To commemorate the 125th anniversary of Philippine independence, an exhibition at the Ayala Museum will feature Juan Luna's long-lost masterwork "Hymen, oh Hyménée!"

The Luna masterpiece, which was last seen in public 132 years ago in Paris, is considered by many art collectors to be the "holy grail of Philippine art," and it is back on display after more than a century at the exhibition "Splendor: Juan Luna, Painter as Hero."

Five years later, at the Exposition Universelle in 1889, he received a bronze medal for "Hymen, oh Hyménée!"

Jaime Ponce de Leon, the founder, and director of Leon Gallery, had a dream of locating the Luna artwork, which led him to search for it around Europe.

It had been sitting in a storeroom since then, but owing to a long-term loan to the Ayala Museum, it received a new home in 2022.

The exhibition "Splendor: Juan Luna, Painter as Hero" was created by scenographer Gino Gonzales.

It also includes a catalog with writings by historian Ambeth R. Ocampo, film director Martin Arnaldo, and curators Ditas Samson, Tenten Mina, and Jei Ente. Arnaldo's documentary film follows the process of recovering the artwork and depicts the predicament of the 19th-century Filipino diaspora as observed by Luna.