Juan Luna and Cocoy Laurel's muses - An Enigma in their Love Story.

Part 1.

Juan Luna murdered his wife who is also his muse in his painting and got away with it whereas Cocoy Laurel devoted his whole life admiring his muse - an actress called the "Superstar" - and followed her to her death less than two months after her passing in 2025 perhaps in an act of fated eternal love, an unconsummated love conceivably platonic not by choice but by circumstances.

Both painters loved there muses deeply but in very different ways.

Paz Pardo De Tavera and Nora Aunor.

Accused of adultery Maria de la Paz Pardo de Tavera (Juan Luna's wife) was shot by the painter himself and died in a hospital eleven (11) days later.

Unable to consummate his love after a lifetime of waiting for his muse Nora Aunor, painter Victor "Cocoy" Laurel died a day less from the second month of Aunor's passing. As if Cocoy Laurel made a solemn pledge to follow her wherever she goes in order to protect and love her in the next lifetime.

Mi Novia by Juan Luna (Circa 1885).

It is known that between 1886 and 1887 while on their honeymoon in Venice and Rome, Juan Luna painted his wife depicting her in several pieces of paintings. The one above in the collage is Luna's depiction of his wife titled 'Portrait of a Lady' (Also known as Mi Novia or Portrait of Paz Pardo de Tavera).

This piece is noted as being painted in 1885. If this is correct then it is apt that it is known as Mi Novia (My girlfriend) because Juan and Paz did not get married till December 8, 1886 which is a year after he painted this piece.

In this painting, Paz is featured half-asleep half-awake leaning on a headboard under bedsheets. She looks melancholic and holding a rosary with a clasp hand. There is a Bible to the front on the left side of Paz and a small side table lamp.

I wonder weather it was Paz idea to portray her that way since ideas in painting can be either spontaneous based on what the painters sees at a moment in time or it was Luna's idea to portray it that way to portray purity of Paz which he had planned to marry the year after.

Perhaps this is Juan Luna's gift to Paz as a pledge of love and an engagement present?

It must be noted that Europe at this time is still highly religious so it is also just portraying a time in the history of peoples practices in their belief system.

"Movie Queen" by Cocoy Laurel (Circa 1971 ? ).

In Cocoy's "Movie Queen', Laurel portrayed Nora Aunor with a crown and a scepter which is based on an actual event - the coronation of Nora Aunor as Queen of Philippine Cinema in 1971 after the box office result of their first movie together "Lollipops and Roses'. However, there is two rings on both hands of the muse.

This is a painting of Cocoy Laurel of his muse; a young Nora Aunor (she was 18 in 1971) at a time when her star was rising so high that a teeny bopper movie she makes can be a massive box office hits unparalleled in the history of Philippine cinema to this day.

In the painting, Nora Aunor is wearing a crown like a beauty queen and holding a scepter like a royalty. This is obviously Cocoy Laurel's re-imagining of the night it happened when the muse was awarded "Queen of Philippine Cinema for 1971".

Two rings in Nora Aunor's Movie Queen painting.

What is notable here is that Nora Aunor have a ring on each hand. Could one of those ring a gift for her 18th birthday in May that year? Could the other ring be an engagement ring from Cocoy to Nora Aunor presented as a birthday gift? Who knows and we might never know now unless there are still people alive to tell us all the tale of Nora and Victor.

What does the ring indicate? Is this an artistic license to interpret the muse with a ring? Is one of the ring an engagement ring or symbolic of a desire to be engaged with the muse at least in the painters imagination??

To find out more on the story of this painting, please click on this link Genesis of "Movie Queen" painting by Cocoy Laurel. July 13, 2025.

More details on this painting can be found here Finally found a Cocoy Laurel 1970 "MOVIE QUEEN" painting with Nora Aunor as muse. July 13, 2025.

Two paintings from two different era, both painted for love.

Part Two coming soon.

For related stories, click on this links below.

Click here for Cocoy Laurel's Mona Lisa.

Click here for the story of Cocoy Laurel's three Nora Aunor paintings.

Grief is a privilege - a song for Cocoy Laurel and Nora Aunor.

Cocoy Laurel missing 1970 portrait painting of Nora Aunor.

Laurel 1970 painting of Nora is not fake news, PEP news reported it in 2011.

Nora Aunor - our Mona Lisa.

Cocoy Laurel unrealized masterpieces.