Notes, summaries, assignments, exams, and exercises for Arts and Humanities for Baccalaureate

19th-Century Spanish Literary Movements: Context

First Half of the Century: Romantic Prose

The first half of the 19th century was defined by the rise of Romantic prose.

• Historical Context

  Absolute monarchical crisis, replaced by a democratic parliamentary government. Rise of Nationalism.

• Social Development

  The bourgeoisie was proclaimed as the dominant social class. This was a time of liberalism.

• Cultural Trends

  Idealism prevails.

Second Half of the Century: Realism and Naturalism

The latter half of the century saw the shift toward Realism and Naturalism.

• Historical Context

  The bourgeoisie established itself firmly as the dominant (conservative) social class. Significant industrial and commercial development.

• Social Development

  Emergence of a new class:

Stylistic Analysis

Fortuny's work, while rooted in realism, diverges from French realism. It lacks social critique and, despite depicting different social classes, doesn't challenge oppression. His style, often termed Catalan-French realism, caters to bourgeois tastes with vibrant colors and intricate details.

Fortuny's influences include Impressionism, particularly in his use of color and light. However, unlike French Impressionists, he retains traditional chiaroscuro, albeit without using contrasting colors for shadows.

His time in Morocco significantly impacted his art, inspiring masterpieces like The Battle of Tetuan. This influence is evident in his portrayal of light and detail.

Fortuny's style also reflects Pintoresquismo, echoing Goya's...

Journalism During the Twentieth Century

Throughout the century, we have seen a proliferation of daily, weekly, biweekly, and monthly publications. This is due to a progressive increase in readership. Technological progress has been incorporated, including the following: the telephone and fax replaced the telegraph, and modern printing techniques favored production chains. The creation of news agencies was determined by two factors:

• The Economy: In the early century, newspapers were supported by proceeds from public sales. Years later, profits rose thanks to the introduction of advertising. Newspapers became owned by large companies involved in diverse economic activities.
• Politics: The press became a powerful means of communication for many governments.

In the early twentieth century, thanks to the authors of Noucentisme and their pact with the Regionalist League, political power began to invest resources, successfully managing to legislate the language.

The 1906 International Congress of Catalan

In 1906, a congress chaired by Antoni Maria Alcover was held, attended by representatives from all Catalan-speaking areas. The aim of the congress was to establish guidelines for standardization; the theses adopted were mostly those of Pompeu Fabra.

The Institute of Catalan Studies (IEC)

As a result of these efforts, Enric Prat de la Riba established the IEC in 1907. The task of legislating the language was assumed by the Philological Section, headed by Antoni M. Alcover, who commissioned the work to...

The Roots of Religious Reform

Key issues leading to the Reformation included the corruption of the clergy, the sale of ecclesiastical positions, the sale of indulgences to forgive sins, the doctrine of salvation by faith rather than good works, the concept of the universal priesthood, and the supreme authority of the Bible.

Precedents of the Italian Trecento

In Florence, Giotto di Bondone initiated a pictorial revolution that broke away from Gothic traditions. His work is characterized by:

• Narrative focus: Prioritizing dramatic storytelling.
• Psychological depth: Expressive use of eyes and lips to convey emotion.
• Volume and Modeling: Using light to create thick, expressive figures.
• Spatial representation: A mix of schematic landscapes and lingering

Spanish Prose: 1939 to 1975

Narrative during this period constantly sought new ways and forms of expression.

Camilo José Cela

The Family of Pascual Duarte is a tremendously skilled critique of labor, depicting a bitter world filled with violence. In The Hive, narrative modes shift to build a complex portrait of sad, gloomy post-war Spain, utilizing ground-breaking narrative experiences.

Miguel Delibes

His extensive work is written in neat prose, showcasing the rural world and provincial town life. Notable works include The Cypress Shade is Long, Five Hours with Mario, and Prince Dethroned.

Torrente Ballester

Known for great works rooted in deep cultural foundations.

Exile Literature: Max Aub

A critical and committed human being. Notable works include...

Expressionism

Expressionism encompasses a series of artists who display a similar mood in their treatment of the subject. It stresses the importance of the artist's impression on the material, showing the process and interpreting the human figure in a personal way. This appeals to universal concepts such as loneliness, anger, and mortality. Artists like Alberto Giacometti, during his early surrealist period, Marino Marini, who regularly used the man on horseback as a subject, and Georg Baselitz, who primarily works in wood, exemplify this movement.

Constructivism

Constructivism is a movement that approaches almost architectural solutions, creating a new category of art from models, ephemeral sculptures, and architecture. Assembly techniques are...

Raymond Fields and Modernist Theory

Raymond Fields (1855-1910), art critic of La Vanguardia and theoretician of modernism, in In Wild Assistant (1901), attempted to regenerate a society's primary farmers. The protagonist fails the front-wheel bagassa strains, which symbolize the ancient evil to which the masses succumb.

Prudenci Bertrana: Human Depravity

Prudenci Bertrana (1867-1941), in the novel Jehoshaphat (1906), recounts the sexual depravity of the human character. The action and description are often rugged, and the work was a cause for scandal.

Josep Pous i Pagès: Heroic Struggle

Josep Pous i Pagès (1873-1952), in Life and Death of George Fraginal (1912), deals with the rebellion and the heroic struggle of the protagonist against the order...

Understanding News Reports

The news: It is a text issued on radio, television, or in the press that provides information on recent events. News is the most common genre in the media and, in addition to verbal text, may contain photographs, drawings, or diagrams.

There are different types of news depending on the subject and nature. It is also categorized by length; there are short forms, including wedges, which are secondary news items.

Information is organized according to the principle of relevance: the fundamental facts are located in a prominent position, moving from general information to specific details.

Structure of a News Report

• Headline: Expresses the theme or main fact. It is located in the first position and highlighted in bold. The

Historical and Cultural Framework

In politics, the absolute dominion of kings culminated. The Jesuits were expelled from the society. During this time, there was a growing urban bourgeoisie, both commercial and industrial. These groups lacked privilege and generally supported reforms. The traditional concept of charity was replaced by philanthropy.

There was significant criticism of the Church and its dogmas. Some defended their ideas from a Christian perspective, while others turned to deism (the belief in a supreme being that can exist in any religion). The most radical thinkers evolved toward materialism and atheism.

Cultural knowledge was fundamentally based on philosophy and science. The learned advocated that the arts should become a vehicle...