French History: Belle Époque Essay

Belle Epoque means beautiful epoch in French. This is an apt description of what took attitude during the late 1800s up until the come out of the closet of the starting time World War. This period of europiuman write up is characterized by political constancy, slumber amongst major(ip)(ip) europiuman nations and a booming in almost all aspects of society. This modern-day golden age of Europe started with the quiet following the Franco-Prussian war. (Rudorff) Although tensions were still present between rival countries like France and Germany, the improvement of global relations helped conclude treaties and summits.Most renowned of these were the Congress of Berlin in 1878 by which the major countries of Europe met to discuss the future of the Balkan and poof states, and the Berlin congou Conference in 1884 which aimed to check European trade in Africa. (Childers and learn Company. ) The major European countries at the start of the Belle epoque were pursuing diploma cy with each separate in concern with major issues. This could be said to be a effect of the past Franco-Prussian war Politics in the Belle Epoque was with few explosive conflicts.Europe as a whole was too fire in Africa, in the Scramble for Africa that followed the Berlin Congo Congress, to fight with each other in their native continent. The Scramble for Africa de noned the individual European Countries contest over the resource affluent continent. The internal politics of each unsophisticated was relatively stable, except for Portugal, with the revolution of 1910. Although reposeful, The Belle Epoque was characterized by growing tension between the substance class and the workers throughout Europe, giving an increase in socialist activities.During this period, science and technology make rapid advancement in almost all fields. The relative isolationism between countries and split of the world was significantly reduced with the prolif successiontion of current modes of tr ansportation like the automobile, the airplane, and the underground railroad track system. The world further shrank with the advent of the telephone, which enabled objective time voice communications crosswise far distances. The world of arts was likewise revolutionized with the cinematograph and the phonograph. The Belle Epoque withal produced unlike breakthroughs in physics, micro biology, biology and chemistry.This was the time of the discoveries and theories of Pasteur, Planck, Bohr, and Einstein among others. It was also in 1895, upon the death of Alfred Nobel, that the Nobel Prize was enacted. The social sciences and psychology also flourished with thinkers like Sigmund Freud, Max Webber and Simmel. by chance the most noted feature of the Belle Epoque is the revolutionist transformations in the art and literature of the world. The perceptual constancy of the major European countries, and the ease by which on could travel within Europe all gave approach to art revol utions alter in European capital cities.In, Paris, a new movement called Impressionism, from the work of article Monet set the standard all crosswise Europe. This was followed by the Expressionist movement, originating in Germany, which blossom forth all throughout Europe and across the Atlantic, to America. Most notable of these were the works of Edward Munch, Wassily and Egon Schiele. nontextual matter Nouveau, fin de siecle and other art movements sprang from various European cities as offspring of some(prenominal) Impressionism and Expressionism. The era also produced a eject in graphic art, with a abundant proliferation of sketches, etchings, lithographs and posters.The decadence brought upon by stability is obvious in the quality of life and the spirited display of the arts in the major European capitals. The artistic freedom in this era was also one highlight. all topic, every scene could be seen envisioned in almost any long suit during the Belle Epoque. Artists i n this era gained almost world(a) notoriety, like Oscar Wilde. The advances in art were not limited to painting and sculpture. Architecture and make also flourished during the Belle Epoque.Parisian fashion among the middle and upper classes were sophisticated and extravagant. (Feinblatt et al. ) Architecture progressed with the rise of the artistic movements, producing many revolutionary works. The foot of the cinematograph also revolutionized visual media, leading to greater interest in films and cinema. Louis Lumiere produced the prototypal on the spur of the moment films that were the first paid public exhibitions of such(prenominal) works. Melies introduced the rattlingm of the extraordinary to the films, showing monstrous spectacles as opposed to real life events.Even advertising reached its first pinnacle during the Bell Epoque, with prints and poster existence source of income and avenue for artistic expression. Literature, medicinal drug and the theatre accompanied the arts advancement during the Belle Epoque. Expressionism lent new material to theatrical productions, which now aimed to shock audiences with graphic and intimate material. (Rearick) Music in the Belle Epoque is evidenced by salon, which gained mainstream popularity due to its light and shot tones. naturalism and realism pervaded literature, with writers like Yeats, Fontane, Mauppasant and Zola.The surrealist works of Franz Kafka also dealt with the conditions of society, the transformation of the world. Other authors include doubting Thomas Mann and Marcel Proust. (Trueba and Lola Films (Firm)) The Belle Epoque ended with the beginning of the beginning World War. The tensions that belied the calm surface of the era culminated in a war that snarly almost all major nations in the world. The socialist undertones brewing during the Belle Epoque all explode during the war. The Belle epoque is considered the golden age of young Europe.In between two major wars, the peace in this e ra produced a ecumenic feeling of stability and decadence. Prosperity and manipulation permeated the lifestyle of the middle and upper classes. The stability of the era also paved the modal value for rapid advancement in the arts, science, literature and technology. As an era, the Belle Epoque is a good pillowcase study as to how productive peace can be, and the effects of wars on the ripening of mankinds culture.References Childers, Thomas, and Teaching Company. Europe and Western Civilization in the Modern period. sound recording /. Teaching Co. ,, Springfield, VA , 1998. Feinblatt, Ebria, et al. Toulouse-Lautrec and His Contemporaries Posters of the Belle Epoque from the Wagner Collection. (1985) 264 p. Rearick, Charles. Pleasures of the Belle Epoque Entertainment and jubilation in Turn-of-the-Century France. (1985) xiii, 239 p. , 10 p. of plates. Rudorff, Raymond. The Belle Epoque Paris in the Nineties. (1973) 365 p. Trueba, Fernando, and Lola Films (Firm). Belle Epoq ue the Age of Beauty. videorecording =. Columbia TriStar Home Video,, Burbank, Calif. , 1994.