LOOK: National Museum releases limited edition 'Spoliarium' beep cards
The National Museum of the Philippines has released a limited edition Spoliarium Beep Card in celebration of the 140th anniversary of Juan Luna’s award-winning work.
The educational and cultural institution unveiled the special edition beep cards, which are now available for sale at P500.
The card bears the original artwork on the front and a photo of Juan Luna’s bust on the back. The card is valid until June 2028.
“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 souvenir and commemorative items,” National Commission for Culture and the Arts member Roel Hoang Manipon told The Philippine STAR.
Other than the beep cards, they also released other merch bearing the artwork, such as mugs, coasters, ref magnets, keychains, stickers, t-shirts, and more.
You can get yours at the National Museum’s pop-up store at the National Museum of Fine Arts. Note that it will only run for a month.
Luna painted the Spoliarium for eight months, from July 1883 to March 1884 while he was in Rome as a scholar of the Ayuntamiento de Manila. It depicts “Romans' barbarism and inhumanity,” as per the museum.
The beep cards can be used as a mode of payment in Light Rail Transit (LRT) lines 1 and 2, Metro Rail Transit (MRT) line 3, P2P buses, convenience stores, and other partner merchants.