29th of November of 2013

Hi everybody!
Today Paqui has started the class saying when we have to give her the notebooks. Then we have remembered the things we did last day and we have checked the scheme we had for homework. We have started with Voltaire and wth his phrase "I don't agree you, but I will defend you right express your opinion in any circunstance".

Voltaire

After we have told about Montesquieu: he defended the division of powers (lesgilative, ejecutive and judicial). 

Montesquieu

We have talk about the importance of the division of powers for people. We have finished with the Swiss philosopher Rosseau who defended the institutions that protected the people's rights to hadn't a caothic situation the State Government. 

Jean Jacques Rosseau

He also defended the Social contract and the General Will, that was a will that also defended that people had all the powers. Afterwords we have seen the economic thinking that comprends the phisiocracy. The physiocrats considered agriculture was th main economic activity. The Enlightened Depotism people like Catherine II of Russia,, Frderic II of Prussia or Charles III who introduced reforms in their kingdoms with a paternalist attitude.

When we have finished with this point we have started the new point of the unit, The Independence of the 13 states of North America and the creation of the USA. Then Paqui has said tat it is a typical question for the history exam. 

The Independence of the Thirteen colonies of USA

We have done a table with the following points: previous system, causes development and consequences, to know better this part of the history. We have to complete it for the next Monday. At the end of the class Paqui has done a map with different territories in this moment.

The words we have added to the glossary are:

-Freedom of speech: libertad de expresión 

-To avoid: evitar, impedir

-To cede: ceder

-Social Contract: Contraro Social 

-Hypothetical agreement: hipotético supuesto pacto

-Committment: compromiso

-In jail/ prison: en la cárcel 

-Physiocracy: fisiocracia 

-Free trade: libertad de comercio 

-Paternalist: paternalismo

-Depotism Enlightened: Despotismo Ilustrado

-To aware for: Ser consciente de

 See you as earliest as possible!

 Luis 

A video about Montesquieu's separation of powers

This is a short video that explains the concept of separation of powers developed by Montesquieu and his influence on the USA Constitution. 

 

Some schemes about the social contract

 Rousseau's Social Contract

Source: http://www.memo.fr/en/article.aspx?ID=JJR_OEU_004

The social contract was one of Jean Jacques Rousseau's most spread ideas and the title of one of the books he wrote. But many of the ideas of the enlightened philiosophers had originated in the 17th century. John Locke was one of the most influential thinkers in the development of the political ideas of several enlightened philosophers. Rousseau's idea of the social contract had been also explained by Locke. Here you have a scheme based on Locke's ideas which summarizes this concept. 

And this is another scheme that includes what will happen if the government/ State doesn't carry out its part of the "contract": people will have the right to replace or overthrow the government: 

The source of both images is the following: 

http://www.democracychronicles.com/new-social-contract-conservative-remolding-of-democratic-world/

Prints from the Encyclopedia and a recent exhibition

Here you have a beautiful video about the original edition of the Encycopledia. It includes prints with drawings to explain the different concepts included in this magnificient work. 150 people worked under Denis Diderot and Jean Rond D' Alembert's direction and among them there were illustrious enlightened philosophers, such as Montesquieu or Rousseau. In my opinion the Encyclopedia was one of the best ideas in the history of humanity.

There has been a recent exhibition about Diderot and the Encyclopedia in Valencia. Here you have some links with extra information about it:  

http://ccaa.elpais.com/ccaa/2013/11/12/valencia/1384283792_032775.html

http://www.uv.es/uvweb/universitat/es/agenda-uv/enciclopedies-segle-xviii-esperit-il-lustracio-1285851282125/Esdeveniment.html?id=1285894808601

http://www.demaravilla.com/valencia-conmemora-enciclopedias-denis-diderot-wikipedia/

http://www.uv.es/culturaweb/claustreobert/claustreobertdiderot.pdf

Hi everybody!

Today in the class of Social Sciences Paqui has started the class asking us about some videos of the blog about the Enlightenment because they can help us with the American or British accent. This videos explain some features about the Enlightenment. 

Then we have started correcting the scheme about the features of Enlightenment:

• Absolute faith in Reason, as the best way to understand the world.
• Rejection of everything that couldn't be explained through Reason: the authority principle, superstitions, traditions... The authority principle was based on respecting the authority of people because someone has told you that you have to respect it. Some of these traditions were inhuman and so violent.
• Optimism and trust in progress. People thought that future will be better than present.
• Knowledge as the basis of happiness. Ignorant people could't be happy, they could seem happy but in fact it was different. This depends on the idea of happiness of everyone and on expectations. In conclusion, individual happiness is not colective happiness.
• Trust in education considered to be the best way to improve the living conditions of the people. The idea of educating people came from Enlightenment because the countries needed educated people.
• Religious tolerance: no religion was superior to another and Reason was enough to establish a morality code to determine how to behave. People had to respect the religions, no religion was better and people who didn't want to choose a religion had to follow some morality sules. These were rules of behavior that you follow in a society. 
• Criticism of absolutism and the estates society and defense of freedom and equality of all the human beings.
• Etilist movement reserved to educated people.

Immanuel Kant "Dare to know"was one of the most important philosophers of Enlightenment

Source: http://www.bbaw.de/en/research/kant_II

After Paqui has explained some things about the Encyclopedia: It was another way of transmission. This  was a project of two French philosophers: Denis Diderot and Jean Rond D'Alambert.

People compiled all knowledge of their time in one book and they asked the main scientists and philosophers to write articles for their project.

Encyclopedia means "circular knowledge or learning". At first people wanted to compile Knowledge and it appeared  during the Roman Empire by Pliny the Elder with Historia Naturalis.In the 7th century Saint Isidore of Seville, a bishop of the Visigothic Kingdom and wiseman, wrote the Etymologiae. The Chinese also wrote their own encyclopedic book in the 15th century called Yongle Encyclopedia. Finally a thrird copy was made ordered by the Chinese Emperor.

In 1728 a British publisher, edited Cyclopedia: An Universal Dictionary of Arts and Sciences. This book was the precedent of the French Encyclopedia. a French publisher, wanted to translate the Cyclopedia but he completely changed the original project, because they asked different scientists and thinkers of their time to write articles about very different topics.The Encyclopedia was very popular and original. Diderot wrote on the Encyclopedia his main objective, which was "to change the way people think". That´s why the Encyclopedia has been considered one of the Enlightenment capital books, where the use of Reason was better expressed. The most important philosophers wrote articles in the Encyclopedia (Rousseau, Voltaire and Montesquieu).

Source: http://www.bookine.net/diderotbiographie.htm

Then we have started the sheme about The Enlightened thinking and Paqui has told us that we have to do it for homework.

During the class we have also copied some words and expressions:

To trust- confiar

Trust- confianza

Trust me!- Confía en mí 

To damage/hurt- dañar

Dare to know-atrévete a saber

Quote- cita

To dare- atreverse, osar

How you dare...?- ¿Cómo te atreves a...?

Wiseman- sabio

Updated- actualizado

Commitment- compromiso

To commit- comprometerse.

See you!

Some videos about Enlightenment

These are two very interesting videos about the Age of Reason.

- The first one gives a good definition of Enlightenemt and focused on the precedents, mainly the 17th century Scientific Revolution. It talks about Rationalism and Empiricism, the main scientists and their discoveries and the last minutes explain the main ideas of some enlightened philosophers. The video includes a final test to check if you have understood the basic information. 

- The second video comes from the University of Nottingham. Some experts explain the meaning of Enlightenment

Monday 25th November 2013

Hello classmates!
Today in the Social Science class, Paqui has started with the correction of the scheme that she sent us for homework. The scheme is about Ancien Régime:
Definition: Expression used by the French revolutionaries to describe all they wanted to destroy. On the other hand, they wanted to establish: a Representative government, elected by the citizens, a society based on equality of all the citizens, without privileges, a productive economy, where those who had initiate could make business without limitations
Main Features:
Politics: Absolute Monarchy was the predominant political system. Theoretically, the king held all the power, power which was supposed to come from God, so they were considered to be untouchable.
Economy: The main economic activity was subsistence agriculture, based on the three-year system of crop rotation, leaving one part fallow. Yield was low, there were no specialized crops and production was mainly destined to self-consumption. Most of the land was owned by the privileged (nobles and clergy). Peasants were the majority of the population. They worked the lords' lands and had to pay high taxes
Society: It was based on inequality and divided into estates, closed social groups to which one belonged from birth. Social promotion was almost impossible. There were two groups of people:
             · Privileged;They  were the nobles and the clergy who owned the majority, they didn't pay taxes and held the most important posts in the kingdoms.
                             · Nobles: They lived from the incomes their lands produced and could charge taxes to peasants.
                             · Clergy: They also lived from the incomes of their lands and charged the tithe as well. However, there were differences in this group: The high clergy shared lifestyle with the nobles, while the low clergy lived with modesty
               · Underprivileged: They were the Third Estate. They were the majority of the population (around 90-95%). This was a very diverse group, although they shared some common features: they worked to survive, had to pay taxes and were excluded from power and decision centers. The different groups of the Third Estate were:
                · Bourgeoisie: They were big merchants, bankers, master craftsmen, lawyers, doctors, teachers...Although some of them were rich, they were excluded from politics. That's why they wanted to get more power and social prestige.
               · Workers: Small craftsmen, servants, manufacture workers, soldiers and so on. They lived and worked in the cities
                · Peasants: They were the majority of the population (around 80%). Their life was hard: they worked for the privileged and had to pay taxes and rents to cultivate the lands of the privileged.

Source; http://xsasqsr.blogspot.com.es/2012/12/preguntas-de-la-edad-media.html

Changes in the 18th century
 There were less wars, less big epidemics, new crops were introduced (corn and potato) and mortality decreased. Population grew considerably in Europe.
The population increase it led to a bigger demand for all type of products. Prices increase it and this stimulated producers to produce more and increase their profits. Economic activities developed. Monarchies protected trade companies, continued to create manufactures and promoted agricultural reforms. Trade increased, especially colonial trade. Triangular trade, based on slaves' traffic, continued to be a profitable business
Later we have done exercise 3: Enlightenment
 Paqui has written many things about point 3 on the blackboard
15-16th century: Humanism: focus on human beings
17th century: Scientific Revolutions: Empiricism(experience to learn), Rationalism (doubt and reason to learn)
18th century: Enlightenment: Reason: as the base of knowledge and change of the world
And them, Paqui has explained this point with the power point that Beatriz included in her journal, and  then se has given us the scheme of Enlightenment as homerwork.
Today in this class, we have also  learnt some new words:
Yield- rendimiento
To graze- pastar
Fate- destino, sino (future)
Destination- destino (place where you arrive)
Average- medio
To question- cuestionar
Enlightened philosopher- ilustrado, filósofo ilustrado
Guarantor- garante
To guarantee- garantizar
Precedent- antecedente
 And finally, the bell has rung and we have gone to the next class!

That's all, See you!!

Some pyramids and cartoons to represent the Ancien Régime society

These are some pyramids that show the social situation of the Ancien Régime very well. They are in French, because they refer to the place where the Ancien Régime was defined, but I'm sure you can easily understand them: 

Source: http://apprentis-site.webege.com/Hist.php

Source: http://juliendaget.perso.sfr.fr/Clem/4020c_societe.html

Source: http://flodoard894.free.fr/

Source: http://edwige.roland.pagesperso-orange.fr/quatrieme/louisxiv/societe.html

And these are some Frech drawings which reflect the situation of the Third Estate, submitted to the privileged estates: 

This is not going to last forever

Source: http://geoffreyhistoire.pagesperso-orange.fr/organisationsociete.html

We have to wait that the game ends soon

Sources:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Troisordres.jpg

http://collection.waddesdon.org.uk/search.do;jsessionid=D-PUx6qm3TVFmPb7U0RhxfyQ.undefined?id=42711&db=object&page=1&view=detail

Hello classmates!
Today in the Social Sciences class all the classmates were very nervous for the note of the exam! First we have copied the points of the next Unit:
UNIT 2: THE 18th CENTURY: CRISIS OF THE ANCIENT RÉGIME AND THE BORBOUNS IN SPAIN.
1. Introduction
2. The Ancien Régime and changes in the 18th century
3. Enlightment and Enlightened Despotism
4. Independence of the 13 colonies of North America and the creation of the USA
5. The 18th century in Spain
A) The war of Spanish Succesion
B) The first Bourbons
a) Centralist Absolutism: Philip V and Ferdinand VI
b) Enlightened Despotism. Charles III
Then Paqui has asked for the date of the next exam, we could choose between 10th or 13th, I prefer the 10th but finally the exam is on 13th of December. After this, Paqui has written the first point of the unit:
1. Introduction: Period of transition: most of the features of the Modern Era remined, but some changes anticipated the big transformation of the Contemporary Age.
Then Paqui has written a scheme to complete the point 2 of the Unit: The Ancien Régime and changes in the 18th century. We have to write definition, main features and the changes of the 18th century.
Definition. Was a term used by the French revolutionaries to define all they wanted to get rid off. This expression is used to explain the feautures of the European societis during the Modern Age (15th-18th centuries)
Main features.
-Predominant political system (Absolute Monarchy)
-Estate based society
-Limited and subsistence economy: main economy activity agriculture
-Ancien Régime dermography
For home, we have to complete the main features and the changes in the 18th century with page 5 of the book. Paqui has explained three pages of the power point presentation of this Unit, about the Ancien Régime, what they wanted to establish, and the main fatures and society. She also has explained the caricature of the second page and she has copied a pyramid with the society and its estates. Here you have the power point presentation:

At the end of the class she has given us the exams, in general the marks were good, but I had some silly mistakes because I didn`t pay attention to the questions and I confused the definitions of the exercice one, I was very nervous!! But I am happy with my mark. The exam was easy and a little long.
Finally the words of the glossary of today are:
Enlightement: Ilustración
Lower case letter: Minúscula
Interior customes: Aduanas interiores
Gates: Puertas
Estate: Estamento

Happy weekend Paqui, Cristina and classmates! See you soon :)

Tuesday 19th November 2013

   Hello everybody!

   I'm so lucky to do the journal today. Hahaha.
   Well, today in the Social Sciences class, we have taken the exam: it consisted of 6 questions:
  -The first question said that we had to choose four of the eight words and explain them.
  -In the second question we had  to explain all that we knew about the absolute monarchy.
  -The third one has been very long, because we have had to explain all about the differences between the  Renaissance and  Baroque art: chronology, the features...
  -The next question has been very long too; it said that we had to choose between Charles I and Philip II  and explain all that we knew: heritage, problems in their kingdoms...
  -The fifth question was a list of events and we had to write if they ocurred during Philip III's reign, Philip IV's reign,  Charles II's reign or during the English Revolutions
  -In the last question, we had to explain the painting of The Meninas (but the real name is Philip IV's family):  who was the painter and the features of the painting.

Source: http://taolongeytancerca.blogspot.com.es/2011/05/las-meninas-de-velazquez-as-meninas-de.html

My opinion: the exam has been easy but a bit long. For me, the worses question have been the third and the sixth. I think that my mark in the exam will be between the 8 and 8,5; I hope that all of you will get the same mark as me.

 Meanwhile we were doing the exam, Paqui has told to María Sánchez to sit properly and a few seconds later, María has hit her head with the collage of the relief of the Iberian Peninsula.
 And another thing is that we haven't written any word in the glossary.
  That's all, See you!
   Guillermo.

Monday 18th November 2013

Hy classmates!

Today in the Social Sciences class Paqui has asked if we had brought the book of 4º ESO and she has sayed that we have to bring it next Friday.
Then she has showed us some publications that she had posted previously on the blog. She has explained us the "Pentimenti": Velázquez wanted to make perfect paintings, so he retouched his paintings many times and we can discovered this because as time goes by, the oil mixed with linseed oxidizes and parts of the painting covered by the painter become visible and we can observe what the creative process of the painter was like. Paqui has showed us some examples about pentimenti:

-Jester Calabacillas: We can observe that the form of the pumpin has changed.

Source: http://0.tqn.com/d/arte/1/0/I/3/-/-/Velazquez-bufon-calabacillas.jpg
(Paqui's publication)
-Don Diego de Acedo : We can observe that there are some black spins due to that Velázquez cleaned the brush in the background of the painting.


Source: (Paqui's publication)
-Philip IV on horseback: We can see that the position of the legs of the horse has been retouched and actually we can see 6 legs.




Later, Paqui has showed us the publication about " The Spinners" . In this painting we can observe that the nain scene is in the background in the tapestry , where it's represented The  Fable of Arachne ( Athena is punishing Arachne).



Source: Paqui's publication.

 Afterwards she has showed us a web where you can see the painting "Las Meninas" in 3D. It's very interesting and you can see the king with the queen behind the scene and they are reflected in a mirror. In the painting appears the Infant Margarita and its atendants, two jesters, the nun, some tutors and a nobleman opening the door. Velázquez retouched this painting after to paint  the cross on his chest.


Source: Maria's publication.

Then we have reviewed some of the contents for tomorrow ( terrible exam!!):
Paqui has asked us about the reigns of Philip IV and Philip III ( internal problems and problems in Europe ). We have reviewed also the absolute monarchy with Louis XIV , the English Revolutions, the reigns of Charles I , Philip II and Diego Velázquez (beginnings in Seville, he met Rubens, he travelled twice to Italy..)
Paqui has recommended us to read Alatriste's books , Alatriste died in the Battle of Rocroi(1643) where the Spanish army was defeated by the French Army. He also has recommended us to watch the film: Letters from Iwojima where many soldiers died ( 40,000). Finally Paqui has asked us some artists of Renaissance and Baroque Art and we have had to say some works about these artists.
For me the most difficult thing is the art (Renaissance and Baroque art , also in the Hispanic Kingdom) because there are a lot of artists and works. We haven't reviewed the demography, society and economy in the 17th century , the colonization , administration and conquest of the Indies, the Baroque art in the Hispanic Kingdom , the Scientific Revolution...

Here you have a video about the Battle of Rocroi (Alatriste's film):


 

We have also learned some new words:
-stain: mancha
-linseed: linaza
-oil: óleo
-to oxidize: oxidarse
-Athena: Atenea
-Truce: Tregua
Finally the bell has rung and we have gone out!

The figures in The Meninas and Dorset's version

Here you have the names of all the figures who appear in The Meninas: 

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Velazquez-Meninas-key3.jpg

The apparent centre of the painting is (1) Infanta Margarita Teresa, five- year old at the moment. She his attendent by two ladies-in-waiting or meninas, Doña Isabel de Velasco (2) and Doña Agustina Sarmiento de Sotomayor (3). This one is kneeling before Margarita and offering her a drink. To the right, there are two dwarfs, who acted as jesters: Maribarbola (4) and Nicolás Pertusato (5), who is bothering the dog. Behind this group, Doña Marcela de Ulloa (6), Margarita's chaperone and a guardadamas or bodyguard (7), who hasn´t been identified. In the background, to the right, the man in the doorway is José Nieto Velázquez (8), the queen's chamberlain and head of the royal tapestry works. One of his tasks was opening and closing the doors to the monarchs. Velázquez (9) portrayed himself in his workshop and retouched his chest some years later, when he was accepted as member or the Order of Santiago. Finally, the mirror in the background reflects the figures of Philip IV (10) and his wife Queen Mariana of Austria. 

There is a smaller version of The Meninas in the United Kingdom, preserved in the country house of Kingston Lacy, in Dorset. Its colours are lighter, the light is less strong, the monarchs are noy reflected in the mirror and there are pencil lines in the Infanta's face

Source: http://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2013/oct/02/velazquez-las-meninas-pradio-museu-madrid

This painting was supposed to be a copy of the original one. But last October, professor Matías Díaz Padrón, former curator of El Prado Museum, affirmed that this painting might have been a model painted by Velázquez before finishing the big one, maybe to show the king the definitive version. However, there is no agreement about this. Other experts say that the Dorset version was painted later, because it reflects the definitive version and not the retouches made by Velázquez. Another opinion says that this version was painted by Juan Bautista Martínez del Mazo, Velázquez's son-in-law. 

If you want to read more about these other Meninas, here you have an article from The Guardian:

http://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2013/oct/02/velazquez-las-meninas-pradio-museu-madrid

The Meninas in 3D

If you click on the painting, you will see a 3D recreation of Velázquez's most famous painting: 

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Something more about The Fable of Arachne

Source: http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Velazquez-las_hilanderas.jpg

As we've been studying this week, Veláquez liked complex compositions and he used to represent the nain scene in the background and a secondary scene in the foreground. So he did in The Fable of Arachne, also known as The Spinners: the scene in the background refers to Arachne's myth and the scene in the foreground represents a workshop, where some spinners are working, but things are still more complex. Here you have a more detailed explanation of the painting: 

The whole scene appears to happen in the workshop of the Royal Factory of Tapestry of Santa Isabel, where some spinners are working and some others are visiting the factory and observing a tapestry, where the myth of Arachne is represented. But this is what Velázquez painted: 

- The main scene is in the background, where we can see Athena, with her helmet, punishing Arachne. This one was a young girl from Lydia, very skilled in the art of weaving, who defied Athena to a contest. Arachne wove a tapestry representing the rape of the nymph Europa by Zeus, Athena's father. Zeus transformed himself into a bull to possess Europa. Athena became very angry with Arachne's audacity and punished her, transforming her into a spider, and sentencing her to weave forever. On the painting we can see Athena punishing Arachne. The two women are not clients, but the two Lydians who witnessed the moment. The tapestry in the background is a copy of  The Rape of Europa, by Rubens, who had copied it from Titian

The Rape of Europa, by Rubens (1629)

Source: http://www.museodelprado.es/coleccion/galeria-on-line/galeria-on-line/obra/el-rapto-de-europa-2/

 The Rape of Europa, by Titian (1562)

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Europa_(mythology)

- The scene in the foreground also belongs to the myth: it represents the moment of the contest. Athena is the woman who is spinning at the wheel and Arachne is the young lady who is winding the wool. We can observe a pentimento in the head of the young girl to the right. 

Scholars think that with this painting Velázquez wanted to prove the nobility of painting and he also wanted to show how skilled he was, comparing his painting with masters like Titian and Rubens. 

This painting was painted for Pedro de Arce, the royal huntsman, and suffered damage during the fire in the Alcázar in 1734. Some parts were burnt and the painting had to be reduced in height and width. The painting we can admire now is smaller than the original one. 

More about pentimenti

As we studied yesterday, Velázquez used to retouch his paintings many times. As he was the court painter, he had constant access to the paintings he had painted for the Crown and this allowed him correct what he didn't like or what he wanted to improve. As Ángela has explained on her journal, as time goes by, the oil mixed with linseed oxidizes and parts of the painting covered by the painter become visible and we can observe what the creative process of the painter was like. Here you have some more examples of Velázquez's pentimenti: 

-  Jester Calabacillas: the pumpkin on the right has moved in the definitive version

Source: http://0.tqn.com/d/arte/1/0/I/3/-/-/Velazquez-bufon-calabacillas.jpg

- King Philip IV: Many changes were made on this painting: the hat, the cloak and the right hand of the king have a different position with respect to the original one. 

Source: http://www.frick.org/sites/default/files/archivedsite/exhibitions/velazquez/conservation.htm

- Philip IV Hunter: the legs of the king and the harquebus had a different position originally:  

Philip IV Hunter

Source: http://www.foroxerbar.com/viewtopic.php?t=3779

- On Don Diego de Acedo, El Primo' s portrait, we can observe that while Velázquez was working on this canvas, he cleaned the brush in the background. Later, he covered the  background with a layer of grey colour, but now the dark lines are visible. 

Don Diego de Acedo, el Primo

Source: http://es.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Archivo:Retrato_del_buf%C3%B3n_don_Diego_de_Acedo,_el_Primo,_by_Diego_Vel%C3%A1zquez.jpg

If you want to learn more about pentimenti, here you have some additional links: 

http://www.wga.hu/frames-e.html?/html/v/velazque/09/0901vela.html

http://100swallows.wordpress.com/2009/09/04/velasquezs-pentimenti/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pentimento

Friday 15th November, 2013.

Hello everybody!
Today in class of Social Sciences we have done several things. At the beginning of the class, Cristina has told us that there will be a meeting on Tuesday to talk about the trip to London and then, she has gone out.
Later, Paqui has remembered us that last day we were talking about "The fable of Arachne or the spinners", a mythological painting made by Velázquez based on the myth of Arachne. Then, she has continued explaining us one of the main features of the paintings of  Diego de Silva y Velázquez: he painted and repainted his paintings many times. This is called pentimento (plural pentimenti): is an alteration in a painting, evidenced by traces of previous work, showing that the artist has changed his or her mind as to the composition during the process of painting. As time passes linseed oil oxidizes, its chemical structure is degraded and the color is less opaque and reveals the underlying layer. For example, you can watch the pentimento in portrait of Philip IV on horseback from the Prado Museum: we can see in the profile of the face of the king, in his moustache, in hat feathers, on the hind legs of the horse...
More information (in spanish, because I can't find it in English): http://www.luzrasante.com/el-caballo-de-seis-patas-sobre-los-arrepentimientos/


Source: http://www.artsunlight.com/artist-NV/N-V0003-Diego-Velozquez-Rodriguez-de-Silva-y/N-V0003-142-equestrian-portrait-of-philip-iv-philip-iv-on-horseback.html

Next, we have done a scheme of the last unit contents (you can find this information on page 105 of the book):
Scientific Revolution (17th century): Extraordinary development of science and thinking in the 17th century as a result of the secularization process started with Humanism. It was based on new ways of reaching knowledge:

• Empiricism: method of knowledge based on experience: observing nature, formulating hyphoteses, testing them and writing a theory. Every scientist uses this method now. Scientific discoveries reached through this method: the ones made by Galileo, Copernicus, Kepler, Newton.

• Rationalism: method of knowledge based on the use of reason to learn. It was started by the philosopher René Descartes, who said: "I think, therefore I am" (Pienso, luego existo). Doubt was basic for him to start learning.

After copying the scheme, Paqui has explained it to us. We have talked about the Higgs Boson particle: an elementary particle initially theorised in 1964 and tentatively confirmed to exist on 14 March 2013. The discovery has been called "monumental" because it appears to confirm the existence of the Higgs field, which is pivotal to the Standard Modeland other theories within particle physics.

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:CMS_Higgs-event.jpg

After the explanation, many people in the class have asked to Paqui if we can do the exam on Tuesday instead of  Monday, because we have a lot of notes and we won't have much time to study. First Paqui hasn't changed the exam because Luis hasn't been agree with this, but later all the class have supported the change, so the exam will be on Tuesday. Paqui has adviced us that she has more classes and she won't change more exams.

At the end of the class, she has sent us for homework to look for ten possible questions in the exam of the unit 1. I have written these questions in my notebook:

1. Explain the main features of Renaissance Art and differentiates between architecture, sculpture and painting.

2. Explain the economy or society in the 17th century.

3. Explain all you know about the English Revolution (1648-1688).

4. Explain the architecture, sculpture and painting of Baroque art.

5. Write the problems in the Empire during the rule of Charles I.

6. Write the Policy Objetives during the rule of Philip II.

7. Definition of conquest, colonization and administration of the indies.

8. Write all you know about Philip III or Philip IV.

9. Write all you know about Charles II.

10. Definition of validos and Augsburg Peace.

Finally, we have copied some vocabulary: 

-To oxide: oxidar.

-Pentimento (repentment) : arrepentimiento (correction made on a painting by a painter which has become visible later).

-Theory: teoría.

-Doubt: duda.

-Swallow: tragar.

Have a nice weekend, see you on Monday! 

Tuesday, November 12, 2013

Hello everyone!

Today in class of Social Sciences, Paqui has continued to explain us the painting of Velázquez. Diego de Silva y Velázquez was the best painter of his generation in the Hispanic Monarchy. His beginnings were in Seville. Recommended by the Count Duke of Olivares, he moved to the court and started painting for the royal familiy. He met Rubens and could observe the royal collections (paintings bought by the monarchs). Rubens recommended him to visit Italy, and Velázquez accepted the advice. He travelled twice to Italy, where he drew inspiration from the Renaissance masters, such as Leonardo Da Vinci, and Caravaggio. During his whole life, he fought to be recognized as an artist and not only as a simple craftsman.

Velázquez painted a lot of paintings. The most important ones are:

-Christ in the house of Mary and Martha
 

-The Waterseller of Seville: In this period people didn't have water in their houses and the watersellers sold it to people. This profession has disappeared and nowadays, it doesn't exist.

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Waterseller_of_Seville_(Vel%C3%A1zquez)
 

-Old Woman Cooking Eggs: In this period, people cooked in the streets. Nowadays, in Europe we have lost this tradition, but in some places of the world, like China, people continued to cook in the streets.

Source: http://www.artelista.com/ypobra.php?o=9991

Velázquez painted many portraits, such as these ones:
-Luis de Góngora.

-Count Duke of Olivares

-Philip IV
 

-The Triumph of Bacchus or the Drunks: In the Hispanic Monarchy, it was very strange that an artist painted mythological paintings, because the main theme was religion, especially Catholic religion, but Velázquez painted some mythological paintings as a consequence of Titian and Rubens'influence. The Triumph of Bacchus was made before his first trip to Italy

Source: http://johnroyparrott.wordpress.com/2011/10/12/the-triumph-of-bacchus-velasquez/
 

-Apollo in the Forge of Vulcan: This is a mythological painting based on this myth: Apollo went to the forge of Vulcan (Hephaestus) to inform him about the infidelity of his wife, Venus (Aphrodite) with the god of war, Mars (Ares) . In the painting, Vulcan's face expresses the surprise and consternation with the announcement.

Source:http://sindromedestendhal.wordpress.com/2008/01/08/la-fragua-de-vulcano/

-Joseph's tunic.
 

-Christ on the cross: This painting was a commission by Philip IV. He gave this present to a convent, because he raped a nun and that's why the nuns were angry and scandalized. The affair didn't become public, because it was silenced with the present of this painting, also considered to be a penance for the king's sin.

Source: http://www.trinitychurchashland.org/metaphors-galore/christ-on-the-cross-by-diego-velazquez-1632-2/
 

-Jesters: Jesters were a way of entertainment for the royalty, but Velázquez painted them in a very respectful way.

-The Surrender of Breda (1634-1635): In this painting, Velázquez wanted to capture that the winners of the battle respected the losers. This painting was conceived by Velázquez as an allegory of the nobility or gentlemanlyness of the Hispanic military.

Source: http://historiayarte.wordpress.com/2010/03/16/la-rendicion-de-breda-velazquez-y-la-fiel-infanteria-de-perez-reverte/

-Equestrian portrait of the Count-Duke of Olivares: The Count-Duke of Olivares was painted in a very powerful position.

-Philip IV as hunter.

-Equestrian portraits of Philip III and Margaret of Austria.

-Prince Baltasar Carlos on horseback.

-Venus at her mirror or the toilet of Venus: We don't know who the woman of the mirror is.

-Pope Inocent X: The pope dindn't like this painting because it was "too realistic".

Source: http://elusiv.com/arthistory/bacon/

-Villa Medici.

-Philip IV's family or The Meninas: This is one of the most famous paintings made by Velázquez. He portrayed himself in the photo, and, as we have said in class, he retouched the painting to paint the cross on his chest.

 Source: http://www.artchive.com/meninas.htm

-The fable of Arachne or the spinners: This was mythological painting based on the myth of Arachne: She was a great weaver who boasted that her skill was greater than that of Athena, goddess of wisdom, weaving, and strategy. There was a competition between Arachne and Athena, but finally, Arachne won. Athena became angry and transformed Arachne into a spider.

 

Source: http://www.artrenewal.org/pages/artwork.php?artworkid=29301

- Portraits of Infanta Margarita.

 

 

Finally, we have copied some vocabulary words:

-Recognizable: reconocible.

-Unmistakable: inconfundible.

-Mastery/skill: maestría.

-Drunk: borracho.

-Humble: humilde.

-Forge: fragua.

-To forge: falsificar.

-To ask for: pedir.

-To comission: encargar un trabajo artístico.

-To order: encargar que traigan algo.

-Jester: bufón.

-Dwarf: enano.

-Aerial perspective: perspectiva aérea.

-On horseback: a caballo.

-Blurred: borroso.

-Nap: siesta.

-Vindication: reivindicación.

-Spinner: hilandera.

-To spin: hilar.

-Spider: araña.

This is all for today, see you !

Some Velázquez's masterpieces

Here you have some videos in English about some of Velázquez's most famous paintings: Vulcan's Forge, The Triumph of Bacchus or The Drunks and The Meninas. Pay attention to the pronunciation, because this is an aspect the most of you have to improve. On the links below every video, you can activate the subtitles in English to follow the explanation: 

Link to transcription: 

https://www.khanacademy.org/humanities/art-history/art-history-1600-1700-the-baroque/spain/v/vel-zquez--vulcan-s-forge--c--1630

Link to transcription: 

https://www.khanacademy.org/humanities/art-history/art-history-1600-1700-the-baroque/spain/v/vel-zquez--los-borrachos--the-drunks---1628-1629

Link to transcription: 

https://www.khanacademy.org/humanities/art-history/art-history-1600-1700-the-baroque/spain/v/vel-zquez--las-meninas--c--1656