the favored paramour lets rosary beads slip
across tender palms, her prayer book
lays by her side – she is so chaste –
yet carelessly (or carefully?) attired, and cheeks
rosy with desire, the lady named Angel
sings a siren song with her eyes
promising contentment, passion
and love.
Those who longed to possess you
found pain instead of pleasure
loss instead of gain
death instead of life
fear instead of love –
and, passed from lover to lover,
finally forsaken while given to the world,
you adorn a cold pink wall,
in an echoing hall,
where no one soul could
possess you
and so be subjected to the evil
perpetrated by your hateful heart.
Juan Luna, Portrait of a Lady
Juan Luna was a famous Filipino painter, who shot and killed his wife and mother-in-law and severely injured his brother-in-law. He was later acquitted as the crimes were considered to be “a crime of passion.”
While many believed the painting to depict his late wife, Paz, art historians assert that the physical features are that of Angela Duche, who was a favorite model of Luna’s.
According to legend, owners of the painting suffered misfortunes such as illness, bankruptcy, car crashes, and other tragedies. It is believed that at a showing of the artwork in the Metropolitan Museum of Manila in 1987, a spotlight bulb directly over the painting mysteriously exploded. The painting is currently housed at the National Museum of the Philippines.
Copyright ©2026 Lisa Paul. All rights reserved.
