Notes, summaries, assignments, exams, and problems for Latin

Quattrocento Painting Characteristics

The Quattrocento painting style is characterized by:

• Naturalism and realism with a great interest in the study of human anatomy.
• Greater freedom regarding rigid Gothic schemas.
• Use of the laws of perspective with the creation of a vanishing point toward which most lines of composition converge.
• Emphasis on drawing.
• Importance of using light planes to define and unify the environment.
• Panel paintings were still used as a support with tempera as the primary technique, but in the second half of the 15th century, oil on canvas began to be used.
• Religious themes remained prevalent in churches.
• Portraiture emerged as a consequence of the bourgeoisie's desire to be immortalized by leading painters.

Leading Quattrocento

Realism

Henri Beyle (Stendhal) - The Red and the Black

Honoré de Balzac - Père Goriot

Gustave Flaubert - Madame Bovary

Charles Dickens - David Copperfield

Benito Pérez Galdós: In his works, he aimed to reproduce the society of his time, encompassing all social classes. His novels can be classified as:

Thesis: Defends an idea through a Manichaean character.

Spanish-Contemporary: Reflect a corrupt world dominated by speculation.

Spiritualist: Proposes love as a solution to social problems.

Galdós aims to reflect reality in its totality.

Parnassianism

A French literary movement of the second half of the nineteenth century. It put forward the slogan of "art for art's sake," defended Greco-Roman mythology, and advocated discipline, awareness, and balance... Continue reading "19th and 20th Century Literary Movements: Realism to the Generation of '27" »

Theme 5: Post-War Literature

Characteristics of the Post-War Era

• General impoverishment
• Political regression and uniformity
• Censorship and exile
• Breaking with literary tradition
• Isolation of Portuguese culture

Cultural Institutions in Exile

Key institutions in exile, such as those in Argentina and Uruguay, preserved Portuguese cultural and political identity. These included:

• Publishing houses
• Newspapers
• Theater groups
• Literary associations

Notable authors and works from this period include Bl Love, Esmorga, Children Should Not Fall in Love, and Castelao. The Council of São Paulo functioned as a government in exile, sponsoring works like Otero Pedrayo's History in São Paulo.

Portuguese Literature Inside the Country

Two main groups of writers emerged:

• Those

Juan Ramon Jimenez: Important Chronology of Events in His Life

• 1881: Born in Moguer (Huelva).
• 1900: Moved to Madrid "to fight for modernism," invited by Villaespesa and Ruben Dario.
• 1901: Suffered a bout of depression after the death of his father. He was admitted to a mental hospital in France.
• 1905: He moved to Moguer, still living in isolation from the world, which is reflected in his book, *Platero and I*.
• 1911: Returned to Madrid, where he stayed at the Residencia de Estudiantes.
• 1916: Married Zenobia Camprubi in New York. Published *Diary of a Newlywed*. Lived in Madrid until the beginning of the Civil War.
• 1936: Left Spain.
• 1951: Settled permanently in Puerto Rico.
• 1956: Awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature. Death of his wife.
• 1958: Died in

Santiago Cathedral: A Monument of Faith and Art

Discovery of the Tomb and Construction of the Cathedral

The Cathedral of Santiago stands as one of the most characteristic examples of pilgrimage churches. In 814, Bishop Teodomiro of Iria Flavia discovered the tomb containing the remains of the Apostle Saint James (Santiago). The construction of the present cathedral was initiated under the patronage of King Alfonso VI and Bishop Diego Pelaez, beginning in the fall of 1077, with works commencing in 1078. A series of construction campaigns followed. The first, led by Master Bernardo, lasted ten years and saw the construction of little more than the chevet. Following the removal of Bishop Pelaez, construction paused until the appointment of Diego... Continue reading "Santiago Cathedral: History and Architecture" »

Luis de Góngora

Góngora's work can be divided into traditional and Italianate minor poems, and major poems. He also wrote poems for other party elders.

Traditional Poems

• Romances: Dealing with diverse issues, these can be serious or farcical.
• Letrillas: These are compositions where the end of each verse is repeated as a refrain. The issues are often ludicrous, but religious themes are also present.

Italianate Poems

Sonnets

The theme of love, in line with Renaissance writers, appears in his sonnets. Later, sonnets with themes of disillusionment and poems of circumstance emerge.

Major Poems

• The Fable of Polyphemus and Galatea: A mythological subject told in octaves.
• Soledades (Solitudes): A long poem in four parts. It is written in silvas, and its theme

The Generation of '98

The Generation of '98 is the name traditionally given to a group of Spanish writers deeply affected by the political, social, and moral crisis in Spain following the military defeat in the Spanish-American War of 1898. The loss of Cuba, Puerto Rico, and the Philippines had a profound impact on the nation's psyche.

Key Authors

Authors who comprise this generation include:

• Miguel de Unamuno
• Pío Baroja
• Azorín
• Ramiro de Maeztu
• Antonio Machado
• Valle-Inclán

Cultural Context

The cultural scene in the early twentieth century was marked by a sense of hopelessness. Intellectuals of the late nineteenth century, led by Francisco Giner de los Ríos, founded the Institución Libre de Enseñanza (Free Institution of Education). This institution... Continue reading "The Generation of '98: A Literary Movement in Spain" »

Antonio Machado: Life, Work, and Influence

Born in Seville in 1875, Antonio Machado led a bohemian lifestyle in his youth. He traveled to Paris, where he met and married Leonor Izquierdo. Her early death left him in deep depression. Machado died in Collioure, France, in 1939. As he famously said, he was "a man (in the good sense of the word, good)."

Antonio Machado's Poetic Trajectory

His writing profoundly influenced subsequent Spanish lyric poetry. His work can be divided into three main stages:

• Intimate Modernism: His early compositions reflect a unique understanding of modernism, focusing on deep sentimental intimacy and romanticism.
• Concern for Castile and Spain: This stage is dominated by the Castilian landscape and a patriotic concern for

Great Poets of the 15th Century

Marqués de Santillana

Marqués de Santillana was the most powerful feudal lord of his era. He embodied the values and virtues that represent the courtly cult, engaging in war activities and reading classics. Of great interest is his light poetry. He excelled in grace and musicality with a refined spirit of the Renaissance. His works place him among the best poets of the 15th century.

Juan de Mena

Juan de Mena is the most important writer of high art. He is the author of Labyrinth of Fortune or The Three Hundred, a work of Dantean allegorical inspiration written in dodecasyllables.

Jorge Manrique

Jorge Manrique conjugated weapons and letters in his life. He belonged to a noble family, and his life was known only for... Continue reading "15th Century Spanish Literature: Poets and Novels" »

The Modernist Novel and the Generation of '98

The renewal of modernist aesthetics extends to the novel. Its themes are consistent with those of poetry. The idealization and stylization of reality are the basis of the Sonatas by Valle-Inclán and Platero and I by Juan Ramón Jiménez.

The Generation of '98 reacts against the "vulgar" style of realism and takes, in some cases, the thematic and ideological legacy of naturalism (Baroja) and, in others, the intellectual and enormous burden of German existentialist thought (Unamuno).

Miguel de Unamuno

His novels are existential in nature, picking up on his philosophical worldview and the author's concerns: the conflict between creator and character in Mist, the feeling of frustrated maternity in Aunt