Juan Luna and Novicio

JUAN LUNA Y NOVICIO (Badoc, Philippines, 1857 - Hong Kong, 1899).
"Academy with model holding a pergola".
Black pencil on paper.
Signed in the lower right corner.
Attached certificate issued by José María Quesada Valera belonging to the Institute of Historical and Artistic Studies.
Measurements: 65.8 x 45.6 cm; 86 x 74 cm (frame).

The academic drawing that we now tender is a good example of the way of working and perfecting "of a young artist such as Juan Luna y Novicio was at that time. The male nude with his back to us in this interesting drawing is an example of a kind of natural posing, in Rome", according to José María Quesada, author of the certificate that accompanies the work. He continues, "The model is completely nude, something unusual in the academic practice of Madrid, where it was normal for the models to have some kind of garment covering their genitals and buttocks (sometimes the painter simply left the hole unpainted); on the contrary, a significant number of academic nudes executed in Rome did show a full nude, as in this case." As for his pose, Quesada states "The gesture would evoke the moment when a gondolieri stirs the pergola in the silt to move the boat. In this way, Juan Luna has achieved one of the most emblematic postures in Western art: the posture of a Polyclitus statue, like that of the Doriphorus."

A Filipino painter and watercolorist, Juan Luna trained at the Ateneo de la Compañía de Manila. Later he entered the Academy of Fine Arts of the same city. In 1877 he obtained a scholarship from the Manila City Council that allowed him to move to Madrid to further his training, specifically at the San Fernando School of Fine Arts. In the Spanish capital he became a student of Alejo Vera, and with him he traveled to Rome when the latter was appointed director of the Spanish Academy in that city. During these years, Luna also visited other Italian cities, learning first-hand about the great works of the Renaissance. He later settled in Paris, where he opened his own workshop. Once fully established, he received numerous important institutional commissions, among them the one he received in 1887 from the Spanish Senate, a canvas entitled "The Battle of Lepanto", destined for the conference hall. The Ministry of Overseas Territories commissioned another work from him, a composition representing Spain and the Philippines. Luna also took part in numerous art exhibitions and official expositions, being awarded a second medal for "Cleopatra" in the National Fine Arts Exhibition of 1881 and a first medal for "Spoliarium" in the National Exhibition of 1884. He also showed his works abroad, and in fact he sent his canvases to the Paris Salon of 1886, where he was awarded the third medal. Two years later, in 1888, he won the second medal at the Universal Exhibition in Barcelona. The following year he participated in the Universal Exhibition in Paris, where he was awarded the third medal. Influenced by the work of Rosales, he developed a realistic painting, although marked by a broad brushstroke and unraveled that brings him closer to the impressionism of the late nineteenth century, especially in his later years. With regard to his subject matter, after his trip to Rome, he will deal especially with themes of Classical Antiquity, although in his last stage he will work more and more on contemporary scenes. Juan Luna's works are currently represented in important artistic centers such as the Prado Museum, the National Museum of the Philippines, the City Hall of Cadiz, the Captaincy General of Seville, the Government Delegation of the Basque Country, the Jaume Morera Museum of Modern Art in Lleida, the Victor Balaguer Museum Library in Vilanova i la Geltrú, etc.