Walking to Barcelonacapital of the Spanish region of Catalonia, features a series of extraordinary palaces and constructions from unique, colorful and organic style (architectural approach based on man-nature harmony). These works all bear the name of Antoni Gaudí and Cornetknown simply as Antoni Gaudí. The architect, born on 25 June 1852 and died exactly 100 years ago June 10, 1926 – after being tragically hit by a tram at the age of 73 – shaped the appearance of the Mediterranean city with his unmistakable style, which hosts most of his creations, such as the Sagrada Familia or Casa Batlló.
His ability to capture the Catalan spirit, also becoming a cultural model, makes him the most important exponent of Catalan Modernism and one of the most important names in theEuropean architecture in the Art Nouveau style.
Who was Antoni Gaudí
Born on 25 June 1852 in Reus, southern Catalonia, Antoni Gaudí moved to Barcelona in 1869, where he met several exponents of the Renaixençaa political and cultural movement which, through the recovery of the Catalan language and culture, hoped for theautonomy from the Castilian government. This perspective will greatly influence his artistic career, giving spirit to a very personal language that is practically impossible to pigeonhole.
Having obtained (not without difficulty and interruptions) his diploma in Architecture, Antoni Gaudí began to travel in Europe. In Paris – where he had gone to visit the Universal Exhibition – he came into contact with the first exponents ofArt nouveauan artistic movement born at the end of the nineteenth century in the context of the second industrial revolution with the aim of bringing beauty into everyday life by combining art and craftsmanship. The new architectural language was personalized by Gaudí, who mixed the great decorative richness inspired by the natural and animal world and interest in new industrial materials learned in France at Catalan culturefounding Catalan Modernism.
In Barcelona, Gaudí, although very young, began to have numerous assignments and commissions. He became a designer in the studio of his former professor Joan Martorell, former advisor to the philanthropist Josep Maria Bocabellawho will be the promoter of the construction of the Sagrada Familia church. During this period he met the industrialist Eusebi Güellwho would become his patron.
The most famous and iconic works of the Catalan architect in Barcelona
After the first works, such as the lampposts of the Plaça Reial and Pla de Palau and the Casa Vicens, in the last decades of the nineteenth century Gaudí began to work closely with Güell, building him a palace which, for the first time included the parabolic archeswhich will be typical of his style. A short time later he created, but did not finish, the colossal Park Güellan ambitious urban work built on the side of Mount Carmel and designed as a garden city: in the center there was a large square surrounded by a colonnade, which was accessed via a large staircase populated by imaginary creatures (but similar to lizards) covered in colorful ceramic fragments. A unique work that contributes to his unstoppable fame.
This celebrity is further increased by two iconic later works: the Casa Batlló and the Casa Milà (called La Pedrera), among the most important buildings of the city and of its time. These are buildings with unpredictable and joyful shapes, enriched with decorative elements inspired by the natural world and colorful and virtuous details in ceramic, wood and iron.
His unfinished masterpiece: the Sagrada Familia
From his debut until his death, Gaudí worked tirelessly on his more complex and still unfinished project: the Sagrada Familia (officially called “the Expiatory Temple of the Holy Family”), i.e. the new cathedral of Barcelona. By distorting the original project by Francisco de Paula del Villar y Lozano, Gaudí he imagined a grandiose and revolutionary churchdivided into independent blocks with underground elements and aerial volumes.
Construction will suffer constant interruptions: the project was complex and difficult to implement, also due to the very high spiers. Due to technical difficulties it became increasingly difficult to obtain financing. When the work restarted, Gaudí only managed to see the construction of one of the bell towers completed, the one dedicated to San Barnaba, because on 7 June 1926 it was hit by a tram (the first line present in Barcelona) and died a few days later. His body was buried in the Chapel of the Virgin of Carmelone of the four present in the Crypt of the Sagrada Familia.
