1.
1880 in art
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Events from the year 1880 in art. October – Vincent van Gogh enrolls in an art course at the Académie Royale des Beaux-Arts in Brussels. Fifth Impressionist exhibition in Paris, at 10 rue des Pyramides, the realist painter Jean-François Raffaëlli is also invited by Degas to exhibit. Silver Studio founded by Arthur Silver in London for textile and wallpaper design, anton Mauve paints Changing Pasture, his palette and usage of colour influences Vincent van Gogh. Michael Ancher marries fellow painter Anna Brøndum, national Gallery of Canada established in Ottawa. Grand Prix de Rome, painting, Henri Lucien Doucet, Grand Prix de Rome, sculpture, Grand Prix de Rome, architecture, Grand Prix de Rome, music, Lucien Joseph Edouard Hillemacher
2.
Franco-Prussian War
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The conflict was caused by Prussian ambitions to extend German unification and French fears of the shift in the European balance of power that would result if the Prussians succeeded. On 16 July 1870, the French parliament voted to declare war on the German Kingdom of Prussia, the German coalition mobilised its troops much more quickly than the French and rapidly invaded northeastern France. The German forces were superior in numbers, had training and leadership and made more effective use of modern technology, particularly railroads. The German states proclaimed their union as the German Empire under the Prussian king Wilhelm I, the Treaty of Frankfurt of 10 May 1871 gave Germany most of Alsace and some parts of Lorraine, which became the Imperial territory of Alsace-Lorraine. French determination to regain Alsace-Lorraine and fear of another Franco-German war, along with British apprehension about the balance of power, the causes of the Franco-Prussian War are deeply rooted in the events surrounding the unification of Germany. In the aftermath of the Austro-Prussian War of 1866, Prussia had annexed numerous territories and this new power destabilized the European balance of power established by the Congress of Vienna in 1815 after the Napoleonic Wars. France was strongly opposed to any further alliance of German states, in Prussia, some officials considered a war against France both inevitable and necessary to arouse German nationalism in those states that would allow the unification of a great German empire. Bismarck also knew that France should be the aggressor in the conflict to bring the southern German states to side with Prussia, many Germans also viewed the French as the traditional destabilizer of Europe, and sought to weaken France to prevent further breaches of the peace. The immediate cause of the war resided in the candidacy of Leopold of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen, France feared encirclement by an alliance between Prussia and Spain. The Hohenzollern princes candidacy was withdrawn under French diplomatic pressure, releasing the Ems Dispatch to the public, Bismarck made it sound as if the king had treated the French envoy in a demeaning fashion, which inflamed public opinion in France. They also argue that he wanted a war to resolve growing domestic political problems, other historians, notably French historian Pierre Milza, dispute this. According to Milza, the Emperor had no need for a war to increase his popularity, the Ems telegram had exactly the effect on French public opinion that Bismarck had intended. This text produced the effect of a red flag on the Gallic bull, gramont, the French foreign minister, declared that he felt he had just received a slap. Napoleons new prime minister, Emile Ollivier, declared that France had done all that it could humanly and honorably do to prevent the war, a crowd of 15–20,000 people, carrying flags and patriotic banners, marched through the streets of Paris, demanding war. On 19 July 1870 a declaration of war was sent to the Prussian government, the southern German states immediately sided with Prussia. The French Army consisted in peacetime of approximately 400,000 soldiers, some of them were veterans of previous French campaigns in the Crimean War, Algeria, the Franco-Austrian War in Italy, and in the Mexican campaign. Under Marshal Adolphe Niel, urgent reforms were made, universal conscription and a shorter period of service gave increased numbers of reservists, who would swell the army to a planned strength of 800,000 on mobilisation. Those who for any reason were not conscripted were to be enrolled in the Garde Mobile, however, the Franco-Prussian War broke out before these reforms could be completely implemented
3.
Henry James
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Henry James, OM was an American-born British writer. He is regarded as one of the key figures of 19th-century literary realism and he was the son of Henry James, Sr. and the brother of philosopher and psychologist William James and diarist Alice James. He is best known for a number of novels showing Americans encountering Europe and his method of writing from a characters point of view allowed him to explore issues related to consciousness and perception, and his style in later works has been compared to impressionist painting. His imaginative use of point of view, interior monologue and unreliable narrators brought a new depth to narrative fiction, James contributed significantly to literary criticism, particularly in his insistence that writers be allowed the greatest possible freedom in presenting their view of the world. James claimed that a text must first and foremost be realistic, good novels, to James, show life in action and are, most importantly, interesting. In addition to his voluminous works of fiction he published articles and books of travel, biography, autobiography, and criticism, and wrote plays. James alternated between America and Europe for the first twenty years of his life, eventually he settled in England, becoming a British subject in 1915, James was nominated for the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1911,1912, and 1916. James was born at 2 Washington Place in New York City on 15 April 1843 and his parents were Mary Walsh and Henry James Sr. His father was intelligent, steadfastly congenial, and a lecturer and philosopher who had inherited independent means from his father, Mary came from a wealthy family long settled in New York City, and her sister Katherine lived with the family for an extended period of time. Henry, Jr. had three brothers, William who was one year his senior and younger brothers Wilkinson and Robertson, the family first lived in Albany and then moved to Fourteenth Street in New York City when James was still a young boy. His education was calculated by his father to him to many influences, primarily scientific and philosophical, it was described as extraordinarily haphazard. James did not share the usual education in Latin and Greek classics, Henry studied primarily with tutors and briefly attended a few schools while the family traveled in Europe. Their longest stays were in France, where Henry began to feel at home and became fluent in French, in 1860 the family returned to Newport. There Henry became a friend of the painter John La Farge, who introduced him to French literature, James later called Balzac his greatest master, and said that he had learned more about the craft of fiction from him than from anyone else. In the autumn of 1861 Henry received an injury, probably to his back and this injury, which resurfaced at times throughout his life, made him unfit for military service in the American Civil War. In 1864 the James family moved to Boston, Massachusetts to be near William, in 1862 Henry attended Harvard Law School, but realized that he was not interested in studying law. The future Supreme Court Justice, and with James and Annie Fields and his first published work was a review of a stage performance, Miss Maggie Mitchell in Fanchon the Cricket, published in 1863. About a year later, A Tragedy of Error, his first short story, was published, Jamess first payment was for an appreciation of Sir Walter Scotts novels, written for the North American Review
4.
Henrik Ibsen
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Henrik Johan Ibsen was a major 19th-century Norwegian playwright, theatre director, and poet. He is often referred to as the father of realism and is one of the founders of Modernism in theatre and he is the most frequently performed dramatist in the world after Shakespeare, and A Dolls House became the worlds most performed play by the early 20th century. Several of his dramas were considered scandalous to many of his era. Ibsens later work examined the realities that lay behind many façades and it utilized a critical eye and free inquiry into the conditions of life and issues of morality. The poetic and cinematic early play Peer Gynt, however, has strong surreal elements, Ibsen is often ranked as one of the most distinguished playwrights in the European tradition. Richard Hornby describes him as a profound poetic dramatist—the best since Shakespeare and he is widely regarded as the most important playwright since Shakespeare. He influenced other playwrights and novelists such as George Bernard Shaw, Oscar Wilde, Arthur Miller, James Joyce, Eugene ONeill, Ibsen was nominated for the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1902,1903, and 1904. Ibsen wrote his plays in Danish and they were published by the Danish publisher Gyldendal, born into a merchant family connected to the patriciate of Skien, Ibsen shaped his dramas according to his family background. He was the father of Prime Minister Sigurd Ibsen, Ibsens dramas continue in their influence upon contemporary culture and film with notable film productions including A Dolls House featuring Jane Fonda and A Master Builder featuring Wallace Shawn. Ibsen was born to Knud Ibsen and Marichen Altenburg, in a merchant family, in the small port town of Skien in Telemark county. Ibsens grandfather, ship captain Henrich Ibsen, had died at sea in 1797, Knud Ibsens paternal ancestors were ship captains of Danish origin, but he decided to become a merchant, having initial success. His marriage to Marichen Altenburg, a daughter of ship-owner Johan Andreas Altenburg, theodore Jorgenson points out that Henriks ancestry reached back into the important Telemark family of Paus both on the fathers and on the mothers side. Hedvig Paus must have well known to the young dramatist. Henrik Ibsen was fascinated by his parents strange, almost incestuous marriage, Henriks sister Hedvig would write about their mother, She was a quiet, lovable woman, the soul of the house, everything to her husband and children. She sacrificed herself time and time again, There was no bitterness or reproach in her. The Ibsen family eventually moved to a city house, Snipetorp, owned by Knud Ibsens half-brother, Ibsen would both model and name characters in his plays after his own family. At fifteen, Ibsen was forced to leave school and he moved to the small town of Grimstad to become an apprentice pharmacist and began writing plays. In 1846, when Ibsen was age 18, a liaison with a servant produced a child, whose upbringing Ibsen had to pay for until the boy was in his teens
5.
Gaiety Theatre, London
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The Gaiety Theatre was a West End theatre in London, located on Aldwych at the eastern end of the Strand. The theatre was first established as the Strand Musick Hall in 1864 on the site of the Lyceum Theatre. In 1868, it known as the Gaiety Theatre and was, at first, known for music hall and then for musical burlesque, pantomime. From 1868 to the 1890s, it had a influence on the development of modern musical comedy. Under the management of John Hollingshead until 1886, the theatre had early success with Robert the Devil, by W. S. Gilbert, followed by many other burlesques of operas, many of the productions starred Nellie Farren. Hollingsheads last production at the theatre was the burlesque Little Jack Sheppard, produced together with his successor, Edwardess first show, Dorothy, became a long-running hit. In the 1890s, the theatre introduced new style of theatre in London now referred to as the Edwardian musical comedy. These shows employed female dancers known as the Gaiety Girls and were extraordinarily popular, a success in this genre was The Shop Girl, which was followed by many girl-themed musicals. The building was demolished in 1903, and the theatre was rebuilt at the corner of Aldwych, when Edwardes died in 1915, Robert Evett, took over the management of the theatre and had a number of further successes, notably Theodore & Co and Going Up. By 1939 and in need of refurbishment, the theatre closed, the building suffered extensive bomb damage during air raids and stood empty until it was demolished in 1956. The theatre was financed by a joint stock company and built in 1864 as the Strand Musick Hall by Bassett and this large theatre, with over 2,000 seats, was built at a time when many new theatres were being built in London. Unlike at many music halls, the proprietors decided to ban smoking and drinking within the hall. A novel gas lighting system was incorporated in the hall, using prisms, exhausting the heat of the gas jets drew fresh air into the building. The house was approached through an arcade, from the Strand. This was never successful and, with the theatre, was demolished to allow the building of the Aldwych. In 1868, the theatre was rebuilt by John Hollingshead as the Gaiety Theatre, on a nearby prominent site at the centre of the Aldwych. It was designed by the theatre architect C. J. Phipps, a restaurant operated in the building, and patrons could eat before seeing the show and then go directly to their seats without having to worry about the weather outside. The Gaiety Theatre opened on 21 December 1868, with On the Cards and several pieces, including the successful Robert the Devil, by W. S. Gilbert
