I’d like to point out that this was something I cooked up myself... no one from the Ayala Group ever talked to me, nor suggested to me anything of this sort. It just so happened that quite coincidentally, former President Fidel V. Ramos was headlined in The STAR as looking for a young standard bearer and what do you know, Jaza came up with that unexpected speech (yes, I said it sounded like a State of the Nation Address) and voila! That gave me an idea! Allow me to quote Bobby Kennedy who once quipped, "Some people see things as they are and ask, why? I see things as they should and ask... why not?
When a bunch of nobodies took the opportunity to launch the FPJ for President Movement during the Sinulog, I asked myself "why FPJ"? Well, the following day, I read in The STAR what Jaza said about our OFWs and something clicked in my head asking... why not Jaza? As they say, for evil to flourish, good men simply just do nothing! Well, I’m doing something, okay?
Now, I’ve seen a lot of paintings in numerous museums, from the Vatican to the Museum of Natural History in New York. So if you ask my humble opinion on what I think of this painting, let me tell it to you straight... it wasn’t a great painting and mediocre paintings such as these should never have created such a ruckus in the first place! Honestly, I’ve met many local artists who could paint a better one than that. During the exhibit, the "Parisian Life" was the only painting hanging on the wall... hence it didn’t have to compete with other paintings for comparison’s sake.
If there’s any painting that made Juan Luna a great artist, it’s his "Spolarium," which is undoubtedly a great painting. Now if he only came up with his "Parisian Life," I doubt if there’d even be a street named after him. Hence, the value of "Parisian Life" is not because it is a great work of art, but rather, because it was done by a great artist and since he is already dead... there’s no other painting like this one even if it’s just a mediocre painting.
As the old saying goes, "beauty is in the eye of the beholder." I’m sure that there are those who believe that "Parisian Life" is even a greater painting than the "Spolarium." It’s akin to watching clouds in the sky. Some people see different images in the clouds. Some think it looks like a nuclear explosion mushroom, others see a face of a man, while others see nothing but clouds.
For me, the only real value of the "Parisian Life" is that Juan Luna painted it. As an example, certain drawings scribbled by Leonardo da Vinci, Raphael or Michangelo have become priceless treasures... even if these were just simple drawings of works that they were intending to do. So if you’re lucky enough to find something that Juan Luna may have scribbled... that might just fetch you a hefty sum, the way "Parisian Life" did.
But now that GSIS General Manager Winston Garcia has allowed Cebuanos a taste of the work of Juan Luna by displaying the "Parisian Life," I believe he owes the Cebuanos to show us the famous "Spolarium," Juan Luna’s greatest painting, for display here in Cebu. The last time I saw this painting, it was hanging at the National Museum. Now to answer the most controversial question whether it was worth buying the "Parisian Life"... as a work of art, my answer is a big fat no! But since this was one of the works of Juan Luna, then I agree it should be together with our other national treasures.
While we shouldn’t jump into conclusions, we can only reckon that since, Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) Chairman Jose Maria Sison openly declared him a traitor to their cause back in 1994 and the Alex Boncayao Brigade (ABB) sentenced him to death, his killing could have been ordered by Joma and the ABB. This happened to Popoy Lagman and anyone who leaves the communist movement. So, who’s next in this NPA purge? Whoever said that the Communists wants peace? They just want to kill people, that’s what!