Hygiene in the Modern Era

A Woman Bathing in a Stream, Rembrandt van Rijn (1654)

Source: http://www.nationalgallery.org.uk/paintings/rembrandt-a-woman-bathing-in-a-stream-hendrickje-stoffels

As we learnt last Friday, hygiene customs have changed a lot with respect to the Modern Era. After the Black Death epidemics, the idea that water was a dangerous  way of transmission of illnesses extended. People thought that water carried diseases into the skin and public baths were closed in many cities. There was also a moral reason.against taking baths: as people had to be naked to have a bath, this could induce them to debauchery and depravation. People only cleaned their hands and face regularly and they took baths from time to time. The rich people had more resources and they sometimes had special rooms with a tub to take a bath. They used scented oils, parfums or flower petals mixed with water. But even if they had the means, they didn't wash frequently: once a month or one or two times per year. Even kings were very dirty: 

- Isabella I, the Catholic queen of Castile didn't change her shirt until they conquered Granada. The campaign lasted 10 years

-  King Henry IV of France was described as "stinking of sweat, stables, feet and garlic"

- Queen Elizabeth I of England bathed only once a month and James I, her succesor, only cleaned his fingers and wore the same clothes for months 

- Louis XIV of France, the Sun King, had dozens of bathrooms at Versailles, but he didn't take baths. His servants ruubed his hands and face with alcohol and he only took therapeutic baths from time to time. 

James I of England

Source: http://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jacobo_I_de_Inglaterra_y_VI_de_Escocia

In different countries men didn't take their hats even when they were eating, in order to avoid the lice falling into their plates. People used parfums to hide the smell. 

The poor people had more difficulties to have access to water and they commonly cleaned with a rag and plain water (no soap, because it was a luxury product). When they took a bath, alll the family did it in the same water: first the oldest members of the family and the youngest in the end. This custom is the origin of the expression "Don't throw the baby out with the bath water", which means "not throwing or spoiling good things when you get rid of something you don't need anymore. 

If you want to read more about this, here you have some links. They are really interesting: 

http://www.historyundressed.com/2008/07/history-of-hygiene-bathing-teeth.html

http://www.economist.com/node/15108662

http://hubpages.com/hub/A-History-of-Dirty-Habits

http://www.andreazuvich.com/history/the-hygiene-of-the-17th-century/

http://www.skin-science.com/_int/_en/topic/topic_sousrub.aspx?tc=SKIN_SCIENCE_ROOT%5EWORDS_RITES_AND_CUSTOMS%5EWATER_HYGIENE_AND_BEAUTY

11th of October, 2013

Hello everybody!

Today in the class of Social Sciences, we have done several things. Paqui has said that it's my turn to write the journal today because Maribel hasn't come to the class because she has been at the hospital. Also Virginia has said that she can't do the journal the day that she has to do it.
Later we have remembered the main features of painting with a power-point presentation:

• Use of oil painting.
• Predominance of colour over drawing.
• Use of warm colours.
• Constrast of light and shadow(Chiaroscuro).
• Realism.
• Movement.
• Complex composition(foresthortened figures,asymmetry,curved lines...) in order to shock the audience.

Then we have seen the different artists and work of painting on the whiteboard:


ITALY: Michelangelo Caravaggio:

• THE CONVERSION OF SAINT PAUL ON THE WAY TO DAMASCUS:

Source: http://www.jennytaylorart.com/images/other_member_pics/jstaylorart/Caravaggio-Conversion-of-St-Paul-1601.jpg

• THE ENTOMBENT OF CHRIST:

Source: http://www.sightswithin.com/Michelangelo.Merisi_da.Caravaggio/The_Entombment_of_Christ.jpg

THE CRUCIFIXION OF SAINT PETER:

Source: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/03/Caravaggio-Crucifixion_of_Peter.jpg

• THE CALLING OF SAINT-MATTHEW:

Source: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/ee/CaravaggioContarelli.jpg

• DEATH OF THE VIRGIN: the woman who appeared on this painting is a pregnant prostitute who had died drowned dead in the Tiber River. The painting was considered to be immoral by the Church.

   Source: http://uploads3.wikipaintings.org/images/caravaggio/the-death-of-the-virgin-1603(1).jpg!xlMedium.jpg


FLANDERS: Peter Paul Rubens:

• THE DESCENT FROM THE CROSS: this painting is an example of contrast of light and shadow( Chiaroscuro).

Source: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/53/Peter_Paul_Rubens_066.jpg

• THE ADORATION OF THE MAGI,BY SEBASTIANO RICCI:

Source: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/6b/The_Adoration_of_the_Magi_(1726-30)%3B_Sebastiano_Ricci.jpg

• EQUESTRIAN PORTRAIT OF THE DUKE OF LERMA:this painting is in the Prado Museum and his composition is very complet.

Source: http://www.dukemagazine.duke.edu/issues/050608/images/050608-lg-equestrianportraitofthedukeoflermaweb.jpg

• THE THREE GRACES: the woman of the left is the same as the woman in the middle. This are an example of the woman of this period (with curves in their body and white skin). The people of that time thought: to wash your body was a sin.

Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/9c/Rubens,_Peter_Paul_-_The_Three_Graces.jpg

• HERCULES DRUNK, BEING LED AWAY BY A NYMPH:

Source: http://www.backtoclassics.com/images/pics/peterpaulrubens/peterpaulrubens_the_drunken_hercules.jpg

HOLLAND: in the Low Countries the main subjects were not religious, but more based on ordinary life and bourgeois tastes: portraits, landscapes, scenes of ordinary life.

          -Rembrandt Van Rijn: has more than ninety self-portraits.

• ANATOMY LESSON OF DR.NICOLAES TULP: on this painting the doctor (surgeon) is doing an autopsy to this body and the people around are seen to them. Autopsies in this period were done in theatres because they were public. The corpse belonged to a hung criminal. The people of that time thought: to wash your body was a sin.

Source:http://0.tqn.com/d/arthistory/1/0/z/W/dp_ngl_0707_07.jpg

• SYNDICS OF THE DRAPERS' GUILD:

Source:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Rembrandt_-_Klesveverlaugets_forstandere_i_Amsterdam.jpg

• THE SLAUGHTERED OX:

Source: http://hem.bredband.net/b153434/Works/slaughtered-ox.jpg

And we will continue tomorrow in class, so tomorrow we will study the last Baroque painter (Johannes Vermeer from Delft) and his work.

Today also I have added new interesting word in my glossary:

-knight: caballero
-with his back turned down: de espaldas.
-backwards: hacia atrás.
-to drown: ahogarse.
-corpse: cadáver.
-how you dare: ¿Cómo te atreves?
-Flanders: Rubens.
-vinegar: vinagre.
-caustic soda: sosa cáustica.
-drunk: bebido,borracho.
-leather: cuero.
-drapers: pañero.
-guild: gremio.
-slaughtered ox: buey desollado.

Finally, the bell has rung and Paqui has told us to review the new things that we have learned.

See you!

Something more about Caravaggio

Michelangelo Merisi (1571-1610), known as Caravaggio, was the main Baroque painter in Italy. His nickname comes from Caravaggio, the place where he was born. His life was very troubled, full of fights, disputes and controversy. His paintings were mainly religious, full of realism, dramatism, with big contrasts of light and shadow and with the purpose of shocking the audience. Several of his works were rejected by their commissioners and sometimes he had to redo the paintings, because they were not accurate with religion. In 1606 he killed a man on a fight and had to flee from Rome, to avoid being imprisoned. Four years later he died from malaria in Sicily. 

Here you have some Caravaggio's works rejected: 

- Inspiration of Saint Matthew

  This first version was rejected, because Caravaggio painted Saint Matthew as an old common man and a very young angel helping him write his Gospel. The commissioners considered this representation of Saint Matthew to be disrespectful, because he appeared with bare feet, and they also considered the proximity of the angel to be obscene and too much erotic. That's why Caravaggio had to redo this painting in a more "acceptable" way

FIRST VERSION

Source: http://hubbychu.tumblr.com/

SECOND VERSION

Source:  http://hubbychu.tumblr.com/

- Madonna with Saint Anne

This painting was made for the Vatican, but the very realistic way of representing the women, the naked child and the snake were considered to be inappropriate. The painting was in the Vatican only for some days and finally it was sold to Cardinal Borghese

Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Madonna_and_Child_with_St._Anne-Caravaggio_(c._1605-6).jpg

-Death of the Virgin

This painting was commissioned by a Carmelite church, but when they received it, they rejected it and was sold to a private collector. The Virgin was represented as a young dead woman, instead of an old woman dying. The model for the painting was a prostitute who had drowned in the river and her body was swollen.The painting was considered to be immoral by the Church.

Source:https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Death_of_the_Virgin_(Caravaggio)

If you want to learn more from Caravaggio's turbulent life, here you have some links:

http://www.biography.com/people/caravaggio-9237777

http://www.caravaggio-foundation.org/biography.html


And on this short video you can see some of the paintings he made in his last 10 years of life: 

Tuesday 8th October

Hello people!!!!

Today Paqui at the beginning of the class Paqui has changed the sits of some clasmathes (Jesus, Guille, Arturo, Carlos and me).
We have started the lesson remembering the architecture of Baroque art and she has showed to the class some works of famous artists like Gian Lorenzo Bernini. Paqui has explained a work of Bernini called "Square and colonnade of Saint Peter of the Vatican".

                             Source:http://www.superstock.com/stock-photos-images/1899-46963

Paqui has showed to the class other pictures of  Bernini's colonnade, the height of them and the Baldachin.
After this Paqui has showed to the class works of Francesco Borromini, some of them were "Church of San Carlo alle Quatro Fontane", "Sant' Ivo della Sapienza" and "Oratory of Saint Philip Neri".

                  Source:http://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iglesia_de_San_Carlo_alle_Quattro_Fontane

After this Paqui has showed to the class the Versailles Palace and has explained a lot of interesting things of them, Paqui has asked to the people that travel last year to Paris about the Versailles Palace and things that they learn there.

                        Source:http://travel.nationalgeographic.com/travel/world-heritage/versailles/

Now we have finished with the architecture of Baroque art and we have started with the Sculpture.  Carlos has started correcting the scheme of Sculpture:
-Features: The main purposes were representing movement, capturing fleeting moments, provoking surprise and emotion to the audience. Sculptors used curved lines and represented cloth folds with the great detail to intensify the sensation of movement.
Gian Lorenzo Bernini was the most important sculptor and one of the most important works was "Ecstasy of Saint Theresa". Bernini has other important works like "Apollo and Daphne", "The rape of Proserpina", "Fountain of the Newt" and "Fountain of the Four Rivers".
The Fountain of tthe Four Rivers represent like the name say, four rivers, this rivers are: Nilo, Danube, Ganges and River Plate.

                                         Source:http://travellingadvices.com/tag/piazza-navona

Also in the sculpture there are other important artists called Nicola Salvi and his famous work called "Fontana di Trevi".
Now we have finished the Sculpture of Baroque art and we start with the Painting. Siria has started correcting the scheme of Painting:
-Features: Use of oil painting, predominance of colour over drawing, use of warm colours, contrast of light and shadow, realism, movement, complex compositions in order to shock the audience.
-Artists and works: Italy: Michelangelo Caravaggio with some  works like "Judith beheading Holofernes"
Flanders: Peter Paul Rubens with some  works like  "Equestrian portrait of the Duke of Lerma"
Holland: Rembrandt Van Rijn with sosome works like "Self portraits". Johannes Vermeer from Delft with some works like "View of Delft"

During the lesson we have added some new words on the glossary like:
-Colonnade: columnata
-Obelisk: obelisco
-Baldoquin: baldoquino
-Altar: altar
-Marble: mármol
-Overelaborated: recargado
-Luxurious: lujoso
-Fleeting: fugaz
-Cloth fold: pliegues de la ropa
-Newt: tritóon
-Ranking: lista ordenada
-Fake: falso
-Oil painting: óleo
-Chiaroscuro: claroscuro
-Foreshortened figure: figuras en escorzo
-Tax collector: recaudador de impuestos
-Upside down: boca abajo
-Basement: sótano

And finally the bell has run and we have gone to the very good break time.

Some introductory videos to Baroque art style

Here you have some videos about Baroque to practice the listening part of your learning process: 

- A comparison between Renaissance and Baroque:

- What is Baroque? A very short introduction which includes its main characteristics: 

Monday, 7th October

 Hello everybody!!      

Today in class of
Social Sciences we have done several things.

First Paqui has asked if we had whatched the videos that she put on the blog the day before, and any person has seen.

Then Paqui has put a video from Youtube that belong to the glorious revolution, this video shows us that the Glorious Revolution started in 1688 and its consequences are the stablishment of a parlamentary monarchy and a new dynasty in England. Charles was decapitated and James the II tried to rule as an absolute monarchy, and also the video says that only the landowners could vote in the elections between other things.

Here you have the video: 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NXvvbmpz5i0

After that Paqui has said that with this video we have finished the point 2 and we are going to start Baroque art.

To start this point Paqui has showed a PowerPoint presentation about Baroque art on the whiteboard.

BAROQUE ART become from pejorative word to define an exhuberant and exaggerated art in contrast to Renaissance and New Classicism. Baroque art was a style during 17th century and part of 18th century. 

Paqui has said that baroque art appeared because the artists started to do the apposite than in the Renaissance.

Then Paqui has drawn a
Solomonic column on the blackboard.

source: http://www.aopublishers.com/images/intrigue_pages_images/third_temple/Solomonic-columns-St.-Peter's-Bascilica_Baldakijn_van_Bernini_-_The_Baldachinno.png

Later we have copied also from the white-board the differences between Baroque art and Renaissance Art.

RENAISSANCE ART                                                  BAROQUE ART

Balance                                                                    Movement

            Ideal of beauty                                                    Realism impresentation   

                    

Simplicity                                                                   Complexity

                              

                          Proportions                                                                   interest in surprising the audience

                      Straight lines                                                               Curved lines,concave and convex

Predominance of drawing over colour and light                      Predominance of colour and light over drawing

Paqui has copied on the blackboard the structure of the scheme that we have to do about Baroque art and we have to do for tomorrow.

We have also had time to correct the first part of the scheme of "Baroque Art": Architecture, with the main features,artists and works.

Today also we have also copied four words in the glossary :

-Overthrow: derribar

-Dethrow: destronar

-Landowner: terratenientes

-Solomonie column: columna salomonica

SEE YOU TOMORROW!!

                                                                                                   

Baroque art presentation

Here you have the slides to study Baroque art. Pay special attention to the images, where you will notice the significant differences with respect to Renaissance art. As usual, you can use the presentation to complete your notes.

. 

Friday, 4th of October

Hello people!
Today we have started the lesson remembering the things that Paqui said in the last lesson like the Triangular Trade and the Thirty Years War. After, Paqui has explained that Louis XIII had a hunting pavilion in Paris, but Louis XIV transformed it into a palace, the palace of Versalles and we have seen an interactive map of this beautiful and strange palace.

                                   

                       The palace of Versalles                                          

After this explanation Paqui has said that the last point of Politic of this unit is the 'English Revolution' and we have seen a presentation of this part of the history. In 1648 Charles I tried to rule as an absolute Monarch without the control of the Parliament. He was decapited and the Republic was proclaimed. And he took the control of England. After his death, the Monarchy was reestablished in 1660 when Habeas Corpus were established.


                                  

         The battle of Naseby (English Revolution)           

Later Paqui has sought in Wordreference the meaning of 'Verdugo' that is executioner. After that we have seen the latin expression HABEAS CORPUS 'Tengas cuerpo' I have said before, which means that when a person was arrested they had to know why he, she has been arrested. This means the end of arbitrary arrests. Paqui has explained us what that it means with an example.

The Habeas Corpus

In this period the king was James II but he only reigned for 3 years. In 1689 William of Orange had to swear the Bill of Rights that limited the king's power. England was the first country to have a limited monarch. After this explanation Paqui has written some questions on the blackboard a series of questions of the 'English Revolution' to answer and understand better the lesson, Paqui has waited five minutes and we have checked them. At the end of the class Paqui has said that James can be four different spanish names. (Jaime, Jacobo, Diego and Santiago, like our classmate)

During the lesson we have added some new words on the glossary like: 

·Hunting pavilion- pabellón de caza

·Axe-hacha

·To behead- decapitar

·Executioner- verdugo

·James II- Jacobo II

·Dutch- holandés

·To flee- huir

·To host- alojar

·Bill of Rights- Declaración de derechos

These are the things that we have done in this lesson, see you soon!

                                 

Videos about the English revolutions

Here you have some videos about the English Revolutions. They include drawings to make the explanation easier to understand: 

- The first three videos refer to the Civil War, Charles I's decapitation, Oliver Cromwell's Republic and Charles II's restoration: 

- The last video explains the 1688 Glorious Revolution and its consequences: the establishment of a Parliamentary Monarchy and a new dynasty in England. 

Versailles Palace, Louis XIV's home

Source: http://www.jpmaps.co.uk/map/id.32894

If you want to learn more about Versailles Palace, here you have some links from Versailles Palace's official website. Click on the image below if you want to know more about the palace and its estate (gardens):

This is a different way to visit Versailles, using 3D scale models and Google Earth: 

http://www.versailles3d.com/en/discover-the-3d-scale-models/

And this is the link to Versailles Palace homepage, where you will find lots of information about the history of the palace, pictures and its importance in some historical events: 

http://en.chateauversailles.fr/homepage