Category: Articles
The Paleolithic
The Paleolithic Written by Alfonso Elizondo This is the period in prehistory when stone was the main raw material used to make tools for humans at that time. The Paleolithic Age, together with the Mesolithic and the Neolithic, make up the Stone Age. The Paleolithic is considered the longest period in history, extending…
Origin of Modern Art (III)
Origin of Modern Art (III) Written by Alfonso Elizondo André Derain (1880 – 1954) shows that he is part of the fauvist group because of the liveliness of his palette, his bold perspective and his readiness to simplify. In 1908 he turned to the teachings of Cezanne with a deeper vision of nature. Shortly before…
Origin of Modern Art (II)
Origin of Modern Art (II) Written by Alfonso Elizondo Between 1905 and 1906 Henry Matisse started a very bold Modern Art with the use of arabesque, color and drawing of very modern figures. Unlike the Impressionists, Matisse emphasized expression and color dynamics, refraining from nuancing light and shadow within those colors. Twenty-year-old Dutch painter,…
Origin of Modern Art (I)
Origin of Modern Art (I) Written by Alfonso Elizondo Three figures sitting on the grass, 1906, André Derain, (Paris, Museum of Modern Art) One of the first Modern Art movements was ‘Fauvism’, a French expression from the early twentieth century that means ‘wild beasts’ in Spanish. This name was given by the French critic Louis…
Origin of Baroque Art (IV)
Origin of Baroque Art (IV) Written by Alfonso Elizondo It is said that the Baroque Art is the art of the Counter-Reformation, since the Catholic Church promoted it to counter Protestantism by building temples with many sculptures. In addition it instructed the artists to move away from the idolatry that had high approval during the…
Origin of Baroque Art (III)
Origin of Baroque Art (III) Written by Alfonso Elizondo According to the Council of Trent (1545-1563), Baroque art could serve religion by increasing familiarity with the Roman Catholic Church. So they created a different style of biblical art to support the Catholic Counter Reformation and convey the miracles and sufferings of the Saints to…
Origin of Baroque Art (II)
Origin of Baroque Art (II) Written by Alfonso Elizondo Baroque art is a complicated phenomenon that includes social, political and religious elements. It grew out of Italian mannerism that was dominant in the first half of the sixteenth century. It abandoned classical standards, creating a world filled with movement and appealing to the…
Origin of the Baroque (I)
Origin of the Baroque (I) Written by Alfonso Elizondo The famous Baroque period spanned the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, reaching maturity in Italy around 1630. Its two most important elements were the aristocracy and the peasants in the Catholic world. Its main contribution was in architecture, especially in the Church of…
Origin of Gothic Art (IV)
Origin of Gothic Art (IV) Written by Alfonso Elizondo Now we turn to Spain, where the Burgos Cathedral is one of the most beautiful works of Gothic art in the world, and is the main display of classical Gothic architecture of the monarchy of Castile and of the entire Spain. This basilica replaced the…
Origin of Gothic Art (III)
Origin of Gothic Art (III) Written by Alfonso Elizondo The Reims Cathedral of the Catholic faith, dedicated to Our Lady the Virgin Mary is located in the department of Marne in the northeast of France and is the head of the Diocese of Reims. It was built in the thirteenth century shortly…
The New Populism (II)
The New Populism (II) Written by Alfonso Elizondo The current US president, Donald Trump, is a populist and has two important focuses: race and nationalism. It doesn’t matter if it is on the left or on the right, populism is ultranationalist. The bad guys are those who are not the majority because…
The New Populism (I)
The New Populism (I) Written by Alfonso Elizondo According to the Populism Research Group of Brigham Young University, 25% of Europeans voted in recent elections for a candidate from a populist movement, and such parties have tripled their vote in the last 20 years. The geopolitical contexts vary according to geography,…
The Persian Gulf War (II)
The political consequences of the Persian Gulf War have to do mainly with the construction of a new world order in which the US imposes itself as the major world power and proceeds to assume the false role of peacemaker, even bypassing the Nations United in some decisions of global importance. This was a strategy…
The Persian Gulf War (I)
The Persian Gulf War (I) Written by Alfonso Elizondo At the moment global geopolitics points to the fact that the Middle East region where the Persian Gulf is located is the most serious international conflict zone of all and perhaps the area where a third world war will begin. The economic consequences of…
The Collapse of Capitalism in the US (II)
The Collapse of Capitalism in the US (II) Written by Alfonso Elizondo Reagan also decided to freeze the level of the federal minimum wage that fell slowly after 1980 and reached $7 per hour in 2016, as against almost $11 per hour in 1969. This politico-ideological regime was maintained during the presidential terms…
The Collapse of Capitalism in the US (I)
The Collapse of Capitalism in the US (I) Written by Alfonso Elizondo According to Picketty, the astute French economist, between 1930 and 1970 the United States greatly reduced social inequalities, perhaps so as to not imitate Europe which, at that time, was perceived as the antithesis of the democratic spirit. In the period…
Russia’s New Nuclear Missiles (II)
Russia’s New Nuclear Missiles (II) Written by Alfonso Elizondo Although most war experts think Russia already has its new hypersonic missiles aimed at Washington and other Western cities – missiles like the Tsirkon that can travel up to 1000 km to strike ground targets – after his last speech at…
Russia’s New Nuclear Missiles (I)
Russia’s New Nuclear Missiles (I) Written by Alfonso Elizondo Putin wants to regain the confidence of his people, since his popularity has fallen by almost 20% because of the terrible economic situation of the country and his unpopular social reforms. So in his annual state-of-the nation address he announced a package…
The New Climate Change (II)
The New Climate Change (II) Written by Alfonso Elizondo We turn now to effect # 3, that the permafrost is melting. This is not good news for Russia, Canada, Alaska and China; they have frozen ground and their human infrastructure is full of dwelling houses, roads and railroad tracks. It is estimated that Russian…
The New Climate Change (I)
The New Climate Change (I) Written by Alfonso Elizondo According to Planet Earth’s mass media, current climate change will cause high temperatures, droughts and hungry polar bears roaming around residences near the poles. But there is no mention of the increase in the frequency of hurricanes, the displacement of species from the tropics or…
Andrew Yang for President of the United States
Andrew Yang for President of the United States Written by Alfonso Elizondo This incredible individual is the son of a Chinese family that migrated to the United States towards the end of the 20th century. He was educated in the US university system and has put himself forward as a Democratic candidate for the…
Andrew Yang for President of the United States (II)
Andrew Yang for President of the United States (II) Written by Alfonso Elizondo As he has stated in his many interviews with the press and with a variety of NGOs, Andrew Yang believes that the basic principle of his theory are the elements that constitute the structure of the economic, trade, production, political and social…
Disappearing Ice (II)
Disappearing Ice (II) Written by Alfonso Elizondo This phenomenon may explain the gradual disappearance of ice on Planet Earth, but it is still not known why the Arctic Oscillation has been blocked, although some scientists believe that the disappearance of the ozone layer and the high concentrations of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere explain these…
Disappearing Ice (I)
Disappearing Ice (I) Written by Alfonso Elizondo The last Conference of the American Geophysical Union a few days ago pointed to the magnitude of the changes now occurring in the Arctic, where ice levels have dropped alarmingly to reach the levels of the 1950s and maybe levels of several centuries ago. This is…
The World Order in 2019 (III)
The World Order in 2019 (III) Written by Alfonso Elizondo The US is facing 2019 as the run-up to the 2020 presidential election where Trump’s presidency could end or be extended for another four years. The main issues on the country’s political agenda are: 1.- Increased internal political tension…
The World Order in 2019 (II)
The World Order in 2019 (II) Written by Alfonso Elizondo The Middle East and the Maghreb will continue to be one of the most violent regions in the world, so the following issues must be followed: 1.- The relationship between Iran and Saudi Arabia. 2.- The confirmation of al-Assad as the winner in Syria where…
The World Order in 2019 (I)
The World Order in 2019 (I) Written by Alfonso Elizondo According to the leading commentators on world politics, 2019 will not be a year of radical changes, but the main trends of recent years will continue to determine the course of the year and will be put to the test. These dynamics can be…
The Global Far Right (II)
The Global Far Right (II) Written by Alfonso Elizondo The current rise of the ‘far right’ cannot be explained only by the present crisis the world is experiencing; it dates back to the 1980s due to a combination of economic orthodoxy, Christian Messianism and cultural nationalism to which Donald Trump has added the discourse…
The Global Far Right (I)
The Global Far Right (I) Written by Alfonso Elizondo It is very difficult to explain the spectacular rise of the far right globally, both in forms of government and in political parties that are not yet in power but have a very broad electoral base and are influencing the political life of countries such…
Wealth and Poverty in the World
Wealth and Poverty in the World Written by Alfonso Elizondo According to Winnie Byanyime, Executive Director of the prestigious NGO Oxfam International, the concentration of the world’s wealth increased in 2018 and 26 billionaires have as much money as the 3.8 billion people who make up half of the world’s current population. So…