The portrait of the first poster artists of Spanish cinema: From the genre scene to the realistic portrait

The article, which is part of a more detailed piece of work, aims to highlight the use of the portrait on the film posters of the first Spanish poster artists before the Star-System was introduced in Spain. For this it is posed the evolution that occurs in the representation of the characters in the film poster from the second decade to the beginning of the thirties in the twentieth century, a historical period of profound influences of the artistic and advertising vanguards in our poster artists´ work. However, in the late twenties moving from the simple inclusion of the scene based on the picture of a film, to the chromatic and realistic representation of the star´s face. These were the years when the influence of the major North American studios began to show in Spain. Nevertheless, it highlights their technical and compositional freedom and their influence on subsequent poster artists, as many of them will integrate the portraits and settings on their posters, following the guidelines of the major studios or the independent ones. But without forgetting their own personal way of painting the film stars’ faces on their posters.

Advertisement and society in graphic magazine: La Esfera (1920-1930)

In the first third of the 20th century, Spain entered into modernity thanks to the positive state of its economic, cultural and social domains after the First World War. The objective of this article is to understand the role of artistic advertisements in the transformation of Spanish society that occurred during the decade of the ‘20s. My study of the illustrated magazine La Esfera has revealed that illustrated advertisements spread fashion, fostered sports and outdoors life, created the habit of smoking among women and had an educational influence that was powerful enough to change hygienic practices among children.

Bailando con Dioniso: el mito de Leucipo y Daphne de Richard Strauss y Joseph Gregor

Primera parte de un artículo dividido en dos que analiza la profunda reinterpretación que del mito de Dafne llevaron a cabo, a partir del relato alternativo de Partenio de Nicea más que del célebre relato de Ovidio, Richard Strauss y su libretista Joseph Gregor en su versión operística Daphne (1938). El objetivo final es someter a examen la declaración expresa de Strauss sobre el significado de su nueva ópera y si a través de la manipulación del argumento mítico los autores lograron alcanzar su objetivo.

Ariane et la Clef d'Or

L’œuvre de Paul Dukas ne peut pas être réduite à son œuvre la plus célèbre, L’Apprenti sorcier. Ayant pratiqué aussi la critique, Dukas apparaît comme un auteur avec un style original et propre différencié de celui de Debussy. Dans Ariane et Barbe-Bleue, malveillamment considérée comme une simple réponse à Pelléas et Mélisande, sa préoccupation principale reste la transformation en musique du poème de Maeterlinck, d’en sortir la musique interne du langage écrit.

Daughter of Eve, "Femme Fatale", and Persecuted Artist: The Mythic Transgressive Woman in Oscar Wilde's and Richard Strauss's "Salome"

Historically, Salome was an unexceptional figure who never catalyzed John the Baptist's death. However, in Christian Scripture, she becomes the dancing seductress as fallen daughter of Eve.  Her stepfather Herod promises Salome his kingdom if she dances for him, but she follows her mother’s wish to have John beheaded. In Strauss’s opera, after Wilde's Symbolist-Decadent play, Salome becomes independent of Herodias’ will, and the mythic avatar of the femme fatale and persecuted artist who Herod has killed after she kisses John's severed head.  Her signature key of C# major, resolving to the C major sung by Herod and Jokanaan at her death, represent her tragic fate musically.