New Books in Communications

Vanesa Rodríguez-Galindo, "Madrid on the Move: Feeling Modern and Visually Aware in the Nineteenth Century" (Manchester UP, 2021)

Nov 8, 2025
Vanesa Rodríguez-Galindo, a cultural historian and expert in urban studies, delves into 19th-century Madrid's transformation. She discusses how modernization influenced visual culture, with advancements in print media reshaping identity and societal norms. The rise of illustrated periodicals dazzled readers, showcasing social interactions and urban life. Rodríguez-Galindo contrasts Madrid's adaptations to French influence while highlighting the city's unique identity. Engaging in public space and the role of migrants, she reflects on how the past resonates with today's digital connectivity and cultural imagery.
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INSIGHT

Images Circulated Beyond Elite Readers

  • Illustrated magazines targeted a growing middle and upper-middle readership but images also circulated informally among popular classes.
  • Working-class people accessed images by cutting prints to decorate homes, showing informal visual circulation.
INSIGHT

Illustrators As Graphic Reporters

  • Illustrators acted as graphic reporters, summarizing city life in single images that mixed social classes.
  • Photography couldn't yet capture rapid urban movement, so drawings provided a readable synthesis of urban spectacle.
INSIGHT

Localizing The Flâneur

  • The flâneur model from France entered Spanish debates but merged with local walking traditions like pasear.
  • Journalists Hispanicized 'flâner' into 'flanear' to adapt a foreign archetype to Madrid's practices.
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