Focus on The Blood Compact and analyze the Historical background.
Juan Luna completed The Blood Compact in 1886, a year after he moved to Paris to open a studio. It was also the year after Luna became a friend of Félix Resurrección Hidalgo, another known Filipino painter.  In 1904, the painting won the first prize in Paris, France and at the St. Louis Exposition in the United States.  The masterpiece was painted by Luna during his four-year pensionadoship from the Ayuntamiento de Manila, enabling him to continue studying painting in Rome.  It is one of the three paintings Luna gave the Government of Spain, even though he was only obligated to paint just one canvas during the pensionadoship.  The other paintings are Don Miguel Lopez de Legazpi, a painting that was burned during the Philippine Revolution, and Governor Ramon Blanco, a work that became a part of the Lopez Museum collection.  This is one of the last paintings created by Luna.José Rizal and Trinidad H. Pardo de Tavera helped Luna in completing the painting by providing historical advice and posing for the painter: Rizal posed as Sikatuna while Pardo de Tavera posed as Legazpi.The Blood Compact is currently displayed in Malacañan Palace, the official residence of the President, located at the top of the Grand Staircase leading towards the Ceremonial Hall.
Paris, France Malacañan Palace France Félix Resurrección Hidalgo Filipino Trinidad H. Pardo de Tavera Rome José Rizal Lopez Museum United States Juan Luna St. Louis Exposition President Paris Government of Spain