Courbet’s “Burial at Ornans”: A Study in Realism
The painting features a predominance of horizontal lines, broken only by the cross. The contours are well defined with very limited alignments. The chromatic range leans towards brown (representing the land) and black (symbolizing mourning), contrasted by the white of the church, the village women, and a goose. The treatment of daylight suggests the early hours of dawn, with shadows that are not yet strongly defined. Loose brushwork emphasizes linearity over a purely pictorial approach.
Composition
The
Read MoreUnderstanding Mass Media: Journalism, Language, and Genres
Mass Media: An Overview
Mass media (television, radio, print, internet) are a phenomenon of great influence today, frequently visited by all. The press has always existed, but the invention of the linotype started a golden age, now also present on the internet.
Types of Mass Media
- Television: Broadcasts news previously published in videotape form, using images and signs.
- Radio: Uses language codes and sound, allowing instant transmission of live events with simple language.
- Newspapers and Magazines:
Trajan’s Column: History and Significance
Trajan’s Column
General Documentation
- Author: Apollodorus of Damascus
- Chronology: 2nd Century AD
- Location: Forum of Trajan (Rome)
- Size: 40m in height
- Material: Marble
- Style: Imperial Roman
- Type: Relief
- Theme: Memorial
Formal Analysis
Technique and Material:
This work is a marble carving on a shaft, and a subtractive technique was used with abrasives. The shaft is smooth in certain areas. It is a relief sculpture that appears sunken and in half-relief: low relief incisions are representing buildings thoroughly;
Read More19th-Century Society: Realism and Naturalism in Literature
Social and Cultural Changes in the 19th Century
The triumph of the bourgeoisie and increased mechanization led to the abandonment of liberal ideas. The capitalist system was born, in which industrial production affected economic, political, and social spheres. The Industrial Revolution and capitalism transformed Western society: the inherited nobility lost importance, the aristocracy of money rose, and the industrial proletariat emerged, subject to production needs, unprotected in the power of the
Read More19th-Century Art Movements: From Romanticism to Post-Impressionism
Romanticism (France and England)
- France:
- Théodore Géricault: The Raft of the Medusa
- Eugène Delacroix: The Barque of Dante, The Massacre at Chios, The Death of Sardanapalus, Entry of the Crusaders in Constantinople, Liberty Leading the People
- England:
- John Constable: The Hay Wain, Salisbury Cathedral
- J.M.W. Turner: Snow Storm at Sea, Rain, Steam and Speed
- Germany:
- Caspar David Friedrich: Wanderer above the Sea of Fog, The Sea of Ice
Romantic Sculpture
- François Rude: The March of the Volunteers (also known
Understanding Language: Definition, Communication, and Semiotics
Language Definition
Language is a system of rules and signs used to express meanings. Moreover, language is unique to human thought. A sign is something that represents something else, standing in its place. We can identify three types of signs, all of which have in common that they represent something else:
- Icon: This sign has a visual relationship with what it represents, such as a traffic signal.
- Indication: Between the sign and what it stands for, there is a causal link, such as seeing smoke on