Notes, summaries, assignments, exams, and problems for Arts and Humanities

FC - Name: Trajan's Column / Author: Apollodorus of Damascus / Clients: - / Date: 107-113 BC / Type: Low relief / Style: Imperial Rome / Original Location: Center of the Forum of Trajan in Rome / Current Location: / D - Material: Marble from Carrara and Luni / Dimensions: 40m (height) and 4m (diameter) / Color: Polychrome / Short Description: A column that stands 40 meters above the surrounding relief, depicting a warlike character / Technique: Carving / Position: Some warriors are represented standing and sitting / Figurative / AF - Volume: Open / Anatomy: Young warriors with different anatomies / Movement: Instantaneous; all figures appearing in the relief are calm / Proportions: Smaller than actual size / Light: Internal / Time: Medium-short... Continue reading "Understanding Trajan's Column: A Marvel of Imperial Rome" »

European Landscape Architecture: Culture and Design

The European School of landscape architecture, encompassing traditions like the Italian Renaissance, the French Baroque, and English quaintness, understands that landscape is composed not only of water, soil, and animals but also of the viewer's imagination.

The Landscape as a Cultural Construct

The landscape is fundamentally a cultural construct. To define and discuss landscape, several prior conditions must be met:

• Narratives: The existence of stories and myths where nature appears, providing a cultural framework for description.
• Terminology: The presence of a specific word to describe it, acknowledging that landscape is perceived through the lens of humanity.
• Representations: Supporting visual

Early 20th Century Spanish Theater Triumphs

98.el commercial theater triumphs in earlier decades. It still makes the works of Charles Arniches and Hnos. Álvarez Quintero, Madrid society idealized and Andalusian, proto defects reflect the strengths and typical of both regions.

Jacinto Benavente (Nobel Prize 1922)

His first stage involved the renovation break with the modernist tradition melodramatic, but soon gives way to success and high comedy. He manages to overcome the declamatory, grandiloquent tone with elegant language. In his work, vested interests introduce characters from Italian comedy and show a society based on a set of interests.

Miguel de Unamuno

His plays deal with symbolic existential conflict and lack of ornamentation and theatrical... Continue reading "Spanish Theater: Benavente, Unamuno, Azorín, Grau, Valle-Inclán" »

The Contemporary Spanish Novel

The Turn of the 20th Century: Historical and Cultural Context

Between 1890 and 1914, the Western world witnessed a series of profound social and cultural *changes*. This period was marked by a *crisis of the fin de siècle*, characterized by:

• Major technical and scientific progress: the first car, the invention of cinema, and more.
• Rapid industrial and urban growth.
• A *crisis of positivism and rationalism*: Humanity began to doubt that science and human reason alone sufficed to explain and understand the world.

Large *scientific or moral truths*, which had provided a sense of theoretical immovability and security, began to be questioned. As a result, *irrationalist and vitalist theories* emerged, attempting to explain... Continue reading "Spanish Contemporary Novel: 20th Century Literary Shifts" »

Understanding Visual Perception

Visual perception is the process by which an individual transforms and interprets sensory information to understand the surrounding world.

The Principle of Equilibrium

Equilibrium is a state in visual composition where elements are balanced, creating a sense of stability and rest.

Symmetry in Design

Symmetry is a type of visual equilibrium achieved through the balanced distribution of elements in a visual field. There are three main types:

• Bilateral Symmetry: The arrangement of elements is the same on both sides of an imaginary central axis.
• Radial Symmetry: Elements are arranged around a central point, which can be visible or hidden.
• Relative Symmetry (Asymmetry): Elements are arranged on both sides of an axis but are

Lesson 4 - The Press

The press pursues two main objectives: to objectively inform about current events and other information, and to interpret. There are two types:

• Informative: Its purpose is to inform about related events.
• Interpretive: Analyzes facts and values them according to different viewpoints.

Types of Structure

• Inverted Pyramid Structure: Information follows the order of relevance.
• Narrative Structure: Presents the chronological order of events.
• Dialogue Structure: The text is organized based on the speaker.

The News: Six Basic Questions

Who, what, where, when, why, and how.

The Interview

A dialogue between a character and a prestigious journalist or current figure. There are two types:

• Personality Interview: Aims to delve into the personality

Baroque Architecture
1. General Characteristics
Chronology: extends from the end of the sixteenth century until the end of the eighteenth century (the last step is called Rococo).
Sources: Renaissance Crisis
- Creative exhaustion
- The Sack of Rome (1527) and economic inflation create a sense of despondency in society.
The Italian style takes a crisis expressed in Mannerism (announcing the Baroque).
- The Counter-Reformation, led by the Council of Trent (1545-1563), where the Catholic Church traces
specific guidelines about how to perform works for the Catholic Church. The art must connect with
the faithful, dazzling and moving them; the faithful should feel that they belong to a true religion.
Formal Aspects
Alteration of classical... Continue reading "Understanding Baroque Architecture: Key Characteristics and Elements" »

Defining Catalan Modernisme

Modernisme is a cultural and artistic movement from the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries that spanned all areas of art. It is understood as the will to transform Catalan culture into a modern, national culture. Modernists believed that Catalan culture would not regain the originality it lost to Castilian patterns during the Decadence, which were also behind the rest of Europe. Therefore, they revolted against Spanish culture and the Renaixença (the Catalan Revival), especially the ideas of Romanticism, which they considered stale and conservative. They declared themselves partisans of Realism and Naturalism.

The movement represented a rupture or confrontation between the artist and society—an act of... Continue reading "Catalan Modernisme: A Cultural and Artistic Revolution" »

Mexico in the 1940s and 50s: A Nation in Transition

Mexico was undergoing significant changes after the revolution. While the country showed signs of development in population and production, the agricultural sector lagged. Land reform was delayed, increasing the marginalization of the dispossessed. The Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI) held power. Mexican intellectuals held differing views: some believed the revolution had achieved its goals, while others felt it had failed or betrayed its ideals, advocating art as a form of critical expression.

Rulfo's Narrative: Reflecting the Mexican Experience

Juan Rulfo's narrative is characterized by its portrayal of the reality of the Mexican man, his concrete and existential struggles rooted in... Continue reading "Mexico's Transformation: Rulfo's Narrative of Revolution and Rural Life" »