Thursday 16th of June

Good afternoon everybody!! Yesterday I forgot to write the journal so I'm going to write it now.

As always we have spoken. But first Paqui has given us our notebooks, and she has writen in my notebook that it is very good and good luck for the future. She has wished all of us "good luck for the future".

We have been studying P.E. because we have had an exam in the next period, our last exam. And while most of the people were studying, Paqui has been speaking with Marta and Stefa about WW2 and the Civil War. This lesson has been very good because we have been doing what we have wanted. But Paqui has told us that we are going to continue with Nazi Germany the next days.

So, the most important thing is that, in the end, we have finished our exams!!! :)

Monday, 16th of March, 2015

Hello everybody!!!
Today our Social Sciences lesson has been as always.
Today we have arrived faster. When all the people have been prepared, the lesson has started.
At first Paqui has remembered us the contents of the last week:
- Monroe doctrine
- Manifest destiny
- Roosevelt Corollary
The teacher has done a drawing of North America on the blackboard to explain us the westward expansion. She has told us the purchases of Florida, Alaska and Louisiana:
- Florida: its seller was Spain.
- Alaska: its seller was Russia.
- Louisiana: its seller was France.
The USA continued to conquering more territories, so they seized many territories to Mexico. Paqui has done a scheme in order to summarize the Westward expansion similar to this:
Westward expansion:
- Territories bought: Florida, Louisiana and Alaska.
- Territories conquered: territories conquered to Mexico and territories seired to native America.
Fran has asked why we say USA and EEUU, Paqui has explained that USA is used to speak in English and EEUU in Spanish. Sara has given us other example: SSMMRRMM.
The teacher has said that in the American imperialism there were two doctrines:
- Monroe doctrine ("America for the Americans").
- Roosevelt Corollary (USA can intervene in the Latin American business).
Then we have spoken about the Spanish American war in 1898. After this war Cuba, Puerto Rico and the Philippines became territories under the control of the USA:
- Cuba: protectorate.
- Puerto Rico: annexed to the USA.
- Philippines: controlled militarily.
Paqui has asked if we know something about Guantánamo, and Silvia has explained what she knew. It is a USA military in Cuba where they have a jail and where they keep prissoners, who are suffering tortures and abuses for their alleged crimes.
Marta has spoken about a torture technique called "el submarino" (waterboarding) in which it seems that you are suffocated. Paqui has showed us some photos of the prisioners of Guantánamo.
Then a classmate has asked Paqui about how to say: Isabella or Elizabeth. She has told us that the correct way is to say Isabella. We have started to speak about queens and kings.
Phlip II was married with his niece nephew and then with his nephew.
The head of State of New Zealand, Canada and Australia is the queen of the United Kingom.
The Duke of Edinburg is the cousin of the queen Sofía, and the husband of the queen of the United Kingdom. Then we have seen some photos of William and Henry (the UK monarch's son).
Then we have seen some photos on the slides about the imperialism of the USA. The teacher has spoken us about the bald eagle which was the symbol of imperialism in the USA.
Then we have started to speak about imperialism in Japan:
- Commodore Perry: he obliged Japan to open their ports to western trade.
- Miji revolution: modernization of Japan and beginning of their expansion to the Asian continent in search of new materials.
The Japanese conquered Korea and their interests crashed with Russia in the North of China, in this way, the Russian-Japanese War appeared (1905).
Today we have copied three words for our glossaries:
- Jail: cárcel
- To release: liberar
- Bald eagle: águila calva
Our homework for today is to look for the positive and negative consequences of colonialism.

Jail of Guatánamo

http://www.urgente24.com/234723-4-afganos-repatriados-desde-guantanamo-quedan-132









Elizabeth II


http://vidasfamosas.com/2010/03/12/isabel-ii-reina-de-inglaterra/

The Dream of Jacob by José de Ribera.

The Dream of Jacob

The Dream of Jacob was painted by José de Ribera.This painting was commissioned by Jerónimo de la Torre

who was Philip's IV State secretary for the Flanders' affairs. It was made in 1639 in Naples, during the visit of the author to Italy. At the moment, it's displayed at the Prado Museum.

The Dream of Jacob

Source: http://www.artrenewal.org/pages/artwork.php?artworkid=9536

Its size is 179 cm high x 233 cm wide and it's made up with oil over canvas painting. It's a religious painting.

The painting represents the patriarch Jacob sleeping supported on his left arm. Following the Genesis' story, Jacob is having a strange dream about a celestial staircase where angels are going up and down. Jacob is placed in the center asleep in the most realistic way, as if he was a shepherd. In fact, the celestial stairs are the strong spotlight which lights up Jacob's face. The angels of these celestial stairs are almost invisible.

In this photo we can see the angels in the celestial stairs.

Source: https://www.museodelprado.es/visita-el-museo/15-obras-maestras/ficha-obra/obra/el-sueno-de-jacob/

He creates areas of lights and shadows which are very contrasted by two spotlights of light. The nightfall natural one which gave to the painting beautiful blue, yellow, orange tonalities and a powerful flashlight which illuminate the protagonist's shape exalting his relaxed expression. The painter used a geometric cross composition and a foreshortened figure. In this painting, Ribera gets closer to the illumination and the colors of the Venetian School.

This is a Baroque painting because its features are realism and religiosity. The main commissioners were the kings and the Church; in this case, the commissioner is a secretary of the king. Oil was used to paint on canvas and there were also contrasts of light and shadows, foreshortened figures and a complex composition. In this painting we can see almost all this features.

Ribera lost his initial tenebrism and started painting with similar characteristics to the Venetian school. He was influenced by Caravaggio at first, but then he was influenced by Van Dyck and other painters. The local painters, such as Velázquez and Murillo, took the works that Ribera sent to Spain as a reference and some other painters like Fragonard, Manet and Henri Matisse... copied his works. In Italy he was known as Lo Spagnoletto («El Españolito»). This painting belonged to the Jerónimo de la Torre's family until 1718. In 1746 it was found among all queen Isabel of Farnesio's paintings. She bought it as a Murillo's canvas and it was attributed to this painter for a long time. 

Portrait of José de Ribera. 

Source: http://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jos%C3%A9_de_Ribera

Bibliography:

http://www.artble.com/artists/jusepe_de_ribera/paintings/jacob's_dream

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jacob's_Ladder

http://www.wikiart.org/en/jusepe-de-ribera/jacob-s-dream-1639

https://www.museodelprado.es/visita-el-museo/15-obras-maestras/ficha-obra/obra/el-sueno-de-jacob/

http://www.artehistoria.jcyl.es/v2/obras/863.htm

http://arte2bac.wordpress.com/2013/03/02/jose-de-rivera-el-sueno-de-jacob-2/

http://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/El_sue%C3%B1o_de_Jacob_(Ribera)

http://www.lastanosa.com/userfiles/La%20pintura%20en%20las%20colecciones%20de%20Vincencio%20Juan%20de%20Lastanosa.pdf

http://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jos%C3%A9_de_Ribera

Piety by Gregorio Fernández.

Piety

The Piety was made by Gregorio Fernández. It was made in Valladolid in 1616 and it was commissioned by the Illustrious Penitential Brotherhood of Our Lady of Anguish. It belonged to a processional float which was showed in the religious processions during the Holy Week with other sculptures, such as the “good thief” or Dimas and the “impenitent thief” or Gestas, Saint John and the Magdalen.

The Sixth Anguish or Piety.

Source: http://domuspucelae.blogspot.com.es/2012/04/visita-virtual-la-sexta-angustia-la.html

Its size is 1,75 m high x 2,18 m wide. It’s made up of wood and polychrome. At the moment, this sculpture is in the National Museum of Sculpture in Valladolid.

This a religious sculpture and it represents one of the final stages of Christ’s Passion. The Virgin is holding Christ’s body without life after he has been removed from the cross. The Virgin is standing her right hand as if she was begging and her other hand is placed in the Christ’s shoulder. Her face is expressing pain, that it’s the normal Baroque’s expression. Her clothes are polychrome with strong colors, like red and blue, while her face is polychrome with pastel colours and without brightness. This shows its reality. We can find some similarity with Juni’s models. The anatomy of the Christ’s is very detailed. We can see all his wounds and blood. While the Virgin is expressing her suffering, the Christ has a relaxed expression. The cloth folds are also very detailed in both sculptures.

Piety.

Source: http://seordelbiombo.blogspot.com.es/2012/03/analisis-y-comentario-de-la-piedad.html

Baroque sculptures were usually about religious themes for altarpieces or processional floats made with polychrome wood. All the images were realistic and dramatic because we can find wounds, blood and expressions of pain and suffering. As we have read before, all these characteristics agree with the Piety.

The author, Gregorio Fernández although he worked in Valladolid, he was born in Lugo. He became one of the best models of the Castilian school that was one of the artistic nucleus of religious sculpture of the 17th century. Later, in the 2º part of the 18th century, Salzillo would be inspired by Gregorio Fernández. Other sculptures he made were ‘Christ at the Column’, ‘Cristo de la Luz’ and ‘Inmaculada Concepción’.

Portrait of Gregorio Fernández.

Source: http://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gregorio_Fern%C3%A1ndez

Bibliography:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Piet%C3%A0_(Gregorio_Fern%C3%A1ndez)

http://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gregorio_Fern%C3%A1ndez

http://lapiedad1578.blogspot.com.es/2012/05/la-sexta-angustia.html

http://seordelbiombo.blogspot.com.es/2012/03/analisis-y-comentario-de-la-piedad.html

http://arte.laguia2000.com/escultura/piedad-gregorio-fernandez

http://julioelperiodista.blogspot.com.es/2013/06/la-piedad-de-gregorio-fernandez.html