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The Juan Luna Code

Juan Luna's painting "The Parisian Life" depicts a solitary woman sitting uncomfortably on a couch in a Parisian cafe. The painting contains various symbolic elements that represent the turbulent political state of the Philippines under Spanish colonial rule in the late 1800s. These include the woman's distressed facial expression and position, representing the Philippines, and three Asian men in the background representing Filipino patriots discussing the country's oppression. The painting uses its detailed setting and objects to convey hidden meanings regarding the Spanish exploitation of the Philippines and inspiration from the French Revolution. The complex symbolism in Luna's work demonstrates his talent and passion for expressing his views on the mistreatment of his homeland in a subtle, coded manner.

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Moimen Dalinding Utto
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3K views2 pages

The Juan Luna Code

Juan Luna's painting "The Parisian Life" depicts a solitary woman sitting uncomfortably on a couch in a Parisian cafe. The painting contains various symbolic elements that represent the turbulent political state of the Philippines under Spanish colonial rule in the late 1800s. These include the woman's distressed facial expression and position, representing the Philippines, and three Asian men in the background representing Filipino patriots discussing the country's oppression. The painting uses its detailed setting and objects to convey hidden meanings regarding the Spanish exploitation of the Philippines and inspiration from the French Revolution. The complex symbolism in Luna's work demonstrates his talent and passion for expressing his views on the mistreatment of his homeland in a subtle, coded manner.

Uploaded by

Moimen Dalinding Utto
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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ThE Juan luna Code: Parisian life

Description: Also known as Interior d'un Cafi. Measuring 57 cm x 79 cm (22 in x 31 in), The
Parisian Life is one of the masterpieces that Luna created when he stayed in Paris, France from
October 1884 to February 1893.The painting which is an oil on canvas impressionist was owned
by different people and was named with different titles before landing in the hands of
Government Service Insurance System (GSIS) in 2002. During 1953, the artwork was given the
name of The Maid, followed by the ownership of Prof. Emmanuel Torres in 1963 where he gave
the title of Un Coquette which identifies the woman in the foreground as flirtatious, and then
was named as Interior dUn Cafe which literally means Inside the Cafe.
Analysis: In the painting, It shows a young good-looking Caucasian woman wearing a pale
lavender frock, her hat decorated with flowers. With outstretched left hand, she uneasily sits
solo on the canap of a coffeehouse in Paris, France. The table up front has a pulled chair. On
the table is a half-filled glass directly in front of her and another half-filled and empty glasses on
the chairs side. A mans coat, its checkered inside exposed, lays on the sofa. A folded
newspaper is at her back. Three Asian-looking gentlemen wearing black coats with top hats
huddle at the far left.
Interpretation: The painting can be interpreted in three ways, by literal and popular
interpretation where the lady sitting in the sofa was identified as flirt and prostitute, by tragic
and biographical interpretation which discusses the personal experience of Luna with his wife
who had an affair with other man, and by symbolic interpretation where Zerrudo mentioned
that the woman in the painting has a "geographical likeness" to the mirror-image of the
archipelago of the Philippines. With the third interpretation, Luna also exposed the Philippines
in disturbed state during the Spanish Revolution in 1892 through the uncomfortable position
and about-to-cry face of the woman.
The three gentlemen in the left corner were identified as the three Filipino heroes, Dr. Jose
Rizal, Juan Luna, and Ariston Bautista discussing the state of the country being under stress. The
coat and hat at the couch symbolizes Western lifestyle particularly identifying the people of
Spain. While the levels of beers in the table were also interpreted on how the Spaniards take
advantage of the country, and the newspaper pointing the back of the woman tells how the
Philippines was inspired by the French Revolution.
Judgement: This painting made by our great Filipino painter gave me goosebumps reflecting
the spaniards abuse against our countrymen. Pure passion was dedicated with this one and Im
so proud being Filipino because of him. The Interpretation of the painting reminds me of
Leonardo DaVincis The Last supper. Full of meaning in every single details making it more
complicated than the way you saw it before. Thats why I could really call it, The Juan Luna
Code. An amazing talent with pure passion and love for country gives a great gift for humanity
to realize our cruel world.
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