Between the XNUMXth and XNUMXth centuries, a cultural and literary movement called modernism arose. This meant for the time, an important change in the way art was perceived, giving way to the contemporary era. It is currently a phenomenon of study among intellectuals. In this post all the information regarding the Characteristics of modernism, its origin, representatives and much more. Do not miss it!
What is Modernism?
Modernism could be defined as that cultural current that led to an artistic renewal at the end of the XNUMXth century and the middle of the XNUMXth century. This movement contributed to the appearance of new styles in the fine arts, leaving aside what was normally done. The desire to seek new forms of expression brought with it an aesthetic full of sublimity, the use of exotic images and locations, and the glorification and perfection of the senses.
It is mainly inspired by what surrounds us, but moving away from the elements used in the Industrial Revolution. For this reason, it is considered a faithful opposition to the industrial and urbanized world, which was being implemented in all societies. In fact, modernism was initially a literary current in which art was wonderfully intertwined with nature. From there, other disciplines such as painting, sculpture, architecture and music began to be added.
Artists tried to avoid dealing with political or social issues in their works at all costs, preferring to focus on the refinement of language and the development of fanciful and remote stories. From time to time, human feelings and relationships were included in the works. topics of interest, only it was not so common. To this day, Rubén Darío, a Nicaraguan writer, is credited with the name "Father of Modernism." This is because many authors claim that the movement originated with the publication of his collection of poems entitled "Blue" in 1888.
The book represented the establishment of modernism thanks to the sophistication of the aesthetics and the forms used in it. her. By then, the work had a great impact among the population of different countries, even becoming the inspiration for other wonderful authors such as the Mexican Amado Nervo, and the Venezuelan Manuel Díaz Rodríguez.
When the poet referred to this trend, he stated that it was the ideal conceptualization of the new spirit of letters. Literary modernism arose as a consequence of the positivism that prevailed at the time, a way of thinking with a much more scientific and capitalist approach, which he totally rejected any kind of excessive pragmatism.
The term "modernism" was created in order to highlight everything that was written under that style and was corresponding to the historical moment that was being lived. For its strengthening, elements that were much more tangible were required, going beyond simple words. The current wanted to contribute more cosmopolitan, cultured and, above all, creative works, where the way of writing will be completely renewed and open the way to the most relevant characteristics of modernism.
Modernism marked an important milestone, as it was the first time that an author from Latin America exerted a notable influence on Spanish territory, establishing a novel aesthetic model that was tracked. In other words, the modernist trend involved a significant change in the metrics and beauty of language, becoming a fundamental aesthetic renewal of Ibero-American culture.
Darío, realizing everything that his book contributed to world literature, decided to publish in 1986 another text that would further consolidate the movement, this one is called “Prosas Profanas”. The current represented so much for literary history, that even many decades later a large number of critics continue to study and analyze it thoroughly. In addition to this, it currently constitutes a transcendental part of the topics that are taught on the language, in schools and universities around the world.
Historic context
Before explaining in detail what the characteristics of modernism are, it is crucial that we contextualize a little better how this artistic current emerged. In this way, it will be easier to understand the causes of its appearance and why, at that time, it had such an impact on culture.
So let's begin: we are in the middle of the XNUMXth century, a time in which all the consequences left by industrialization are lived, in a world in which materialism has taken a leading role and in which people dedicate many hours of effort to their works. In this framework, the artists who support modernism as a progressive movement are responsible for defending the value of other much more abstract issues, such as creativity, imagination and beauty.
These were simply trying to make the population forget a little about the machines and how important they had become in all means of communication and expression. Compared to past centuries, industrialism caused interest in the fine arts to decline. This kind of thoughts were no longer admissible within societies, since we all had to be "productive" * and ambitious individuals, there was no room for aesthetics and beauty.
The authors, painters, sculptors, musicians and other modernist artists appeared to confront the public's disdain for art, which was turning them into extremely indifferent and selfish beings. Although it is very difficult to pinpoint the origin of this trend, it could be closely related to the last days of literary romanticism. This belief is held, because aspects such as passion, rebellion, defense of feelings and emotions, among other things, are observed in modernism.
However, the most notable difference between both currents is that, as its name indicates, the main objective of modernism is to reflect in the works carried out, in a truthful and convincing way, the historical moment through which it was passing. For this reason, many experts do not consider it only as a literary movement, but also assert that it was a spiritual crisis in the Western world, due to the rise of capitalism and its faithful friend, materialism, which little by little were leaving aside humanism.
In fact, according to Octavio Paz, renowned Mexican poet, essayist, playwright and diplomat, the modernist approach emerged as a clear reply to positivism, since it was practically based on a philosophical position that sought to advocate scientific knowledge, useful, timely and verifiable above any other procedure or skill.
Resulting in the birth of a new style that took up those emotional and subjective manifestations of the man of the past period. Above all, the aim was to create a sublime aesthetic that would move the reader through the use of good language, but avoiding any meaning that was clearly utilitarian.
As far as the visual arts are concerned, two styles from France served as the basis for a celebrated movement that flourished in the following century. The first is Impressionism and the second is Symbolism, both of which significantly opposed the stipulations of academic art imposed at the end of the XNUMXth century.
As a result, the first years of the era that was beginning were quite marked by winds of change, primarily in the technological, political and human relations fields. When we talk about painting, its creators moved away from the means that were very traditional and opted for avant-garde styles, from which cubism, surrealism, futurism and expressionism were born. Despite the fact that many suffered from frequent criticism of their work, they steadily managed to win the affection of the public.
Characteristics of modernism
As we mentioned before, modernism was a trend of great relevance for the XNUMXth and XNUMXth centuries, it had many peculiarities that made it innovative and special. For this reason, we want to talk about the most notable characteristics of modernism. Among the most important are:
Importance of aesthetics
One of the most outstanding characteristics of modernism of literary modernism was the transcendence of aesthetics. In this current, good taste for aesthetics was defended above all else, for the simple fact of enjoying art at its best.
The slogan that was heard the most at that time was "Art for art's sake", which meant that a rational, much less ideological, motive was not needed to carry out works. On the contrary, all that was needed was a pure and infinite love for the craft.
Likewise, it was always sought that the language be as immaculate and careful as possible, since the authors wanted to go a step further in their creations, therefore, they used a sublime, delicate way of writing and loaded with rhetorical figures, which served to give it a much more poetic and cultured touch. For them, the bourgeois was a synonym of bad taste, to stand out they used a rich lexicon, full of Hellenisms, Gallicisms and Latinisms.
Musicality in the poems
In the same line of aesthetics as a fundamental pillar of the characteristics of modernism, the modernist poets tended to elaborate pieces that were very beautiful, not only in terms of harmony but also sonically. Therefore, each of the works of the time had a wonderful musicality, with specific and very marked rhythms.
These were achieved through the use of literary resources such as synesthesia and alliteration, an example of this could be: "Sounding solitude". In the same way, musical phrases or classical stanzas were used that contribute even more to the composition of a magnificent sonority. The verses that were most used were the Alexandrian and the sonnet.
Competition with Romanticism
The greatest exponents of the characteristics of modernism often expressed competition with Romanticism. These considered romantic poetry as a manifestation saturated with reason and logic, elements that hampered the freedom and imagination of the poet at the time of writing.
That is to say, it represented a very important tie in the genuine feeling of the artist. Modernism was in charge of breaking all the criteria that had been imposed by realism and other previous currents. At the same time, he fed on post-romanticism and French symbolism, in search of the exaltation of an innovative musicality.
escape from reality
The rejection of reality was one of the most characteristic aspects of this trend, because as we have mentioned before, it was intended to capture reality in a different way. Rather, what was sought was to completely get away from everyday life, avoid the political and social events of the time, in order to find beauty in what surrounds us. This is basically because the authors did not like the industrialized society in which they lived, where there was no room for their art.
For this reason, it is common to see that stories with modernist tendencies are set in past times or in exotic places far away. Here there were no restrictions regarding notions of time and space, therefore references were never made to historical contexts or the present.
Use of free verse
In modernist texts, all traditional rhymes and meters were left behind and freestyle verse was promoted. This was one of the greatest breaks of the movement in relation to others, since the use of old-fashioned elements was no longer necessary. At that time, it was quite an innovation among artists. One of the best known poems was that of the Colombian writer José Asunción Silva, entitled "Nocturne".
Great influence of Greco-Latin mythology
Another of the many characteristics of literary modernism was that its representatives were considerably inspired by classical beliefs for the composition of their greatest works, specifically in the field of mythology. That is why it is common to find references to gods, myths and legends typical of the culture of Ancient Greece, giving the writings a much more cultured and spiritual air.
multidisciplinary current
Despite the fact that modernism is usually talked about in the field of literature, it must be made clear that this current not only had an influence in the area of letters, but was also transcendent in other disciplines such as art. drawing, painting and architecture. In fact, the architectural plans were transformed in an unprecedented way, as part of the fundamental characteristics of modernism.
Its most famous exponent was Antoni Gaudi, responsible for providing that necessary freshness to this branch of art and renewing it in its entirety. The most used elements in the main constructions of the time were the curved line and asymmetry.
Additionally, new disciplines arrived perfect to bring even more progress to the movement. For example, ceramics and jewelry were incorporated into painting, sculpture and architecture, in order to create a much more complete and multidisciplinary cultural trend. The only bad thing was that novel techniques, such as mass production, interfered with traditional manufacturing methods.
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