Exhaustive Review: 19th and 20th Century History, Art, and Geopolitics

Art Revision: The Realist Movement

Realism was a significant artistic movement that emerged in the mid-$19th$ century, specifically centered on the following characteristics and historical corrections:

• Origin: The movement appeared in France. (TRUE)

• Medium: Realism developed primarily in painting, rather than sculpture. (FALSE: in painting)

• Patronage: Realism was not ordered by powerful clients like the bourgeoisie or government institutions; in fact, painters of this movement began to move away from relying on powerful patrons entirely. (FALSE: painters didn't rely on powerful patrons anymore)

• Social Purpose: It served as a critical platform for exposing the inequalities of industrial society, purposefully giving a voice to peasants and workers. (TRUE)

• Inauguration: The movement was inaugurated by Gustave Courbet, specifically with works like A Burial at Ornans. (FALSE: inaugurated by Courbet, not Daumier)

• Key Artists: Jean-Fran'ois Millet is a representative figure who typically depicted peasant scenes. (TRUE)

European Iron & Steel Architecture and the American Chicago School

The industrial revolution and urban catastrophes necessitated new approaches to building in both Europe and the United States.

• The Chicago School Development: The primary catalyst for this school of architecture was the Great Chicago Fire of $1871$, which destroyed much of the city and required rapid, efficient reconstruction.

• Clients of the New Architecture: Works were primarily commissioned by Bourgeois company owners and city councils.

• Creative Solutions to Urban Space: Due to limited and expensive urban land, architects turned to building vertically, leading to the birth of skyscrapers. This development was made feasible by the invention of the lift (elevator).

• Transport Infrastructure: Key facilities built during this era included train stations, tram terminals, and tram stops.

• New Materials: The construction utilized iron, steel, and concrete.

• Notable Examples:

  • Iron & Steel (Europe): Crystal Palace (London).

  • Chicago School (USA): Carson Building (Chicago).

Late $19th$-Century Art Styles: Impressionism, Post-Impressionism, and Art Nouveau

Style Characteristics and Descriptions

• Art Nouveau (A.N.): Developed in interior design, decorative arts, and graphic arts alongside the major arts. Designs were inspired by nature (organic forms such as plants and animals), featuring curved and asymmetrical lines. Clients were often the bourgeoisie and city halls seeking to embellish private homes or public spaces.

• Impressionism (I): Painters worked quickly outdoors (en plein air) without preliminary sketches to capture the changing qualities of light. It featured loose, thick brushstrokes and the juxtaposition of bright colors without mixing (often avoiding black and white). Photography played a significant role in its development.

• Post-Impressionism (P-I): This style was more subjective and emotive, with each painter developing a highly personal style. These artists were often more interested in drawing and structure than just color and light. This movement served as a direct inspiration for later Avant-garde "-isms."

Authors and Representative Works

• Impressionism:

  • Claude Monet: Impression, Sunrise, La Gare St. Lazare, The Japanese Bridge, and Poppy Field near Argenteuil.

  • Camille Pissarro: Boulevard Montmartre, Spring.

  • Pierre-Auguste Renoir: Dance at Le Moulin de la Galette.

• Post-Impressionism:

  • Paul C)zanne: Mont Sainte-Victoire.

  • Vincent Van Gogh: Vase with Twelve Sunflowers.

  • Paul Gauguin: Arearea.

• Art Nouveau:

  • Antoni Gaud-: The Drac (dragon) in Güell Park, Casa Milá, Sagrada Familia, and Casa Batlló.

  • Héctor Guimard: Abbesses Subway station, Paris.

  • Alphonse Mucha: Advertising posters.

  • Louis Comfort Tiffany: Tiffany lamps.

Analysis of Late $19th$-Century Art Movements

Iron & Steel (Europe) & Chicago School (US)

• Context: Industrial Revolution advancements and the $1871$ Chicago Fire.

• Clients: Industrialists, bourgeoisie, and city councils.

• Features: Verticality (skyscrapers), use of metal frames, and large glass surfaces.

• Works: Crystal Palace, Carson Building.

Art Nouveau

• Context: Late $19th$ century desire for aesthetic beauty in everyday life and industrial products.

• Clients: High bourgeoisie and municipal governments.

• Features: Organic, curved lines; integration of architecture and decoration; use of iron and ceramics.

• Works: Gaud-'s Casa Batlló, Sagrada Familia.

Impressionism

• Context: Second half of the $19th$ century; technological advancement of photography.

• Topics: Landscapes, urban leisure, and light effects.

• Features: Rapid brushstrokes, outdoor work, focus on the ephemeral.

• Works: Monet's Impression, Sunrise.

Post-Impressionism

• Context: Reaction against the limitations of Impressionism.

• Topics: Landscapes and portraits with emotive depth.

• Features: Expressive use of color and structure; personal style.

• Works: Van Gogh's Sunflowers.

The First World War: Causes, Characteristics, and Consequences

Causes

• Territorial Conflicts: Rivalries such as France vs. Germany over Alsace and Lorraine, and Austria vs. Russia over the Balkans.

• Military Blocs: The formation of the Triple Entente and the Triple Alliance.

• Arms Race: Rapid expansion of military power across Europe.

• Colonial/Economic Clashes: Disputes like the German "Moroccan crises."

Characteristics

• Global Conflict: It involved nations from across the world.

• War Economy: States prioritized resources toward the war effort.

• New Warfare: Use of airplanes, defensive trench systems, and psychological warfare.

• Social Shifts: Women replaced men in factories, marking the beginning of female emancipation.

Consequences

• Human Toll: Over $9$ million people killed, with a massive number of injured and disabled.

• Geopolitical Shifts: Disappearance of multinational empires (Austro-Hungarian, Ottoman). Territorial revenge sentiments grew (specifically in Germany). European world supremacy was officially replaced by the United States.

• Pacifism: Promotion of pacifist movements alongside desire for revenge.

Key Concepts and Defined Terms

• Soviets / $1905$ Revolution: Councils of workers and soldiers that arose in Russia as a form of grassroots organization during the failed revolution of $1905$.

• Anti-Suffragettes: Movements or individuals opposed to granting women the right to vote.

• Roaring Twenties: A period of economic prosperity and cultural change in the $1920s$, characterized by the birth of modern consumerism.

• Totalitarianism: A political system where the state recognizes no limits to its authority and strives to regulate every aspect of public and private life.

• Declaration of Sentiments: A document signed in $1848$ at the Seneca Falls Convention (New York) for women's rights. Key signatories included Lucretia Mott and Elizabeth Cady Stanton.

• Rome-Berlin Axis & Pact of Steel: Alliance between Fascist Italy and Nazi Germany.

• German-Soviet Non-Aggression Pact: A secret agreement between Hitler and Stalin to not attack each other and to divide Poland.

• New Deal: President Franklin D. Roosevelt's program of spending and state intervention to resolve the Great Depression.

Characteristics of Totalitarian Regimes

1. Absolute Power: The State has total authority over all areas through a very hierarchical structure.

2. One-Party State: Only a single party exists; the regime is fundamentally against liberalism, capitalism, and democracy.

3. Personality Cult: The leader is portrayed as a charismatic "demigod," and their authority remains beyond question.

4. Mass Movements: The goal is to create a "perfect" society where the State and nation are prioritized above individual interests.

5. Terror and Repression: Individual and collective freedoms are severely restricted; society is closely controlled through state terror.

6. Militarism: There is a cult of military strength and the legitimization of violence for political ends.

7. Aggressive Nationalism: Ideologies aspire to territorial expansion.

8. Indoctrination: Highly developed propaganda is disseminated through state-controlled mass media.

The Second World War: Causes and Consequences

Causes

• Germany's quest for revenge regarding the Treaty of Versailles.

• Japanese invasion of Manchuria ($1932$).

• Italian annexation of Ethiopia ($1935$) and Albania ($1939$).

• German annexation of Austria, Sudetenland, and Czechoslovakia ($1938-1939$).

• German invasion of Poland (September $1$, $1939$).

• Ideological rise of totalitarianism and military alliances (Axis/Pact of Steel/German-Soviet Pact).

• The Appeasement Policy (inaction/concessions) from Western democracies and the League of Nations.

Consequences

• Cold War: A new world order divided into Capitalist (USA) and Communist (USSR) blocs.

• Human Cost: $50-60$ million deaths (mostly civilians) and $70$ million wounded/mutilated.

• Justice: The Nuremberg Trials against Nazi war criminals.

• Reconstruction: Costly rebuilding of cities, transport, and industry.

• Displacements: Massive population movements due to border changes.

• Institutions: Creation of the United Nations (UN) and the occurrence of the Holocaust.

20th-Century Art: The Avant-Garde

1. Surrealism: Salvador Dalí (The Persistence of Memory), René Magritte (The Son of Man).

2. Cubism: Pablo Picasso (The Young Ladies of Avignon), Juan Gris (Guitar and Pipe).

3. Abstraction: Kazimir Malevich (Black Square), Hilma af Klint (The Swan number 17), Wassily Kandinsky (Composition VII), Piet Mondrian (Composition in Red, Yellow, Blue and Black).

4. Fauvism: Henri Matisse (The Dessert: Harmony in Red, The Joy of Life), André Derain (Charing Cross Bridge).

5. Expressionism: Marianne von Werefkin (Self-Portrait), Edvard Munch (The Scream), Gabriele Münter (Self-Portrait), Franz Marc (Large Blue Horses).

6. Dadaism: Marcel Duchamp (Fountain).

7. Futurism: Giacomo Balla (Dynamism of a Dog on a Leash).

Key Figures of the Early 20th Century and WWII

• Emmeline Pankhurst: Suffragette movement leader.

• John M. Keynes: Economic theorist favoring state intervention.

• Franklin D. Roosevelt: New Deal and U.S. WWII leader.

• Benito Mussolini: Founder/Leader of Fascism.

• Adolf Hitler: Founder/Leader of Nazism.

• Winston Churchill: British PM during WWII.

  • Pétain: Led collaborationist Vichy France.

• De Gaulle: Led French Resistance.

• Rommel ("Desert Fox"): Led Afrikakorps in North Africa.

• Montgomery: British leader in the North Africa campaign.

• Goering: Head of the Luftwaffe.

• Eisenhower: Directed Allied invasions (D-Day).

• Tojo: Ordered the attack on Pearl Harbor.

• Truman: Ordered atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

Spanish History: 1902–1939

Alfonso XIII and the Restoration Crisis

• $1902$: Alfonso XIII comes of age.

• $1909$: "Semana Trágica" (Tragic Week) in Barcelona.

• $1910$: Canalejas begins liberal reforms.

• $1914$: Creation of the Mancomunidad of Catalonia.

• $1917$: Large protest movement.

• $1921$: Battle of Annual (Disaster of Annual).

Dictatorship of Primo de Rivera ($1923-1930$)

• $1923$: Military coup d'état. The constitution was suspended and political parties/unions (like the CNT) were banned.

• Policies: Public works and national monopolies (CAMPSA, Telefónica). Repression of Catalan and Basque nationalism.

• End: Lost support after the $1929$ crisis; replaced by General Berenguer in $1930$.

The Second Spanish Republic ($1931-1936$)

• Constitution of $1931$: Democratic and progressive. Established secularism, civil marriage, divorce, and woman's suffrage.

• Reformist Bienio ($1931-1933$): Led by Manuel Azaña (Gov) and Alcalá-Zamora (Pres). Implemented agrarian reform (expropriation of latifundios), military modernization, and secular education.

• Conservative Bienio ($1933-1935$): Led by Lerroux (Radical Party) with CEDA support. Faced the Revolution of $1934$ in Asturias and Catalonia.

• $1936$: Victory of the Popular Front in February elections.

The Spanish Civil War (July 17–18, $1936$ – April 1, $1939$)

1. March on Madrid: Sublevados stopped at Jarama and Guadalajara.

2. Northern Campaign: Bombing of Guernica (Legion Condor). Fall of Asturias, Cantabria, and Basque Country.

3. Battle of the Ebro: The longest and bloodiest battle (July–Oct $1938$).

4. End: Fall of Catalonia and finally Madrid in $1939$.

The Francoist Dictatorship (1939–1975)

Political Pillars and Repression

• The Pillars: The Army (order), The Church (moral legitimacy/National-Catholicism), and the Falange (single party).

• Legal Framework: "Fundamental Laws" instead of a constitution, creating a "Organic Democracy."

• Repression: $30.000$ executions between $1939-1945$; over $270.000$ political prisoners in $1940$. The Law of Political Responsibilities ($1939$) applied "justice in reverse."

Economic Evolution

1. Autarchy ($1939-1959$): Self-sufficiency, isolation, and rationing (Estraperlo/Black Market).

2. Developmentalism ($1959-1973$): The Stabilization Plan of $1959$ introduced by Tecnócratas (Opus Dei). Led to the "Spanish Miracle," mass tourism, and the migration of $4$ million people to cities.

Social Aspects

• Women: Relegated to the role of "Angel del Hogar" (Angel of the Hearth). Controlled by the Sección Femenina (led by Pilar Primo de Rivera). Legal inequality required "Permission Marital" for women to work or travel.

• Propaganda: The NO-DO (newsreel) was mandatory in all cinemas.

The Final Crisis ($1973-1975$)

• Assassination of Admiral Carrero Blanco by ETA ($1973$).

• The Green March ($1975$) as Morocco occupied Spanish Sahara.

• Death of Francisco Franco on November $20$, $1975$.

The Cold War: A Bipolar World

The Two Blocs

• Capitalist (Western) Bloc: Led by the USA. Features: Parliamentary democracy, capitalist economy. Alliance: NATO ($1949$). Assistance: Marshall Plan ($1947$).

• Communist (Eastern) Bloc: Led by the USSR. Features: "People's democracies" (dictatorships), planned economy. Alliance: Warsaw Pact ($1955$). Assistance: CMEA ($1949$).

Stages of Conflict

1. Maximum Tension ($1947-1956$): Truman Doctrine vs. Zhdanov Doctrine. Korean War ($1950-53$).

2. Peaceful Coexistence ($1956-1976$): Dialogue despite crises like the Berlin Wall, Cuban Missile Crisis ($1962$), and Vietnam War ($1954-1975$).

3. Resurgence ($1977-1985$): Deployment of SS-$20$ missiles by USSR; Reagan's "Star Wars" (SDI).

4. End of Cold War ($1985-1991$): Mikhail Gorbachev's reforms (Perestroika/Glasnost). Fall of Berlin Wall ($1989$); collapse of USSR ($1991$).

20th-Century Architecture and Arts Review

• Rationalist Architecture: Le Corbusier (Villa Saboya, Marseille Unit), Walter Gropius (Bauhaus), Mies van der Rohe (Crown Hall). Focus on functionality and reinforced concrete.

• Organic Architecture: Frank Lloyd Wright (Fallingwater/Casa de la Cascada), Alvar Aalto (Paimio Hospital). Focus on balance with nature.

• Action Art: Marina Abramović (Rest Energy). The artist is part of the work.

• Pop Art: Andy Warhol (Marilyn Series, Campbell Soup Cans), Roy Lichtenstein.

• Op Art: Victor Vasarely (Zebras), M.C. Escher (Relativity).

• Abstract Expressionism: Jackson Pollock (Technique: Dripping).

• Hyperrealism: Antonio López (La Gran Vía).

• Late Modern / Deconstructivism: Norman Foster ("Pickle"), Zaha Hadid (Heydar Aliyev Center).