Podcast Summary

Podcast: New Books Network
Host: Christophe Benietz
Guest: Professor Vanesa Rodríguez-Galindo
Episode: "Madrid on the Move: Feeling Modern and Visually Aware in the Nineteenth Century"
Date: November 8, 2025

Overview

This episode features a conversation with Professor Vanesa Rodríguez-Galindo about her book Madrid on the Move: Feeling Modern and Visually Aware in the Nineteenth Century (Manchester UP, 2021). The discussion explores how Madrid’s urban landscape, visual culture, and illustrated print media shaped and reflected notions of modernity in the 19th century. Rodríguez-Galindo delves into what "being modern" meant to residents and how Madrid’s development both paralleled and diverged from other European capitals. The dialogue covers urban transformation, the rise of mass culture, social class interactions, stereotypes, and the interplay between local and global influences.

Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. The Book’s Main Focus and Motivation

• Rodríguez-Galindo’s Approach:
  • The book explores how visual culture and illustrated media in late 19th-century Madrid articulated relationships between local and global identities, modernization, and city life (03:27).
  • "What did being modern mean to people in Madrid in that period? ...I realized that terms like modern, modernity, modernization were not really in use in that period and they were not used in the same way that we use these terms today." (04:25)

2. Urban Transformation in 19th-Century Madrid

• Urban Growth and Immigration:

  • Madrid underwent significant urbanization between the mid-1850s and 1900, driven by technological innovation and mass migration (05:35).
  • Expansion occurred through both spontaneous shantytowns for migrants and planned urban projects, such as Canal Isa Segunda and the remodeling of Puerta del Sol (05:35–09:02).

• Comparison with Other European Cities:

  • Madrid’s transformation was similar to urban reforms seen in cities like Paris and London, both inspired by and reacting to foreign models (05:35, 27:40).

3. Rise of Illustrated Print Media and Mass Culture

• Technological Advances:

  • Printing technologies enabled images and text to be combined, fueling a boom in illustrated newspapers, magazines, broadsheets, pamphlets, and posters (09:17).
  • Images in print became powerful tools of public communication, eventually requiring legal regulation due to their societal influence (11:35).

• Audience and Reach:

  • Primarily targeted burgeoning middle and upper classes, but evidence from period novels shows working-class residents also interacted with visual culture (15:27).
  • “We also see... people of the popular classes were also using these, these illustrations... to decorate their barren walls.” (15:39)

4. Visual Culture: Messages, Spirit, and Social Mixing

• Panoramic and Satirical Approaches:

  • Illustrated magazines brought the world to readers, displaying panoramic city views and scenes from both Madrid and abroad (12:01).
  • Satirical presses targeted humor and highlighted the comic aspects of modernization and public life interactions (12:01–15:08).

• Social Classes in Public Space:

  • Visual representations, such as the 1876 illustration of Puerta del Sol, depicted diverse social classes mixing in public—a contrast with contemporary Parisian art (16:23–20:42).
  • "What the illustrator was also trying to do was to give readers an image of the city... in one single glance. And that's an important aspect... They were artists, but they were also reporters." (17:17)

5. Identity, Immigration, and the Spirit of Strolling

• Strolling and Social Observation:
  • The rise of strolling (flânerie) reflects a new way of seeing and being seen in the city, contributing to a visual and participatory urban culture (24:34).
  • Spanish journalists debated adopting the French word flâneur, eventually creating the Hispanicized flaneard to reflect a hybrid local identity (24:34–27:04).
  • "Seeing and being seen is fundamental in the 19th century and at a time when strolling becomes a pastime and social necessity." (22:43)

6. Parisian Influence and Madrid’s Global Perspective

• France as Reference and Rival:

  • Paris was “the benchmark of modernity” in art and city planning—Madrid both admired and resisted emulation (27:40).
  • Spanish commentators actively questioned whether Madrid should imitate Paris or find its own path (29:54).

• Reception and Resistance:

  • "It's more of a conscious awareness... and a creative resistance or assimilation sometimes... It's a messy process of give and take." (30:26)
  • Both foreign (French and British) and local influences shaped Madrid’s modernization—but not in straightforward imitation.

7. Stereotypes, Romanticism, and Costumbrismo

• Foreign Stereotypes of Spain:

  • The romantic, “primitive” view of Spain as a backwater (exemplified by Hemingway) dates back centuries and influenced international and local perceptions (34:09).
  • Late 19th-century Spaniards were acutely aware of these foreign portrayals (34:09–37:42).

• Costumbrismo Genre:

  • Costumbrismo, a literary and visual genre depicting everyday social types, flourished in Spain and beyond—often nostalgic for a vanishing past (37:56).
  • It served as a simple, mass-readable visual language—precursor to modern visual typologies (37:56–41:29).
  • "It created, I would say it was very much linked to mass culture. And as you mentioned, costumbrismo is usually viewed as a... nostalgic, conservative view of the past." (37:56)

• Modern Equivalents:

  • Contemporary parallels drawn with projects like Humans of New York—modern typologies without explicit labels (43:16).

8. Spain’s Place: Periphery and Center

• National Identity and Empire:
  • Topic of Spain’s self-image: simultaneously former imperial center and European periphery, especially before the loss of its last colonies in 1898 (45:19).
  • Illustrated press reflected Madrid's aspirations and anxieties as it tried to position itself as a modern European capital (45:19–47:16).

9. Challenges and Surprises in Researching Modernity

• Contemporary Language vs. Historical Reality:

  • Rodríguez-Galindo was struck by how terms like "modernity" and "modernization" meant something entirely different (or were absent) in her period of study (47:31).
  • "Sometimes what we write is anachronistic... I realized that I didn’t want to come to a conclusion to say Madrid is modern or Madrid is not modern. That’s not what I wanted to do." (47:31)

• Research Evolution:

  • Transition from archival work to digital access changed the scope and approach to sources mid-project (49:00).

10. Continuing the Conversation: New Projects

• Current and Future Research:

  • Studying the concept of high life and its cross-cultural journeys (51:04).
  • Research into postcards as tangible, collectible visual media—analogy to the “Instagram of their time” (51:57).

• Contemporary Relevance:

  • Reflections on whether city strolls and people-watching are “lost” in the digital age, or simply transformed (53:23).
  • "I think people-watching... gives you a sense of belonging... At the same time, we can't escape the power of the Internet..." (53:58)

Notable Quotes and Memorable Moments

• On Modernity and Historical Mindset:

  • “What did being modern mean to people in Madrid in that period?...terms like modern, modernity, modernization, were not really in use in that period.”
    — Vanesa Rodríguez-Galindo (04:25)

• On Visual Culture’s Democratizing Role:

  • “People of the popular classes were also using these illustrations...to decorate their barren walls.”
    — Vanesa Rodríguez-Galindo (15:39)

• On the Importance of Seeing and Being Seen:

  • “Seeing and being seen is fundamental in the 19th century and at a time when strolling becomes a pastime and social necessity.”
    — Vanesa Rodríguez-Galindo (22:43)

• On Influence and Resistance:

  • "It's a messy process of give and take, assimilation, resistance...both the foreign and the local [forces] shaped mentalities and urban identities...”
    — Vanesa Rodríguez-Galindo (30:26)

• On Stereotypes and International Perception:

  • “This romantic idea of Spain that Hemingway writes about was already present...in 17th, 18th, 19th century romantic travelers...there was already in the late 19th century this awareness that, you know, we have, this is our reputation.”
    — Vanesa Rodríguez-Galindo (34:09–37:42)

• On the Enduring Appeal of Typologies:

  • “That kind of formula, that visual formula...is still appealing to us even nowadays.”
    — Vanesa Rodríguez-Galindo (43:16)

• On Changing Research Methods:

  • “From doing this painstaking kind of archival work to finding all this… online… you realize how much more you could have done had you had access to all that information.”
    — Vanesa Rodríguez-Galindo (49:00)

Timestamps for Key Segments

• Introduction to Book and Concepts: 03:27–05:15
• Madrid’s Urban Changes: 05:35–09:02
• Illustrated Print Media and Mass Culture: 09:17–15:27
• Class and Access in Visual Culture: 15:27–16:23
• Social Mixing and Puerta del Sol: 16:23–20:42
• Seeing, Being Seen, and Urban Identity: 22:25–24:34
• The Flâneur and Cultural Exchange: 24:34–27:04
• Paris’s Influence and Resistance: 27:40–31:28
• Foreign Stereotypes of Spain: 32:33–37:42
• Costumbrismo’s Role and Appeal: 37:56–41:29
• Visual Language and Modern Parallels: 42:59–44:37
• Spain’s Changing Identity and Empire: 44:37–47:16
• Surprises in Research: 47:16–49:00
• Future Projects: 51:04–53:23
• People-Watching: Lost or Transformed?: 53:23–55:17

Conclusion

Rodríguez-Galindo’s work situates Madrid at the crossroads of tradition and modernity, local and global, periphery and center. Through the lens of illustrated print media and urban experience, her book reveals how 19th-century Madrileños negotiated changing identities and cultures in an era often overshadowed by France but uniquely their own. Her insights into costumbrismo, the spirit of strolling, and the democratizing power of images resonate with both historical and contemporary concerns.

Listeners interested in the visual and cultural transformation of cities, the interplay between local and global identities, and the history of mass media will find both the book and this conversation richly rewarding.