Notes, abstracts, papers, exams and problems of Arts and Humanities

The scene in the foreground, with figures, depicts Judith beheading Holofernes. The body of Holofernes extends to the bottom of the canvas. The anatomy of the naked body is rendered with absolute perfection. He is depicted as a bearded man with strong muscles. The figure of the maid is waiting with her *mantilla* extended to receive the head and take it to the camp of the Jews. Ocher and white are used to highlight the main figure, and red in the curtains serves to emphasize the importance of the character below. The rest of the room is black, with a gloomy light illuminating the figures. Details such as the earrings that the *Madeleine* had thrown down are now being used by Judith. There is realism in the figures, while the setting is eerie... Continue reading "Caravaggio's Roman Period: Masterpieces and Controversies" »

The Ecstasy of Saint Teresa: A 17th-Century Masterpiece by Bernini

Cornaro Chapel, Santa Maria della Vittoria, Rome (1647-1652)

The Ecstasy of Saint Teresa, a marble sculpture group considered to be Gian Lorenzo Bernini's masterpiece, is located in the Cornaro Chapel within the Roman church of Santa Maria della Vittoria. Commissioned by the Patriarch of Venice, Cardinal Federico Cornaro, the chapel was intended as his final resting place. The scene depicted in the sculpture is based on Saint Teresa of Ávila's own description of her mystical experience, later included in her canonization.

Bernini masterfully integrates architecture, sculpture, and painting to create a theatrical experience. The work is a perfect example of Baroque art's aim to... Continue reading "Bernini's Masterpiece: The Ecstasy of Saint Teresa in Rome" »

Narrative Speech: Key Elements

Narrative speech is a form of discourse in which an issuer (narrator) tells about events related to characters, which occur in a temporal process and a determined space.

Linguistic Features

• Abundance of verbal forms.
• Abundance of temporal subordinate clauses.
• In connection with the syntax, we must bear in mind that the more compound sentences and complex syntactic constructions there are, the more it will slow down the narrative. The author plays with this to get the narrative effect that they are pursuing.

Specifications

Point of View

The point of view is the combination of the grammatical person from which the story is told and the attitude of the narrator with respect to the facts.

The main variations that can be found... Continue reading "Narrative Speech: Types, Features, and Styles" »

Lazarillo de Tormes (1554)

Four editions appeared in a book called The Life of Lazarillo de Tormes and His Fortunes and Adversities. The author remained anonymous. It blends epistolary genre features (a letter to 'Your Grace') and initiates the picaresque novel. Told in the first person, it recounts the protagonist's life. Lazarillo, a rogue of humble social status, advances through cunning and deceit. The narrative comprises a prologue and seven chapters (treaties), each detailing his service to a different master. The structure is circular (beginning and ending in adulthood) and internally linear (chronological events). Lazarillo, an antihero, undergoes negative evolution, losing innocence with each master and becoming disillusioned. His masters

1. A Telephone Call: Anxious Monologue

This story presents an interior monologue, a 'stream of consciousness,' of a nervous, anxious, and desperate woman awaiting a phone call. The narrative style emphasizes her emotional state through repetition, short sentences, and emotionally charged words like 'God.' The lack of descriptions, adjectives, and adverbs contributes to the fast-paced, anxious tone.

2. Special Damage: Rebirth and Symbolism

This story, told by an omniscient narrator, follows Mary's experience after an accident. Despite lacking physical injuries, she experiences a sense of amnesia and rebirth. The narrative utilizes symbolism related to birth, baptism, and purity (e.g., white imagery) to convey this theme. A feeling of strangeness... Continue reading "Analysis of Five Short Stories: Narrative Techniques and Character Development" »

Sculpture

Key Features

• Stone (royal) and wood (private) materials
• Predominantly free-standing or almost in the round
• Frontal view design
• Statism (lack of movement)
• Arms arranged along the body with fists (block statues)
• Expressionless faces, distant gaze (hieratic)
• Idealized, proportionate representation

Painting

Mural Painting

• Mixed technique (cool and tempera)
• Decorated tomb interiors (e.g., Valley of the Kings)
• Iconography: afterlife and real-life scenes
• Mythology, royal life, daily life themes
• Flat, intense colors (preference for warm tones)
• Precise drawing, gridded surfaces
• Combined perspective and profile view
• Juxtaposed figures, sense of physicality
• Lack of three-dimensional perspective
• Scenes structured by logs (bands with rows of characters)

Santa Maria Novella

Leon Battista Alberti, 1456-1470

(Bows and a decorative circular window in the middle)

The facade consists of two spirals that connect the central body with the sides, thus giving proportion and harmony to the work, which is, after all, the main feature of the Renaissance. Using a classical pediment is another element taken from the repertoire offered by antiquity. Alberti reworked this repertoire with great freedom. To achieve a harmonious relationship between the width of the lower body and the much narrower upper body of this facade, the architect designed the two scrolls already mentioned, which had a great impact on sixteenth-century religious architecture.

Note the use of many geometric shapes in the work, such as the... Continue reading "Santa Maria Novella: A Renaissance Facade in Florence" »

Textual Genres

Textual genres encompass various forms of communication, each characterized by distinct features and purposes. These include:

• Description
• Narration
• Explanation
• Reasoning
• Prediction
• Instruction
• Rhetorical talk and text

Informal Record

Colloquial

• Theme: General
• Channel: Oral
• Intentionality: Subjective
• Degree of formality: Low

Formal Records

Standard

• Topic: General
• Channel: Written / Oral
• Intentionality: Objective
• Degree of formality: Medium

Scientific and Technical

• Focus: Specialized
• Channel: Written or oral
• Intentionality: Objective
• Degree of formality: High

Literary

• Topic: General
• Channel: Written
• Intentionality: Subjective
• Degree of formality: High

Literary Analysis of Broken Mirror

Broken Mirror is a novel divided into three parts, narrating the beginning... Continue reading "Textual Genres and Literary Symbolism in Broken Mirror" »

English Affixes

Suffixes

Noun Suffixes (added to nouns)

• -eer: profiteer, lanceer
• -er: teenager
• -ess: hostess, priestess
• -ette: cigarette, kitchenette
• -let: booklet
• -ian: politician, technician
• -ion: companion
• -ist: pianist, guitarist, violinist
• -age: wastage, mileage
• -dom: kingdom
• -ery: slavery
• -hood: adulthood, neighborhood
• -ism: criticism, terrorism
• -ship: friendship, sportsmanship, leadership

Noun Suffixes (added to verbs)

• -ant: assistant, consultant, informant
• -ee: employee, trainee
• -ent: respondent, dependent
• -er: singer, painter, dancer, printer, computer
• -or: conqueror, visitor
• -age: linkage, carriage
• -al: dismissal, survival, proposal
• -ance: attendance, performance
• -ion: protection, conversation, decision
• -ence: existence, persistence, preference
• -ing: building,

Journalism: Definition and Key Concepts

Journalism is the collection and treatment of written, oral, visual, or graphic information in all its forms and varieties. A journalist is a person professionally engaged in a newspaper, an audiovisual medium, a literary work, graphic information, or creating opinion.

Classification of Journalistic Genres

News Genres

In news genres, the journalist tries to express information of general interest or specific to any group of people in an impersonal way, adjusted to reality. The most used forms are the story, the chronicle, and the report.

The News

The news is the main informative subgenre. It is characterized by a complete yet brief presentation of a current fact of interest, carried out with objectivity. The... Continue reading "Journalistic Genres: News, Features, Editorials, and Interviews" »