Juan Luna’s ‘Mona Lisa’ goes to Louvre Abu Dhabi

MANILA, Philippines — Juan Luna’s “Mona Lisa,” officially known as “Una Bulaqueña,” goes on exhibition this week at the Louvre Abu Dhabi, in the Saadiyat Island cultural district of the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

Emphasizing the world-class stature of Filipino art, “Una Bulaqueña” will hang in between two multimillion-dollar works, Pierre-Auguste Renoir’s “The Cup of Chocolate” and an Edouard Manet of a gypsy, titled “The Bohemian.”

The larger-than-life painting of a winsome beauty in the Filipino dress baro’t saya, “Una Bulaqueña” is the second largest and most important Luna of the National Museum of the Philippines, after the “Spoliarium.”

While the “Spoliarium” symbolized colonial oppression, “Una Bulaqueña” revealed a long-lost love of Juan Luna. Her identity was for several generations the object of mystery and speculation. Only recently was she identified by historian Ambeth Ocampo as Emiliana Yriarte Trinidad through photographic evidence. Emiliana was born in San Rafael, Bulacan.

The portrait was acquired by the National Museum during World War II and was subsequently displayed in Malacañang’s Music Room during the regime of president Ferdinand Marcos Sr.

“Una Bulaqueña” will be away on a year-long loan until June 2026, thanks to a landmark agreement with the Louvre Abu Dhabi, the newest museum in the Middle East, and the National Museum of the Philippines, one of the oldest museums in Southeast Asia.

The Luna masterpiece was selected as a highlight of the Louvre’s “Ambassador Object” program to symbolize Filipino identity and will be presented in a special section of the museum.