LUNA, JUAN (1857-1899).  Painter.  He was born in Badoc, Ilocos Norte on October 23, 1857.  He studied painting under a Spanish painter and went to the Academy of Fine Arts in Madrid.  His forte was historical painting and his canvas Spolarium, which depicted gladiators in combat, won first prize (gold medal) in the National Exposition of Fine Arts in Madrid in 1884.  Another famous historical painting The Battle of Lepanto won a gold medal in the Barcelona Exposition in 1888.

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Taken from Artemio R. Guillermo and May Kyi Win.  Historical Dictionary of the Philippines.  Asian / Oceanian Historical Dictionaries, No. 24.  (Lanham, Maryland and London: The Scarecrow Press, Inc.  1997), p. 143.