Sophie's Europe Adventures!

Today we got the opportunity to go to the Schönbrunn and learn about everyone that comes with that, including Maria Theresia! From what Maryann was teaching us before we went in, I learned a ton. Maria Theresia never officially had the title of Empress, but she had and completed all of the duties that an Empress would. She had a large impact on education. She reformed education and made it compulsory for everyone. She became queen at age 25, and the empire was very unstable. She had no money and was starting from nothing. She spent the first seven years of her reign having babies and fighting wars, and she pretty much won all of them. She proved herself, and was later credited with rebuilding the Austrian-Hungarian empire.  Maria Theresia’s contributions were important for many reasons. First, her reforms in education, administration, and military organization. She took the empire from nothing and rebuilt the entire thing. She established compulsory education, which improved lite...

First day in Vienna! We did a little walking tour and got to learn about Empress Elizabeth. From what Maryann told us about, I learned a ton! Elizabeth was born in Vienna in 1837; in Bavaria. She had an unusually carefree childhood for someone who was in the royalty as much as she was. She was known as the most beautiful woman of her time. She married when she was 16 to Franz Joseph. He happened to be her first cousin, so her aunt was her mother in law. When she had children her mother in law would take them to raise and school them, because she thought Elizabeth was too carefree and didn’t know what she was doing. She didn’t love or enjoy the Royal life, but it loved her. She was so loved and admired by everyone, mostly because of her looks. She had beautiful long hair, and a tiny, tiny waist.  I think Elizabeth, also known as Sisi, has significantly influenced Austrian society through many ways. First, her advocacy for personal freedom and modernization. She helped create cultu...

  Today we got to go to the Belvedere Museum! This was honestly one of my favorite museums so far this trip. For my Vienna art of choice, I decided to do The Kiss (Lovers) by Gustav Klimt. The first thing I noticed when I saw this piece was how unique it was. I’ve seen pictures of it online before, but never realized the different texture and dimension it had to it! They had a plaque to the side that allowed you to feel how the painting felt, which was super cool. As the description plaque on the wall said, this piece is probably Klimt’s most famous work. It shows a couple almost melting into each other, at the edge of a meadow. I thought this piece was very heartwarming, because I could feel the love they had for each other.  I think The Kiss(Lovers) is important both historically and culturally for a few reasons. First, it kind of merges together symbolism and art nouveau, and showcases Klimt’s known style through the different patterns, gold leaf, and the emotions he port...

Today was a great day. This morning, we got the opportunity to go to Quinta da Regaleira! The first thing I noticed when going into the grounds was how large the land was. It was a lot bigger than I was expecting, which I thought was really cool! I noticed all of the caves and areas to go in (which were kind of scary haha). We got to go into the initiation well which was awesome! It was a lot deeper down than I was anticipating which was interesting. After the well were the secret tunnels which we got to walk through too. I can’t imagine having to walk through them in the dark, as they had to back then. They did have high ceilings which was nice, but they were pointy and windey at some parts which I’m sure was very difficult to get through without light!  I think Quinta da Regaleira is significant both historically and culturally in a few different ways. First, it exemplifies the Romantic architectural style from the early 20th century. The large gardens, caves and well reflect t...

For my art of choice in Lisbon, I chose the piece called “The Fisherman” by Constant Troyon. As the description next to the piece said, this was an oil on canvas piece done in 1850. When I saw this, it immediately captured my eye and I fell in love. I admire the simplicity of it. The fisherman on the river with the beautiful background. The colored trees and the contrast between the water and grass and the light sky was captivating to me. Even looking back on the picture I took as I’m writing this, I’m falling more in love with it. When I look at this piece, I feel at peace, like I’m in the picture and the birds are chirping and the water is running. I think the colors and the different shadows and highlights create this feeling, and I absolutely love it.  I think “The Fisherman” by Constant Troyon is important both historically and culturally for a number of reasons. Most significantly, it reflects the shift towards naturalism in paintings, which wasn’t very common at the time. ...

For my Lisbon woman of choice, I chose the woman who the National Theater is named after; Queen Maria II of Portugal. I learned a lot about her and her story from Dr Hegstrom today! The King of Lisbon sailed to Brazil and abandoned Lisbon to anything that was happening with Napoleon's troops. He then named his seven year old daughter to be the queen of Portugal, and to marry her uncle. As soon as her uncle got here, he said she’s not the queen, I’m the real king. At age 15, it was finally settled for her to be queen. She didn’t ever marry her uncle, thankfully, but married and then that husband died. She remarried a man who was named king now too because he had an heir that’s Portuguese. She gave birth to 14 kids and was a great loving mother. She fought for good public health standards to help people with colora. She also pushed for education for all people in Portugal. I think there are many things that make Queen Maria II of Portugal’s contributions important. First, she stabi...

Today we got to go to Amalia Rodrigues’ house! It was super interesting and we got to learn a ton. From what Dr Hegstrom told us, she was a fado singer. She was a very welcoming person. She loved meeting new people and having people over to her house. During the tour, I learned a ton. Her house was more than 300 years old and survived the earthquake. She had a portrait in the beginning of her house so people could feel welcome even though she wasn’t there to welcome her. One of her passions in life was flowers; sometimes she would get caught stealing flowers from gardens in Lisbon. (Hahaha) She was a shy person but would blossom when she was around people! She was a very smart woman. She talked about important things in her songs, but would just say it’s about her romantic life. She died in 1999, and was the first woman to be buried in the pantheon in Portugal. People still call her the Queen of Fado, with the best voice in Portugal and even the world.  In my opinion, I think Ama...

Today we got the opportunity to visit the Descubridores Monument! To be completely honest, I had no clue this was here or what it was, so I was really excited to learn about it! When I first saw this, I noticed how large it was, and how it was right against the water. I noticed that all of the people were larger than life, and they were leading up to one person; Henry the Navigator. As Dr Hegstrom was telling us, he pioneered important things for the age of soil. For example, technology about the caravels. I thought this was a really cool representation about how all of the people are supporting and standing behind Henry the Navigator!  I think the Descubridores Monument is important both historically and culturally for a number of reasons. First, it commemorates the Age of Discovery, like Dr Hegstrom said. This was such an important era in global exploration. Not only did it mark the expansion of global trade and cultural exchange, but it also impacted and helped shape world his...

The piece I chose for my Madrid art choice is Las Meninas. I thought this piece was super interesting! As the description plaque says, this depicts a group of court servants who are around the Infanta Margarita. It includes two “meninas” who attend to her; Mari Bárbbola and Nicolasito Pertusato, a male attendant in the background, and Velázquez himself working in front of a big canvas. There is also a reflection in the mirror of Philip IV and Mariana of Austria who appear to be looking over the scene. The scene is set in one of the rooms in the Alcázar in Madrid. Through this piece, Velázquez  reflects on the Spanish monarchy as well as on his own personal status and art.  I believe that Las Meninas is an important piece both historically and culturally in many ways. First, it’s such a masterpiece of Baroque art, and it shows Velázquez’s mastery of composition, perspective, and the use of light. The painting gives insight into the dynamics and relationships that come within ...

Today we got to go to the city of Toledo! It was such a cute town, and we got the opportunity to go into the Toledo Cathedral. When I walked up, I noticed a handful of things. I noticed how big it was, I noticed the amount of detail that was put into the architecture. I noticed the many statues on the outside, and I also noticed the amount of depth that was on it. There were many layers to it which I thought was really cool! When I walked in, the first thing I noticed was how large it was. I really enjoyed seeing all of the different paintings, sculptures, art pieces, etc. all over the cathedral. I think my favorite were the paintings on the ceiling on the back side. They were so pretty and had so much detail on the people.  I think the Toledo Cathedral is important both historically and culturally for a handful of reasons. First, historically, it acts as a symbol of Spain’s religious heritage, which dates so far back. It shows the different architectural styles from different ti...

For my woman of choice in Madrid, I chose to write about Emilia Pardo Bazán. She was the first woman to become a professor at the University of Madrid. She was a literary professor and wrote articles about literature. Male professors were mad because they weren’t supposed to have women professors at the school. So, they boycotted her lectures. This resulted in a very very small attendance of students because the men wouldn’t work with them and sign off on their thesis’ if they attended. This just pushed her more. She was a great female realist and naturalist writer. She wrote stories about adventure, fantastic stories, stories about women, children’s stories, and even Christmas stories. She was the second woman to be a member of the literary club in Madrid. She also weighed over 300 pounds and all of the other novelists shamed her for it, but that didn’t stop her from achieving all of these things.  I think there are many things that made Emilia Pardo Bazán’s contributions import...

Concepión Arenal was a Spanish woman who changed society. She was a feminist, writer, and social reformer in the 1800s. She was an advocate for women’s rights, education, and prison reform. She graduated law school, but was only allowed to attend dressed as a man because women were not allowed to attend university at that time. She also entered an essay into a literary contest and won, but it was under her son's name. From what I have learned about her, she seems similar to other women we’ve learned about so far. She stood for what she believed in, and didn’t let people tell her otherwise! She is very inspiring and has helped me realize I can also do things I put my mind to!  I think Concepión Arenal’s contributions are so important for a number of reasons. These include: her pioneering efforts in advocating for prison reform, women’s rights, and social justice in Spain. Her ideas that were very progressive at the time, as well as her writings put a challenge on the status quo. T...

Today we got to visit the Archeology museum in Madrid! It was really interesting, and there were a lot of pieces that I was intrigued with. The one I chose for this blog post was the Tablas de Retablos. When I looked at this piece, I noticed a handful of things. First, there was a lot going on. A lot of different colors, people, different shapes, and sizes. I noticed that some of the people were a lot larger in size compared to others, maybe making them of more significance. I noticed the main person in the middle, who was also the biggest, had a lot of gold detailing above him. This shows me that he is probably the most important in this piece, or had the biggest impact. I also noticed that each person tied some color red into their part, which I thought was interesting!  I think the Tablas de Retablos in the Madrid Archaeology Museum is historically and culturally significant for a number of reasons. First, it provides important and valuable insights into medieval Spanish relig...