Parisian Life

In an attempt to shed light, the students scattered darkness by coming up with a Da Vinci Code-style interpretation. Among other assumptions, it stated “that the woman has a dark neck, the woman was placed with her head in a window joint resulting to having the effect of a sort of ‘antenna jutting out’ of the head. The dark neck and the window joint line showed that as if the woman was being strangled, conveying the message that the Philippines was under stress.”

This creative theory has turned out as the most popular through lectures on “The Parisian Life” despite the lack of historical basis. As such, it must be taken as a pop interpretation. Under great stress to justify the use of GSIS members’ money to pay for the painting’s exorbitant price, the creative theory gives it historical importance to project that it was a necessary purchase to conserve a national treasure.

“There was a lot of haunting and unexplained phenomenon that you can’t put rationale on it. It centers on the fact that the painting has an enduring message to those who will hear and listen to the explanation of the painting,” summed up former GSIS Museum director Eric Zerrudo.

What about the painting..

The “The Parisian Life’s” three possible interpretations are

What about the painting...

Upon release from the slammer, Luna left Paris in 1894 to help free his homeland and travelled frequently, managing to paint sparingly in the Philippines, particularly landscapes

*Lifestyle Theory

*Historical Theory

*Creative Theory

Three Asian-looking gentlemen wearing black coats with top hats huddle at the far left. The middle man resembles the artist furtively looking at the lady while his two friends are said to be fellow propagandists, Dr. Ariston Bautista Lin, face fully exposed, who was taking advanced medicine studies then, and Dr. Jose Rizal, his back turned, who had released his controversial books “Noli Me Tangere” and “El Filibusterismo.”

Luna gave “The Parisian Life” to Dr. Lin to commemorate their friendship. Dr. Lin, on his part, displayed it at the second floor living room, the largest in the bahay na bato at kahoy, of his residence on Calle Barboza, Quiapo, Manila. It hung on the right side of a wooden door leading to a bedroom.

Painted a few months prior to September 1892, Luna worked on “The Parisian Life” during an eight-year residency in Paris, France from October 1884 to February 1893. Having shifted from the dark colors and mood of academic painting to the lighter style of impressionism, he enjoyed celebrity status in Europe with “The Parisian Life” giving a visual peek of the indio’s western lifestyle in the French capital.

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 canapé 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 chair’s side. A man’s coat, its checkered inside exposed, lays on the sofa. A folded newspaper is at her back.

The original would resurface when it was put for auction at Christie’s Hong Kong on October 27, 2002.

Listing the provenance as “By descent to the family from the original owner, Dr. Ariston Bautista Lin” and came with the World’s Fair certificate (the original is at Gallery III of the NAG), its estimated price was from $231,921 to $257,690. It garnered an actual price of $859,924 (ranging from P45.4 million to P46 million) as acquired by the Government Service Insurance System (GSIS), a Philippine-government owned and controlled corporation during the term of Winston Garcia as corporation president. It was a fantastic price to pay, and it was believed to be 300 percent plus higher than the estimate.

Lifestlye Theory

During this time, Luna dealt with the death of an infant daughter and the suspected extramarital affair of wife Paz with Dr. Dussaq. When he could no longer bear the torment of the tryst repeatedly playing in his mind, Luna took his revolver from a drawer, shot at close range his wife and mother-in-law who tried to intervene, mortally wounding them. He also tried to kill his brother-in-law who tried to intervene but failed. A French court charged him with parricide and murder but was acquitted of the “crime of passion” on February 7, 1893.

The woman was a courtesan(a prostitute, especially one with wealthy or upper-class clients)who caught the eye of the three Filipinos. Albano Pilar points out in the Luna book that Paris suffered a whore epidemic during that time and cafés were their pickup sites. Luna is on record to use prostitutes as models for nude paintings.

How did “The Parisian Life” land at the National Museum?

Under great financial stress largely due perhaps to improper use of the pension fund, GSIS struggled to manage its finances. The board of trustees under President and General Manager Robert Vergara considered the option of outright sales of its art collection that included Fernando Amorsolo paintings. They recognized that the GSIS is unqualified to preserve and maintain the collection, and the task is actually outside the GSIS mandate. This led to the decision to entrust the paintings to the National Museum.

Creative Theory

Conclusion

The Fine Arts students hypothesized that the lady is the mirror image of the Philippine archipelago. This theorizing went to the ridiculous extent of assigning various parts of the lady’s body as a representation of provinces or groups of provinces. Imagine her 12-inch waistline as “the distance between Infanta, Quezon and San Antonio, Zambales” and “the site of the birth of 1898 Philippine Independence, Kawit Cavite, is exact on the lady’s womb, site of a woman’s birthing.” With such engineering precision, the free-for-all goes to the extent of second-guessing what the three gentlemen were discussing.

Historical Theory

Thus, in March 2012, GSIS transferred its art collection to the National Museum. “The Parisian Life” is on display at the GSIS Hall of the NAG. It now enjoys the prestige of being the only Luna among Amorsolo paintings. A whole expanse of wall is assigned to it while the Amorsolos are cramped in the remaining walls. A guide to explain its meaning and benches have been provided for interested viewers. “The Parisian Life” is the only artwork in the entire NAG with such preferential treatment.

The painting is now reportedly worth “P250 million” as this writer gathered from “The Parisian Life” guide, although its assessed value is listed at P200 million.

Albano-Pilar posited this biographical interpretation, that the mugs on the table and the coat on the sofa show the absent user with the lady. As symbolisms, it may hint at Luna’s suspicion of his wife’s extramarital affair.

The Parisian Life, also known as Interior d'un Cafi (also spelled Interior d’Un Café, literally meaning "Inside a Café"), is an 1892 oil on canvas impressionist painting by Filipino painter and revolutionary activist Juan Luna

Parisian life painting

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. His own personal “Parisian life” was a total of eight years. This period in Luna’s career in painting is known as the post-academic or the Parisian period, a time when his style moved away from having “dark colors of the academic palette” and became “increasingly lighter in color and mood”.

Parisian Life Painting

Parisian Life Painting by Juan Luna