Celestina and Old Ballads: Themes, Characters, and Style
Celestina
Celestina, published in Burgos in 1499, consists of 21 acts and was written by Fernando de Rojas. Act I is of unknown authorship.
Action
The dramatic action is structured in the prologue (which is the initial act) and two parts: the first (Acts I-XIV) and second (Acts XV to XXI).
The action stems from a fortuitous circumstance: Calisto comes casually into the Garden of Melibea, falls in love, and declares his love, but she rejects him when she realizes that his intentions are dishonest. Given
Read MoreRafael Alberti: Life, Poetry, and Legacy of a Spanish Poet
Rafael Alberti: A Life Dedicated to Art and Poetry
Rafael Alberti was born on December 16, 1902, in El Puerto de Santa María (Cádiz), the son of Augustine and Mary Alberti Merello. He was the fifth of six children and grandson of winemakers from Italy, vendors to European courts. From childhood, he showed a keen interest in the arts, initially focusing on painting.
Early Life and Artistic Beginnings
In 1917, his family moved to Madrid, where he copied paintings in the Prado, considering it a lifelong
Read MoreCatalan Literary Renaissance: Verdaguer and Key Figures
Jacinto Verdaguer: A Literary Titan
Jacinto Verdaguer was one of the most significant poets in Catalan literary history. His poetic strength arises from the use of imagination and painstaking detail, employing a language of intimate tenderness that connects with the song of the purest popular tradition. In 1877, he was awarded the grand epic poem L’Atlàntida at the Floral Games. He died from tuberculosis on May 10, 1902, and was buried in Montjuïc.
Verdaguer’s Prose and Conflicts
Verdaguer’s prose
Read MoreLiterary Genres: Epic, Lyric, Dramatic, Didactic
Literary Genres
Lyric Genre
The lyric genre is characterized by a subjective attitude where the author expresses personal sentiments. It can be represented in verse or prose.
Lyric Subgenres
- Letrilla: Burlesque, loving, or religious content, often in the form of a carol.
- Ode: Expresses emotion through the contemplation of something.
- Hymn: A poetic composition directed to something, celebrating its virtues.
- Satire: A brief composition that censors individual or collective vices.
- Eclogue: A pastoral character
Spanish Baroque Painting: Velázquez and Murillo
Other issues that were explored: Zurbarán’s The Holy Face and The Baby Jesus in the Carpentry, carving a cross or concocting in Nazareth a crown of spines. Its true everyday world transcriptions are synthesized in his still lifes.
Baroque Realism: Velázquez and Murillo
Diego Rodríguez de Silva Velázquez (Madrid, 1599 – Seville, 1660) is the greatest genius of Spanish art. He was a supreme portraitist who covered all genres of painting: religious painting, mythological fable, still life and landscape.
Read MorePre-Romanesque Art in Europe: Visigothic and Asturian
Pre-Romanesque Art
Developed in Western Europe between the 5th and 10th centuries. It can be divided into two stages:
- Between the 5th and 8th centuries: Art of the Barbarians or Germanic peoples. In Spain, this corresponds to the Visigoths.
- Between the 8th and 10th centuries: Pre-Romanesque art itself. This includes Carolingian art in France, and Asturian and Mozarabic art in Spain.
Visigothic Art
The Visigoths were the most Romanized of the Germanic peoples. Their capital was in Toledo. Visigothic art
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