(Christian Virgins Exposed to the Populace) / 1884 / Oil on canvas / 115 x 157 cm / Artist: Felix Resurreccion Hidalgo / Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas collection

This piece by Hidalgo won a silver medal in the Madrid Exposition of 1884. Like Juan Luna’s Spoliarium, which won the major prize in the same competition, it conforms to the requirements of the European classical academy. Its subject matter is drawn from Roman antiquity, specifically during the time of the persecution of the Christians by emperors such as Nero. Thus the principal figures are two maidens stripped of their garments and exposed to men leering at them and inspecting them like mere objects or commodities. A cool light falls on the two to symbolize their purity as Christian virgins.

The strong gesticulating motions of the two men nearest them and the aggressive forward thrust of the leering man to the left lend a dramatic air to the scene, at the same time that these create a contrast with the resigned stance of the maiden leaning against the wall and her bound companion on the ground. The figures are fully modeled, and their gestures from the left to the right create a chain of movements that rise and fall, ending with the bound feet of the second maiden. The architectural setting, while smaller in space, recalls that of Luna’s work, which also features stone steps with descending figures on the left.

Women as hapless victims of men was a theme derived from 19th-century romanticism. But while it evoked pathos, it could not envision them as active, self-determining beings struggling against the patriarchal order.