THE NATIONAL Museum of the Philippines has released a limited-edition beep card featuring Juan Luna’s best-known painting “Spoliarium,” to commemorate its historical triumph.

“This year, we celebrate the 140th anniversary of Juan Luna’s ‘Spoliarium’ winning the gold medal at Exposición Nacional de Bellas Artes in Madrid, Spain, in 1884. To commemorate the event, the National Museum of the Philippines has produced souvenirs and commemorative items,” said National Commission for Culture and the Arts member Roel Hoang Manipon in an interview with The Philippine STAR.

“Spoliarium” depicts two dead gladiators dragged into the chamber by the Romans, while the left side of the painting shows spectators eyeing the corpses, showing no remorse or any sign of sorrow. This depicts the cruelty of Romans, interpreted as an allegory of the Philippines’ state under the oppression of its Spanish colonizers.

Luna dedicated eight months to finishing the life-sized oil on canvas masterpiece, which eventually had to be split into three pieces for transport from Madrid, Spain, to Manila. Currently, the masterpiece is displayed in the National Museum of Fine Arts.

The “Spoliarium” beep card is available for P500 in the museum shop in Osmeña Hall, second floor of the National Museum of Fine Arts in Ermita, Manila.

Commuters can conveniently use the beep card to pay fares for railways, including LRT 1, LRT 2, and MRT 3, as well as for point-to-point (P2P) buses and public utility vehicles (PUVs). Aside from that, the “Spoliarium” beep card is accepted by Cebu ferries, various convenience stores, and partner merchants.

According to the National Museum Employees’ Multi-Purpose Cooperative (NMEMPC) chair of the board of directors, Alvin Anthony Claveria, the next batch of beep cards should be available in the following weeks due to the increased demand and public support.

In line with the museum’s mission to promote physical visits and firsthand engagement, the limited-edition beep card will not be sold online. Instead, people are encouraged to buy it in person.

A dedicated pop-up store will run for one month at the National Museum of Fine Arts, behind the “Spoliarium” painting itself. Visitors can also purchase other products such as keychains, button pins, magnets, stickers, and tote bags featuring Juan Luna and his work, the “Spoliarium,” as part of the 140th anniversary celebration.

This is the second limited-edition beep card released by the National Museum of the Philippines. The first release of limited-edition beep cards featured museums and galleries, including the National Museum of Fine Arts (Lualhati ni hematite red), the National Museum of Anthropology (Manunggul jar in brown), the National Museum of Natural History (Lolong in green), and the National Museum of the Philippines – Cebu (Cebu flowerpecker in blue).

With reports from Glaiza Chavez