaluative.
Canvas oil was used to create this painting. The sweeping brush strokes, dramatic folds in the
skirts, flowers scattered on the streets, and dramatic play of light in the vibrant sky reveal the secret
gesture of the key figures attempting to ascend the stairwell. The artist used light colors for the
background to reflect the sun, which is thought to be the ideal result that Filipinos will achieve if they
continue to follow the Spaniards. Furthermore, the viewer is led to the light by the stairs in this work of
art, as if they were inside the painting, attempting to capture the ideal future that Spain has to offer.
The work portrays how Spain guides the Philippines through the modernization process. The
Spanish woman, also known as "Mother Fatherland," was depicted as having "wide strong shoulders,"
while the Filipino woman was depicted as being "gentle" and brown-skinned. The taller and nurturing
white figure of a woman is Spain, a reflection of the "beneficent portrait of colonization," which points
forward and directs the "humbly dressed" Filipino to the "best path". Both women are embarking on the
steps of a staircase with their backs to the audience, moving towards a distant horizon. Spain and the
Philippines were depicted side by side in the painting, each leading the other down the road of growth
and creation.
This painting make Filipinos feel having a great relationship to Spain before because this painting
represents a propaganda of certain nineteenth century Filipino intellectuals towards a more
equitable and less exploitative colonial relationship with Spain by Filipino painter, Juan Luna. He was
an accomplished academic painter, and this painting shows his mastery of nineteenth century
visual conventions. The work was painted at the height of Luna's career, on 1884 and is
a centerpiece art at the Luna Hall of the Lopez Memorial Museum. The painter expresses his feelings
and thoughts about what’s happening at that time, the political relationship between Spain and the
colonial Philippines and him being the pro-Spanish, through this, Luna wants to show the strong bond of
the two nations and that the Spain as a mother is guiding the daughter Philippines up to the steps of
progress although the painting receives some criticism by propagandist such as Lopez-Jaena and said the
painting lacks one very important detail, the friar, and it should be the mother Spain whose all-pervasive
authority over the Philippine populace and society they needed to subvert and displace and believed
that it was essentially the friar orders rather than Spanish colonialism who were seen as primarily
responsible for spreading mystifications and for the overall backwardness of the country.
Espana y Filipinas or interpreted as “Spain and the Philippines” was made by a Filipino painter,
an illustrado, propagandist, and paladin Juan Luna. The painting’s medium is oil on wood that crafted on
1886. The painting conveys a thought of having a treaty between the two countries. The painting serves
as a propaganda painting that indicated the true ambition and desire of Filipino propagandists during
the 19th-century in a form of assimilation with Spain, reform, equality, modernization, and economic
development. As observed in the painting, Spain has the prominent statue that shows guidance to the
Philippines and pointing ahead. The two figures are fairly similar in reputation and dignity, implying that
the composition is aspired to represent an idealized portrayal of the colonial project in the history.
To sum up everything that has been stated, the painting “Espana y Filipinas” by Juan Luna is a
great artwork in pointing out some parts about the history of the Philippines. Although we already have
an understanding about this work of art, with the use of the different four planes of art analysis, we got
the chance to understand deeply the painting.
Group 3
Habierto, Anton
Kho, Chello
Inot, Hannah Carla
Jordan, Michelle
Lesaca, Jane Cresthyl
Lopez, Jenny Rose
Referances:
https://artislife154.wordpress.com/2016/07/25/1580/
https://www.roots.gov.sg/Collection-Landing/listing/1316482
https://asj.upd.edu.ph/mediabox/archive/ASJ-36-1-2000/reyes.pdf
https://digital.lib.washington.edu
https://www.roots.gov.sg/Collection-Landing/listing/1316482

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España y Filipinas

Inot, Hannah Carla

Lesaca, Jane Cresthyl

Lopez, Jenny Rose

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