Berlin, 13th August 1961

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The Belle Époque: Jacques Henri Lartigue

One thing I discovered when I read The Vertigo Years (Philipp Blom, 2010) was the work of Jacques Henri Lartigue, a french painter and photographer who has beautifully ilustrated the first years of the 20th century. Maybe, It was because of his time that he focused his objective on social changes such as the rights of women or also on several technical advances and inventions. In addition, he portrayed, among others, celebrities like Marlene Dietrich, Greta Garbo or Renée Perle who, by the way, became his favorite model and lover. 

His early works coincide in time with the era commonly known as Belle Époque in which he wanted to highlight the happiness of the people, the economic strength and the progress of the society. However, people are not often aware of how weak is the world stability. I really think images always explain things we frequently ignore. This time, with the choice of the picture below, I prefer to show one example of what I have just said instead of writing on gold standard or even about the dangerous diplomacy between Germany and other european countries.  I strongly believe that both paths can tell us the same.

Image below: Automobile, 1912 (Jacques Henri Lartigue)

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Convention of Kanagawa

In Japan, one of the most important facts in the second half of the nineteenth century was the signing of the Convention of Kanagawa in 1854 between the Commodore Perry, on behalf of the United States, and the Tokugawa Shogunate. Because of the weakness of its army, Japan was forced to accept trade relations with western lands.

What did this event? Firstly, opened the ports of Shimoda and Kakodate to the United States trade. Japan, as you know, had been isolated since 1633 and, therefore, this step helped the country to improve and to extend its commercial relations with other nations. Secondly, drove it to enhance its way of living by, for instance, setting up enterprises (without real competition, though) and leaving, gradually, feudal policies. Finally, it triggered upheaveals within the country and, as a result, marked the arrival of the Meiji period.

More: Black Ships

Picture below: Com. Perry carrying the 'Gospel of God' to the Heathen, ca. 1854 (James G. Evans)

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The Recovery of Bahía

The Recovery of Bahía de Todos los Santos (Juan Bautista Maíno)

The picture shows one episode of the Thirty Years War in which Spain got back Bahía from Netherlands. It was time of mercantilism and rivalries between european nations, although not only because gold and silver but also about religion (the same issue, actually). You can see on the right side Felipe IV, Olivares (his Primer Minister) and Victoria. Felipe is submitting 'misbelievers'. On the left, the scene is representing peace, piety and other catholic values. The rest explains the aftermath of the battle. That image is a good example of the history of the first half of the 17th century.

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