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

The Baroque Period

Characteristics and Context

The Baroque was an artistic and cultural movement that emerged in the 17th century. In contrast to the harmony and simplicity of the Renaissance, the Baroque period is notable for its contrast, exaggeration, complexity, and disillusionment.

Historical Context in Spain

Spain had lost its hegemony in the world. After Philip II, the reigns of Philip III, Philip IV, and Charles II led Spain to total ruin. These kings appointed various validos (favorites) to administer the money, which led to extreme poverty among the populace.

Baroque Literature

The socio-historical context fostered profound disappointment and pessimism. Hence, literature abandoned simplicity and became complex and challenging.

Literary Concepts

• Polysemic

Roussillon (Northern Catalonia)

• Absence of words with stress on the antepenultimate syllable (esdrúixols).
• Endings in the first-person present tense, the preterit, the imperfect indicative, and the conditional: canto (I sing), regava (I watered), regava (I watered).
• Use of the verb "to be" as an auxiliary verb for verbs of motion: sempre he anat (I have always gone).
• Use of Occitanisms, Gallicisms, Welsh words, and exclusive words like nugues (new).
• Negation with the particle pas: pas sense (not without).

Alghero (Alghero, Sardinia)

• Confusion of "l" and "d" with "r".
• Lack of desinence in the first-person present indicative: canto (I sing).
• Use of archaisms, Sardisms, and Italianisms.

Central Catalan

• Tonic vowel system consisting of 7 sounds and 3 atonic

Renaissance Art

Origin: Florence, Italy.

Renaissance: The rebirth of arts, beliefs, politics, and education in the context of Greco-Roman antiquity.

Causes of the Renaissance Origin

• Emergence of Greco-Roman sages.
• Religious coldness.
• Conscience to assert itself in the artist (artist's name in paintings).
• Environment that exists in classical Italian history.
• Invention of printing and paper use.

Renaissance Periods: 15th and 16th centuries.

General Characteristics

• Rational thought (It starts to think) takes on importance in the artist.
• Naturalism (works with natural appearance).
• Monumentality.
• Expressive dynamics.

Architecture

• Domes on scallops are replaced by flat domes.
• Pointed arches are replaced by round arches.

Materials: White marble, brick.

16th Century

Martyrdom of St. Philip

Artist: José de Ribera

This work depicts the martyrdom of St. Philip. The composition is vertically oriented with horizontal planes. Light falls directly onto St. Philip and his executioners. St. Philip's body displays anatomical detail. His serene face and strained muscles add realism to the image. The piece showcases Ribera's study of light and shadow and his naturalistic style.

Still Life

Artist: Francisco de Zurbarán

This still life emphasizes the quality of the objects, highlighting the textures of fabrics, ceramics, clay, glass, and metal against a dark, matte background. The tenebrist style uses direct light on the objects, creating a strong contrast of light and shadow. The drawing is precise, and the composition... Continue reading "17th-Century Spanish Pictorial Works" »

What is home? - Kaj je dom?

• A roof and four walls - Streha in štirje zidovi
• A shelter where you can hide from the outside world - Zavetje, kjer se lahko skriješ pred zunanjim svetom
• A place where you go after school - Prostor, kamor greš po šoli
• A place where you can daydream - Prostor, kjer lahko sanjariš
• A place where you feel safe, warm, relaxed, loved, needed, respected - Prostor, kjer se počutiš toplo, varno, spočito, ljubljeno...

Roles - Vloge

• Breadwinner - Tisti, ki največ zasluži in ima tapravo službo
• Head of the family - Glava družine
• The Strength - Tisti, ki se odloča, kako in kaj
• The Love - Tisti, ki ohranja družino, da se ne bi kregali, da se imajo radi
• Careerist - Uspešen z vsemi možnimi sredstvi - tisti, ki mu je mar samo

Goya's Tapestry Cartoons: A Glimpse into Spanish Life

Vendimia (The Grape Harvest)

This piece, created during the last third of the 18th century, showcases Goya's work for the Royal Tapestry Factory. It depicts a bourgeois family, likely landowners, observing their employees during the grape harvest (vendimia). The graceful brushstrokes capture the customs of the time, with the figures elegantly dressed.

The Parasol

Also from the late 18th century, this cartoon captures a scene in the Madrid countryside. Goya's graceful brushwork is evident, creating a sense of movement, perhaps even wind.

Children in the Field

This piece, dating to the last third of the 18th century, belongs to the tapestry factory stage of Goya's career. It showcases the grace... Continue reading "Goya's Tapestry Cartoons: Unveiling Spanish Neoclassical Art" »

The Renaissance: Golden Age of Spanish Literature

16th (Renaissance) and 17th (Baroque) Centuries

This period is known as the Golden Age because some of the most important authors and works of literature in Castilian Spanish arose during this time.

The Renaissance was a cultural current that revived Greco-Roman classical culture, drawing from the ideas of humanism. It brought about a profound change in the worldview of the time. Originating in Italy during the 14th and 15th centuries, it reached its peak in Europe during the 16th century.

Garcilaso de la Vega: Renaissance Lyric Poetry

Garcilaso de la Vega was a noble warrior and a refined, cultured man who channeled his love for a court lady into poetry.

Garcilaso used hendecasyllables (11-syllable... Continue reading "Spanish Golden Age: Renaissance Literary Masterpieces" »

Three Nudes in the Woods by Joaquim Sunyer: A Noucentisme Analysis

Chronology

First quarter of the 20th century.

Mancomunitat of Catalonia

It was the union of Catalonia. Enric Prat de la Riba was elected the first president. The Mancomunitat promoted educational and cultural works.

Style of the Author

Sunyer was a key figure in Noucentisme, a movement that ran parallel to Modernisme and advocated for change. Eugeni d'Ors was the major theorist of this movement. Noucentisme was a movement with its own angles. It was a movement of change from Modernisme but not a complete break.

This movement was driven by the Mancomunitat, specifically during the presidency of Enric Prat de la Riba. Noucentisme shared some ideological points with Modernisme, such as:... Continue reading "Joaquim Sunyer's Three Nudes in the Woods: A Noucentisme Masterpiece" »

Informalism

Informalism (1945), assertion of individual viewers through the unconscious and instinctive person. Artists like Gorky, Wols, Chillida, and Giacometti. Related movements include Art Brut, Tachisme, and Cobra, all based on emotional or expressive instinct.

Abstract Expressionism

Abstract Expressionism emerged from Naturalism (1941-45), the Second World War, and 1945 expressed abstraction. Roosevelt's New Deal established the Federal Art Project (FAB), promoting naturalism, realism, illusionism, vernacular tradition, and traditionalism. Mexican Muralists contributed with expressive realism and revolutionary art.

Key figures: Pollock, Rothko, Newman. The Artists' Union attacked the cultural monopoly. Rothko, Newman, and Pollock claimed... Continue reading "Art Movements: From Informalism to Postmodernism" »

Catalan Poetry: A Selection of Key Works

This selection highlights significant Catalan poets and their works, spanning several centuries and exploring diverse themes.

William de Castelldefels (12th Century)

Cançonetes Flat: This troubadour's work focuses on the physical defects, alleged homosexuality, and moral vices of his enemy.

Anselm Turmeda (14th-15th Century)

Praise of Money: A satirical piece exploring the triumph of money in society, a common theme in medieval literature.

George St. George (15th Century)

Prisoner: This poem connects to the enemy army in Naples, where many Catalan and Aragonese knights, including St. George, were held as prisoners.

Ausias March (15th Century)

As Well as Cell Who Is Near Death: Depicts love as a dangerous journey.... Continue reading "Catalan Poetry Anthology: Key Authors and Themes" »