He studied at the Escola Superior d'Arquitectura in Barcelona and designed his first major commission for the Casa Vincens in Barcelona using a Gothic Revival style that set a precedent for his future work. Over the course of his career, Gaudi developed a sensuous, curving, almost surreal design style which established him as the innovative leader of the Spanish Art Nouveau movement. With little regard for formal order, he juxtaposed unrelated systems and altered established visual order. Gaudi's characteristically warped form of Gothic architecture drew admiration from other avant-garde artists.Although categorized with the Art Nouveau, Gaudi created an entirely original style. He died in Barcelona in 1926.
As an architect, Antonio Gaudi was influenced by many things. He found inspiration for his work within medieval books, in gothic-style art, and from organic shapes in nature. For Gaudi these subjects contributed to the development of his own architectural style. Also, Gaudi visited and studied monuments such as Roussillon Mallorca, Montserrat, Toulouse, and the peals of the Pyrenees. His personal love and interest in music also contributed to his style. In addition, Gaudi gained further influence from the writings of an Englishman by the name of John Ruskin. Ruskin conveyed to Gaudi his belief that “ornament [is] the origin of architecture.” Furthermore, writings about architecture contributed to Gaudi’s style. Specifically, a book on medieval French architecture by Viollet-le-Duc was of great influence to Gaudi. Lastly, in order to fund his architectural education, Gaudi assisted various builders in Barcelona; his projects with these builders only amplified his education in architecture.
Gaudi is famous for his last, and most obsessive, work of his li
fe, the Sagrada Familia temple.
Gaudi was a complex man. His architecture was revolutionary, but he was a deeply conservative man. At a time when intellectuals in Barcelona were moving to the left, Gaudi remains a conservative Catholic.
As Gaudi got older his views seemed to become more and more extreme. Gaudi's construction and obsession with the Sagrada Familia was in part a reaction to the sometimes violent anti-clericalism that swirled around Gaudi. Gaudi felt that Barcelona and perhaps all of mankind owed his Catholic God repentance and supplication. Sagrada Familia was a symbol of this repentance and supplication for Gaudi.
Virtually all of the books on Gaudi's architecture include the Sagrada Familia. So I was looking forward to seeing this last work of the great architect. As it turns out, I should not have wasted my time and the 8 Euro entry fee. Sagrada Familia is a disaster.
Only the front four towers of Sagrada Familia were finished during Gaudi's lifetime. He financed the temple entirely on donations and received no support from the Catholic church. Gaudi was constantly short of funds and literally went door raising funds for the Sagrada Familia. The building is, ironically, a Catholic temple, but it will probably never belong to the Catholic church or be consecrated for religious services.
The part of Sagrada Familia designed by Gaudi has only a shadow of the flow and life that can be seen in Casa Batlló or in Park Guell. In the grips of religious fervor, Gaudi's architecture dried up and lost some of its life. While Gaudi's section of Sagrada Familia has none of the soaring beauty of his earlier work, it is not without interest. Gaudi's organic shapes remain, his stone work describing Christian mythology.
Gaudi's existing designs and architectural models were destroyed during the Spanish civil war. Although it was possible to reconstruct some of the lost material, there is no complete design for Sagrada Familia. The new section of Sagrada Familia has not been designed by Gaudi. This new section has been controversial and this controversy is richly deserved. The new section is simply a disaster. For example, like the Gaudi's towers, the new section has sculptures surrounding the entrance. As the photograph below shows, rather than Gaudi's flowing lines, these sculptures have angular modernist lines. Bizarrely, in a bow toward Gaudi's work, some of the sculptures have helmets that follow the design of Gaudi's Casa Mila chimneys.
The building looks very remarkable — like everything Gaudí designed, only identifiable as Modernisme or Art Nouveau in the broadest sense. The ground floor, in particular, is rather astonishing with tracery, irregular oval windows and flowing sculpted stone work.
It seems that the goal of the designer was to avoid straight lines completely. Much of the façademosaic made of broken ceramic tiles (trencadís) that starts in shades of golden orange moving into greenish blues. The roof is arched and was likened to the back of a dragon or dinosaur. A common theory about the building is that the rounded feature to the left of centre, terminating at the top in a turret and cross, represents the sword of Saint GeorgeCatalonia), which has been plunged into the back of the dragon.
Casa Batlló chimney in Barcelona
