Who loves art? Me! Who loves haunted stuff? Also Me!
Let’s explore even more haunted paintings and artwork from around the world.
Mi Novia – Juan Luna
Translating to “My Girlfriend” and also known as “Portrait of a Lady”, this painting by Filipino painter, Juan Luna.
Legend says, this 1890’s portrait features Luna’s wife, Paz Pardo de Tavera. The painting itself is often criticised by arty-types for it’s “gimmickry” in the sense that “beautiful Eurocentric woman lying in repose” in the style of Parisian Salon painters, however, the story attached to this painting is much darker than one would expect.
You see, Juan Luna, murdered his wife and mother-in-law with a shotgun. Her brother, Felix, was also shot, but survived the incident. Juan Luna known to be an incredibly jealous spouse, often accusing de Tavera of infidelity, and it was during one of these violent arguments that she and her mother was murdered.
In a travesty of justice, Luna was acquitted of murder of the grounds that it was a “crime of passion”, which was perpetrated in a fit of temporary insanity. It is said that this painting was in progress during the time of the murder.
This crime was the perfect springboard for rumour, and as such, it has been labelled as both haunted and cursed.
A string of the painting’s subsequent owners are said to have befallen bad luck, from bankruptcy to miscarriage to sudden deaths.
However it’s likely that de Tavera wasn’t the subject of this painting at all. Some claim the sitter was Angela Duche, a French woman who, unlike Luna’s real-life-wife, was not brutally murdered. Still, the sitter is often so misattributed to de Tavera that it is also known as her portrait.
Still, the legend claims that de Tavera’s spirit attached itself to the portrait anyway, leading to the aforementioned tragedies associated with it. It is now housed in the National Museum of the Philippines.
Pogo The Clown – John Wayne Gacy
For those of us who are well versed in the world of true crime, the name Pogo the Clown is already synonymous with murder and depravity. This is because Pogo, was in fact the alter-ego of serial killer John Wayne Gacy, who, despite crafting the facade of a community spirited family man, assaulted and murdered at least 33 boys and men.
Gacy joined a local clown club that performed in fundraising events, parades and even visited hospitalised children.
Possibly the inspiration of the “Killer Clown” trope, Gacy’s Pogo was creepy enough without the heinous acts perpetrated out of costume. Something I find particularly interesting is that traditional clown make-up is usually applied without sharp corners or edges, whereas photos of Gacy’s Pogo show pointed red lips and eyes. Maybe this portrays Gacy’s natural depravity at an unconscious level.
That aside, during Gacy’s eventual incarceration on death row, he took up painting. His subjects included birds, skulls, Jesus and of course, clowns, including self portraits of Pogo. Behind bars, Gacy sold many of these paintings, and they still crop up at auction today, ranging between $200 and $20,000. Horribly, Gacy was able to earn money directly from these sales util 1985.
The spooky story linked to this particular 1990s self-portrait began in 2001 when it was purchased by musician, Nikki Stone for $3,000. Shortly after this, a series of bad luck befell Stone, and as such, a friend offered to keep the painting. Still, bad luck seemed to follow it and the friend’s neighbour died in a car crash shortly after it came into their vicinity. A second friend then took the painting, shortly before attempting suicide, and after this, Stone got rid of the painting, giving it to a private art dealer. It has reportedly never been hung up or displayed, which in my opinion is a good thing.
Aside from the clear moral grubbiness of allowing Gacy to profit from art based purely on his own notoriety, I’m not surprised these paintings leave a bad taste in the mouth of those who see it. In purely energetic terms, a painting done by someone so vile would be imbued with such negative energy that I wouldn’t want it anywhere near my vicinity.
After Gacy’s execution, family members of his victims publicly burned several painting. I don’t usually agree with the burning of art, but in this instance, I say good riddance.
“Blucifer” or The Blue Mustang – Luis Jiménez
Denver International Airport is a really weird place, and it thrives off that reputation. It’s filled with so many quirky aesthetics that it’s spawned a whole list of conspiracy theories – some of which you can even discuss with talking gargoyles that were installed in 2019.
Today, we’re not going to talk about them, nor the unsettling series of murals depicting the horrors of war and the gas-mask clad villain stabbing the dove of peace, nor the illuminati conspiracies. Today we’re going to talk about Blucifer.
“Blucifer” is the nickname bestowed on the 32ft blue mustang sculpture with glowing red eyes who rears into the sky outside the airport. He features a fully detailed anus, scrotum and penis, and was unveiled in 2008, meeting immediate criticism by some, less adventurous members of the Denver public.
Blucifer’s demotic connotations were not intentional (apparently), according to the artist’s estate. Yes, I said his estate, because, unfortunately, sculptor Luis Jiménez, died whilst completing Blucifer. Literally.
65 year old Jiménez was working in his New Mexico studio, when one third of Blucifer came loose from a hoist, pinning him against a support beam and severing an artery in his leg. Jiménez bled to death on his studio floor before an ambulance could reach him.
This fatal accident wasn’t the only bit of bad luck Jiménez faced while completing the sculpture, suffering medical setbacks which included a heart attack and hand surgery. Then, upon missing deadlines, Denver sued Jiménez, who countersued Denver, eventually reaching the conclusion that the horse would be finished, although later than anticipated. After Jiménez’s death, the sculpture was completed by his staff, friends and family in his honour, lest they be forced to pay Denver for failure to deliver on the contract.
Despite Blufier’s legacy of death, he’s not really considered to be haunted (not yet at least), some still consider his to be cursed. Either way, I thought this murderous mustang was just too brilliant to leave out.
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