Antoni Gaudí

gigatos | June 9, 2022

Summary

Antoni Gaudí i Cornet or Antonio Gaudí June 25, 1852-Barcelona, June 10, 1926) was a Spanish architect, maximum representative of Catalan modernism.

Gaudí was an architect with an innate sense of geometry and volume, as well as a great imaginative capacity that allowed him to mentally project most of his works before turning them into plans. In fact, he rarely made detailed plans of his works; he preferred to recreate them on three-dimensional models, molding all the details as he mentally conceived them. On other occasions, he would improvise as he went along, giving instructions to his collaborators on what they should do.

Endowed with a strong intuition and creative capacity, Gaudí conceived his buildings in a global way, attending to structural solutions as well as functional and decorative ones. He studied even the smallest detail of his creations, integrating into the architecture a whole series of craftsmanship that he himself mastered to perfection: ceramics, glasswork, iron forging, carpentry, etc. He also introduced new techniques in the treatment of materials, such as his famous trencadís made with pieces of scrap ceramics.

After beginnings influenced by neo-Gothic art, as well as certain orientalist tendencies, Gaudí ended up in modernism in its most effervescent period, between the end of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th. However, the architect from Reus went beyond orthodox modernism, creating a personal style based on the observation of nature, the result of which was his use of ruled geometric shapes, such as the hyperbolic paraboloid, the hyperboloid, the helicoid and the conoid.

Gaudí”s architecture is marked by a strong personal stamp, characterized by the search for new structural solutions, which he achieved after a lifetime dedicated to the analysis of the optimal structure of the building, integrated into its surroundings and being a synthesis of all the arts and crafts. Through the study and practice of new and original solutions, Gaudí”s work will culminate in an organic style, inspired by nature, but without losing the experience provided by previous styles, generating an architectural work that is a perfect symbiosis of tradition and innovation. Likewise, all his work is marked by what were his four great passions in life: architecture, nature, religion and love of Catalonia.

Gaudí”s work has become widely known internationally over the years, and countless studies have been devoted to his understanding of architecture, and today he is admired by both professionals and the general public. Today he is admired by both professionals and the general public: the Sagrada Familia is currently one of the most visited monuments in Spain. Between 1984 and 2005, seven of his works were considered World Heritage Sites by UNESCO.

Beauty is the radiance of truth, and since art is beauty, without truth there is no art.

Also read, biographies – Edgar Degas

Birth, childhood and studies

Antoni Gaudí was born on June 25, 1852, son of the industrial boilermaker Francesc Gaudí i Serra (1813-1906) and Antònia Cornet i Bertran (1819-1876). He was the youngest of five siblings, of whom only three reached adulthood: Rosa (1844-1879), Francesc (1851-1876) and Antoni. Gaudí”s family origins go back to the south of France, in Auvergne, from where one of his ancestors, Joan Gaudí, a peddler, moved to Catalonia in the 17th century; the surname in its origin could be Gaudy or Gaudin.

The exact place of Gaudí”s birth is unknown, since no document is preserved that specifies it, there being a controversy between Reus and Riudoms (two neighboring and adjoining municipalities of the Bajo Campo region) on the birthplace of the architect. Even so, in most of Gaudí”s documents, both from his student and professional periods, he is listed as having been born in Reus. However, Gaudí himself stated on several occasions that he was from Riudoms, the birthplace of his father”s family. What is certain is that he was baptized in the prior church of Sant Pere Apòstol de Reus the day after his birth. The name on his baptismal certificate is Anton Placid Guillem.

However it was, Gaudí felt a great appreciation for his homeland, which was evident in his great Mediterraneanism, a fact that greatly influenced his architecture: Gaudí said that Mediterranean people have an innate sense of art and design, that they are creative and original, while the Nordic people are more technical and repetitive. In Gaudí”s own words:

We possess the image. Fantasy comes from ghosts. Fantasy comes from the people of the North. We are concrete. The image is of the Mediterranean. Orestes knows where he is going, while Hamlet wanders lost in doubt.

His stay in his homeland also helped him to get to know and study nature in depth, especially during his summer stays at Mas de la Calderera, the Gaudi”s house in Riudoms. He liked the contact with nature, so he later became a member of the Centro Excursionista de Cataluña (1879), an organization with which he made numerous trips throughout Catalonia and the south of France. He also practiced horseback riding for a time, and until his old age he walked about ten kilometers a day.

The family environment was perhaps one of the catalysts for Gaudí”s creativity. More than five generations in his family worked in the manufacture of copper products, including his father and his two grandfathers. They mainly manufactured giant barrels for the distillation of alcohol from grapes in Tarragona. Gaudí himself admits that the spatial aspects of these large wrought copper sheet figures had an influence on him, causing him from an early age to have a notion of objects as three-dimensional and not geometrically represented on a plane. This perception of the figures as malleable and almost sculptural objects led him to develop his characteristic style in the future.

The young Gaudí was of a sickly nature, and suffered from rheumatism as a child, which gave him a somewhat withdrawn and reserved character. Perhaps for this reason, when he grew up he became a vegetarian and a supporter of the hygienist theories of Dr. Kneipp. Because of these beliefs – and for religious reasons – he sometimes indulged in severe fasting, so much so that on occasions he endangered his own life, as in 1894, when he fell seriously ill due to prolonged fasting.

He did his first studies in the kindergarten of the teacher Francesc Berenguer, father of the one who would be one of his main collaborators, and then went to the Piarists of Reus; he excelled in drawing, collaborating with the weekly El Arlequín. He also worked for a while as an apprentice in the Vapor Nou textile factory in Reus. In 1868 he moved to Barcelona to attend high school at the Convent of Carmen in Barcelona. In his adolescence he was close to utopian socialism, carrying out with two fellow students, Eduardo Toda and Josep Ribera i Sans, a restoration project for the Monastery of Poblet that would turn it into a utopian-social phalanstery.

Between 1875 and 1878 he did his military service in the Infantry Arm in Barcelona, being assigned to Military Administration. He spent most of the time on reduced duty because of his health, so he was able to continue his studies. Thanks to this he did not have to enter combat, as it coincided with the Third Carlist War. 1876 saw the sad event of the death of his mother, at the age of 57, as well as that of his brother Francesc at 25, a recently qualified doctor who never practiced.

He studied architecture at the Escuela de la Lonja and at the Escuela Técnica Superior de Arquitectura de Barcelona, where he graduated in 1878. In addition to architecture, he attended French classes and took some history, economics, philosophy and aesthetics courses. His academic record was average, with the occasional failure; Gaudí was more concerned with his own interests than with the official subjects. Elies Rogent, director of the Barcelona School of Architecture, said at the time of awarding him his degree:

We have given the title to a madman or a genius, time will tell.

To pay for his degree, Gaudí worked as a draughtsman for various architects and builders, such as Leandre Serrallach, Joan Martorell, Emilio Sala Cortés, Francisco de Paula del Villar y Lozano and Josep Fontserè. Perhaps that is why, upon receiving his degree, Gaudí, with his ironic sense of humor, commented to his friend the sculptor Llorenç Matamala:

Llorenç, they say I am already an architect.

Also read, biographies – Hans Hofmann

Maturity and professional work

His first projects were the street lamps for the Plaza Real, the unrealized project of Kioscos Girossi and the Cooperativa Obrera Mataronense. With his first major commission, the Casa Vicens, Gaudí began to acquire renown, and received increasingly larger commissions. At the Paris Exposition Universelle of 1878, Gaudí exhibited a showcase made for the Guanteria Comella. The modernist design, both functional and aesthetic, impressed the Catalan industrialist Eusebi Güell who, upon his return, contacted the architect to entrust him with several projects he had in mind. Thus began a long friendship and a fruitful patronage that gave rise to some of Gaudí”s most outstanding works: the Güell Cellars, the Güell Pavilions, the Güell Palace, the Güell Park and the Colonia Güell Chapel. He was also related to the Marquis of Comillas, father-in-law of Count Güell, for whom he designed El Capricho de Comillas.

In 1883 he agreed to take charge of continuing the recently begun work on the Expiatory Temple of the Sagrada Familia. Gaudí totally modified the initial project, making it his masterpiece, known and admired all over the world. From 1915 he devoted himself almost entirely to this project, until his death. Gaudí began to receive more and more commissions, so, working on several works at the same time, he had to surround himself with a large team of professionals from all fields related to construction; in his studio many architects would be trained who would eventually reach a renowned position in the sector, such as Josep Maria Jujol, Juan Rubió, Cèsar Martinell, Francesc Folguera and Josep Francesc Ràfols. In 1885, to escape the cholera epidemic that ravaged Barcelona, Gaudí spent a stay in San Felíu de Codinas, residing in the house of Francesc Ullar, for whom he designed a dining table in gratitude.

One of the events of the time for the Catalan capital, and which served as a starting point for modernism, was the Universal Exposition of 1888, where the leading architects of the time would exhibit their best works. Gaudí participated with the building of the Transatlantic Company, and received a commission to restructure the Salón de Ciento of the Barcelona City Hall, which in the end was not carried out. In the early 1890s he received two commissions outside Catalonia: the Episcopal Palace of Astorga and the Casa Botines in León. Thus, the fame and prestige of the architect from Reus was spreading throughout Spain. In 1891 he traveled to Malaga and Tangiers to examine the site of a project for a Catholic Franciscan Mission, which he had been commissioned by the 2nd Marquis of Comillas; the project was not carried out, but the towers designed for the Missions served Gaudí as a model for the towers of the Sagrada Familia.

In 1899 he became a member of the Círculo Artístico de San Lucas, a Catholic artistic society founded in 1893 by Bishop José Torras y Bages and the brothers Josep and Joan Llimona. He also became a member of the Lliga Espiritual de la Mare de Déu de Montserrat, a Catalanist organization also of a Catholic nature, thus showing the conservative and religious character of his political thought, linked to the defense of the cultural identity of the Catalan people. Despite the apparent contradiction between the utopian ideals of his youth and his later ascription to more conservative positions, the evolution may be natural if we take into account the architect”s deep spirituality; in the words of Cèsar Martinell, “he replaced secularist philanthropy with Christian charity”.

The beginning of the century found Gaudí embarked on numerous projects, which evidenced the change in his style, increasingly personal and inspired by nature. In 1900 he received the prize for the best building of the year for the Casa Calvet, awarded by the Barcelona City Council. During the first decade of the century he worked on projects such as the Casa Figueras, better known as Bellesguard, the Parque Güell, an unsuccessful urban development project, and the restoration of the Cathedral of Santa Maria in Palma de Mallorca, for which he made several trips to the island. Between 1904 and 1910 he built Casa Batlló and Casa Milà, two of his most emblematic works.

Gaudí”s fame was increasing, causing, for example, that in 1902 the painter Joan Llimona chose Gaudí”s physiognomy to represent St. Philip Neri in the paintings of the transept of the church of San Felipe Neri in Barcelona. That year he founded with Joan Santaló, son of his friend Dr. Pere Santaló, a company dedicated to iron forging, which failed.

Since his move to Barcelona, Gaudí had often changed his residence: in his student days he lived in a boarding house, generally in the Gothic Quarter area; when he began his career, he moved to various rented apartments in the Eixample area. Finally, in 1906 he settled in a house he owned in the Parque Güell, built by his assistant Francisco Berenguer as a show house for the development; today it is the Gaudí House-Museum. Here he lived with his father (who died in 1906 at the age of 93) and his niece, Rosa Egea Gaudí (who died in 1912 at the age of 36). He lived in this house until 1925, a few months before his death, residing this last time in the Sagrada Familia workshop.

One of the events that deeply marked Gaudí were the events of the Tragic Week of 1909; Gaudí remained secluded at that time in his house in Park Güell, but due to the anticlerical atmosphere and the attacks against churches and convents he feared for the integrity of the Sagrada Familia -which fortunately was not damaged-.

In 1910 an exhibition dedicated to Gaudí was held at the Grand Palais in Paris, as part of the annual salon of the Société des Beaux-Arts de France. Gaudí participated at the behest of Count Güell, with a series of photos, plans and plaster models of several of his works. Although he participated out of competition, he received very good reviews from the French press. A good part of this exhibition could be seen the following year at the 1st National Architecture Salon held at the Municipal Exhibition Pavilion of the Buen Retiro in Madrid.

While the Paris exhibition was being held in May 1910, Gaudí spent a rest period in Vich, where he designed two basalt and wrought iron lampposts for the Plaza Mayor of Vich, on the occasion of the centenary of Jaime Balmes. The following year he was also forced to spend some time in Puigcerdà, due to Malta fever; during this period of rest he conceived the façade of the Passion of the Sagrada Familia. Due to his seriousness, on June 9 he wrote a will before the notary Ramon Cantó i Figueres; fortunately, he was able to recover completely.

The years 1910 were hard for Gaudí, who suffered several misfortunes: in 1912 his niece Rosa died; in 1914 his main collaborator, Francisco Berenguer, died; in 1915 a serious economic crisis almost paralyzed the works of the Sagrada Familia; in 1916 his friend José Torras y Bages, bishop of Vich, died; in 1917 the works of the Colonia Güell were interrupted; in 1918 his friend and patron, Eusebi Güell, died. Perhaps because of all this, from 1915 he devoted himself entirely to the Sagrada Familia, taking refuge in his work. Gaudí confesses to his collaborators:

My great friends are dead; I have no family, no clients, no fortune, no nothing. So I can give myself totally to the Temple.

Indeed, the last years of his life were devoted entirely to the “Cathedral of the poor” -as it is popularly known-, for which he even went so far as to ask for alms in order to be able to continue with the works. Apart from this dedication, he carried out few other activities, almost always related to religion: in 1916 he participated in a Gregorian chant course given at the Palau de la Música Catalana by the Benedictine monk Gregorio Suñol.

Gaudí lived completely dedicated to his profession, remaining single all his life. It seems that only once he was attracted to a woman, Josefa Moreu, a teacher at the Cooperativa Mataronense, around 1884, but it was not reciprocated. Since then Gaudí took refuge in his deep religiosity, in which he found great spiritual tranquility. Often the image has been painted of a sullen and unfriendly Gaudí, of brusque answers and haughty gestures; but the people who knew him best described him as an affable and courteous person, a good conversationalist and faithful to his friends, among whom his patron, Eusebi Güell, and the bishop of Vic, José Torras y Bages, as well as the writers Joan Maragall and Jacinto Verdaguer, the doctor Pere Santaló and some of his most faithful collaborators, such as Francisco Berenguer and Llorenç Matamala, were especially noteworthy. …

Gaudí”s personal appearance – with Nordic features, blond hair and blue eyes – underwent a radical transformation over time: from being a young man with the look of a dandy (expensive suits, well-groomed hair and beard, gourmet tastes, frequent attendance at the theater and opera, he even visited the construction sites riding in his carriage), he passed in his old age to the strictest simplicity, eating frugally, wearing old and worn suits, with an unkempt appearance, so much so that sometimes he was taken for a beggar, as unfortunately happened at the time of the accident that caused his death. …

Gaudí left practically no writings, apart from technical reports of his works required by official bodies, some letters to friends (mainly to Joan Maragall) and some newspaper articles. Some of his phrases collected by some of his assistants and disciples, mainly Josep Francesc Ràfols, Joan Bergós, Cèsar Martinell and Isidre Puig i Boada, are preserved. The only writing left by Gaudí is known as the Reus Manuscript (1873-1878), a kind of student diary where he collected various impressions on architecture and decoration, setting out his ideas on the subject; of note are the analyses he made of the Christian temple and the manor house, as well as a text on ornamentation and a memoir for a writing-desk.

Gaudí always recognized himself as a supporter of Catalanism, although he never wanted to get involved in politics -some politicians like Francisco Cambó or Enric Prat de la Riba proposed him to run for deputy, but he declined the offer-. Even so, he had several altercations with the police: in 1920 he was beaten by the same in a riot formed in the celebration of the Floral Games; on September 11, 1924, National Day of Catalonia, during a demonstration against the prohibition of the use of Catalan by the dictatorship of Primo de Rivera, he was arrested by the Civil Guard, spending a brief stay in the dungeon, from which he left with a bail of 50 pesetas.

Also read, biographies – Alexander Graham Bell

Death

On June 7, 1926 Gaudí was on his way to the church of San Felipe Neri, which he visited daily to pray and meet with his confessor, Mossen Agustí Mas i Folch; But when passing through the Gran Vía de las Cortes Catalanas, between the streets Gerona and Bailén, he was run over by a streetcar. Being taken by a beggar, because he was undocumented and because of his unkempt appearance, with worn and old clothes, he was not helped immediately, until a civil guard stopped a cab that took him to the Hospital de la Santa Cruz. The next day he was recognized by the chaplain of the Sagrada Familia, Mossen Gil Parés, but it was too late to do anything for him. He died on June 10, 1926, at the age of 73, in the prime of his career. He was buried on June 12, in the chapel of Nuestra Señora del Carmen in the crypt of the Sagrada Familia, in the presence of large crowds who wanted to bid him a last farewell. His tombstone bears the following inscription:

Antonius Gaudí Cornet

Also read, biographies – Edward the Martyr

Repercussion of Gaudí”s work

After his death Gaudí fell into relative oblivion, and his work was reviled by international critics as baroque and excessively fanciful. In his homeland he was also scorned by the new trend that replaced modernism, noucentisme, a style that returned to the classical canons. In 1936, during the course of the Civil War, Gaudí”s workshop in the Sagrada Familia was raided, destroying a large number of documents, plans and models of the modernist architect.

His figure began to be vindicated in the 1950s, first by Salvador Dalí, followed by the architect Josep Lluís Sert. In 1956 a retrospective on Gaudí was organized at the Salon del Tinell in Barcelona, and in 1957 his first major international exhibition, at the MoMA in New York. Also, between 1950 and 1960, the studies of international critics such as Bruno Zevi, George Collins, Nikolaus Pevsner and Roberto Pane gave great diffusion to Gaudí”s work, while in his homeland he was vindicated by Alexandre Cirici, Juan Eduardo Cirlot and Oriol Bohigas. It is also worth noting the great success obtained by Gaudí in Japan, where his work is greatly admired, highlighting the studies by Kenji Imai and Tokutoshi Torii. Since then the appreciation of Gaudí has been increasing, a process that was reflected in the cataloguing in 1969 of 17 works by Gaudí as Historic-Artistic Monuments of Cultural Interest by the Spanish Ministry of Culture (RD 1794

In 1952, the centenary of the architect”s birth, the Association of Friends of Gaudí was founded to disseminate and conserve the legacy left by the Catalan architect. In 1956 the Gaudí Chair was created, belonging to the Polytechnic University of Catalonia, also with the aim of deepening the study of Gaudí”s work and participating in its conservation; in 1987 King Juan Carlos I granted it the title of Royal Gaudí Chair. In 1976, on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of his death, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs organized an exhibition on Gaudí that toured the world.

On the occasion of the 150th anniversary of Gaudí”s birth, the year 2002 was celebrated as International Gaudí Year, with a multitude of official events, concerts, shows, conferences, publications, etc. Among other events, on September 24 of that year the musical Gaudí, about the life and work of the architect from Reus, was premiered at the Palacio de los Deportes de Barcelona, a work by Jordi Galceran, Esteve Miralles and Albert Guinovart. In 2008 the Gaudí Awards were instituted in his honor, awarded by the Catalan Film Academy, which recognize the best Catalan film productions of the year.

A man of deep religiosity and ascetic life, the beatification of Antoni Gaudí has been proposed, a process initiated in 1998 by the archbishop of Barcelona, Ricard Maria Carles. In 2000, the Holy See authorized the beginning of the process with the decree nihil obstat, by which Gaudí was considered a servant of God, the first step towards beatification.

In 2013, on the occasion of the 130th anniversary of Gaudí”s first work, the Cooperativa Obrera Mataronense, the Council for the Promotion and Dissemination of Gaudí”s work was created with the support of the Generalitat de Catalunya, a body chaired by the Minister of Culture of the Generalitat in charge of preserving the architectural legacy of the modernist genius, as well as disseminating and publicizing his work among the population. Among other initiatives, for 2017 it is planned to launch a “Gaudí passport”, similar to the existing one for the Camino de Santiago, which would be stamped when visiting each of the buildings built by the architect, thus promoting the knowledge of his works.

Also read, biographies – Marcelo H. del Pilar

Gaudí and modernism

The architect”s professional career had a sui generis evolution, due to his constant research in the field of the mechanical structure of the works. In his beginnings, Gaudí was influenced by oriental art (India, Persia, Japan), through the study of the historicist architectural theorists Walter Pater, John Ruskin and William Morris. We see this orientalizing current in works such as the Capricho de Comillas, the Palacio Güell, the Güell Pavilions or the Casa Vicens. Later, it follows the neo-Gothic trend in fashion at the time, following the dictates of the French architect Viollet-le-Duc. It can be seen in the Teresian School, the Episcopal Palace of Astorga, Casa Botines and Casa Bellesguard, as well as in the crypt and the apse of the Sagrada Familia. Finally, he reached his most personal stage, with a naturalistic, individual, organic style, inspired by nature, in which he created his masterpieces.

During his time as a student Gaudí was able to contemplate a collection of photographs that the School of Architecture had on Egypt, India, Persian, Mayan, Chinese and Japanese art, as well as Spanish Islamic monuments, which left a deep impression on him and served as inspiration for many of his works. He also studied in detail the book Plans, elevations, sections and details of the Alhambra, by Owen Jones, belonging to the library of the School. From the Nasrid and Mudejar arts he took multiple structural and ornamental solutions that he applied with certain variations and stylistic freedom to his works. One aspect to highlight that Gaudí took from Islamic art is the spatial indefinition, the conception of space without structured limits; space that acquires a sequential sense, fragmented, through small partitions or diaphanous hollows, which create separation without assuming compact barriers that delimit a uniformly closed space.

But undoubtedly the style that most influenced him was Gothic art, which at the end of the 19th century was undergoing a great renaissance due mainly to the theoretical and restorative work of Viollet-le-Duc. The French architect advocated studying the styles of the past and adapting them to the present in a rational way, attending to both structural and ornamental reasons. However, for Gaudí Gothic was “imperfect”, because despite the effectiveness of some of its structural solutions it was an art that needed to be “perfected”. In his own words:

Gothic art is imperfect, it is half resolved; it is the style of the compass, of the formula of industrial repetition. Its stability is based on the permanent propping up of the buttresses: it is a defective body that supports itself with crutches (…) Proof that Gothic works are of a deficient plastic is that they produce the maximum emotion when they are mutilated, covered with ivy and illuminated by the moon.

After these initial influences, Gaudí ended up in modernism in its period of greatest splendor, in the years between the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. In its beginnings, modernism found inspiration in historicist architecture, since for modernist artists the return to the past was a reaction against the industrial forms imposed by the new technological advances produced by the Industrial Revolution. The use of the styles of the past represents a moral regeneration that allows the new ruling class, the bourgeoisie, to identify with values that they recognize as their cultural roots. Likewise, the resurgence of Catalan culture from the mid-19th century (the Renaixença) led to the adoption of Gothic forms as Catalonia”s “national” style, with the aim of combining nationalism and cosmopolitanism, of integrating into the European modernizing current.

Some essential features of modernism are: an anti-classical language inherited from romanticism, with a tendency towards a certain lyricism and subjectivism; a strong link between architecture and the applied arts and artistic crafts, creating a markedly ornamental style; the use of new materials, creating a mixed constructive language rich in contrasts, seeking the plastic effect of the whole; a strong feeling of optimism and faith in progress, which produces an exalted and emphatic art, reflecting the climate of prosperity of the time, especially in the bourgeois class.

Gaudí”s architecture does not fit within modernism, while all modernism fits perfectly within Gaudí”s work.

Also read, biographies – Edward Weston

In search of a new architectural language

Gaudí is often considered the great master of Catalan modernism, but his work goes beyond any style or attempt at classification. It is a personal and imaginative work that finds its main inspiration in nature. Gaudí studied in depth the organic and anarchically geometric forms of nature, looking for a language to translate these forms into architecture. Some of his greatest inspirations came from the mountain of Montserrat, the caves of Mallorca, the Cueva del Salnitre (Collbató), the cliffs of Fra Guerau in the Prades mountain range near Reus, the mountain of Pareis in the north of Mallorca, the Coll de la Desenrocada (between Argentera and Vilanova d”Escornalbou) or Sant Miquel del Fai in Bigas, all of them places visited by Gaudí.

This study of nature translates into the use of ruled geometric forms such as the hyperbolic paraboloid, the hyperboloid, the helicoid and the conoid, which exactly reflect the forms that Gaudí finds in nature. The ruled surfaces are forms generated by a straight line, called the generatrix, when it moves along a line or several lines, called guidelines. Gaudí found them in abundance in nature, as for example in reeds, canes or bones; he said that there is no better structure than a tree trunk or a human skeleton. These forms are both functional and aesthetic, and Gaudí used them with great wisdom, knowing how to adapt the language of nature to the structural forms of architecture. Gaudí assimilated the helical form to movement, and the hyperboloidal to light. He had this to say about ruled surfaces:

Los paraboloides, hiperboloides y helicoides, variando constantemente la incidencia de la luz, tienen una riqueza propia de matices, que hacen innecesaria la ornamentación y hasta el modelaje.​

Another of the elements used profusely by Gaudí is the catenary curve. Gaudí had studied geometry in depth when he was young, reading numerous treatises on engineering that praised the virtues of using the catenary curve as a mechanical element, which however at that time was only used in the construction of suspension bridges; Gaudí was the first to use this element in common architecture. The use of catenary arches in works such as the Casa Milà, the Teresian School, the chapel of the Colonia Güell or the Sagrada Familia allowed Gaudí to provide his structures with an element of great resistance, since the catenary regularly distributes the weight it supports, suffering only tangential forces that cancel each other out.

With all these elements, Gaudí moved from flat geometry to spatial, ruled geometry. In addition, these constructive forms were very well suited to a simple type of construction and cheap materials, such as brick: Gaudí often used brick joined with mortar, in superimposed layers, as in the traditional Catalan vaulting. This search for new structural solutions had its culmination between 1910 and 1920, when he experimented in a practical way all his research in his masterpiece: the Sagrada Familia. Gaudí conceived this temple as if it were the structure of a forest, with a set of arborescent columns divided into several branches to support a vaulted structure of interlaced hyperboloids. He inclined the columns to better receive the pressures perpendicular to their section; in addition, he gave them a helical shape with a double twist (dextrorotatory and levorotatory), as in the branches and trunks of trees. This branching creates a structure today called fractal which, together with the modulation of the space, which subdivides it into small independent and self-supporting modules, creates a structure that perfectly supports the mechanical tensile stresses without the need to use buttresses, as required by the Gothic style. Gaudí thus achieved a rational and structured solution, perfectly logical and adapted to nature, creating at the same time a new architectural style, original and simple, practical and aesthetic.

This new construction technique allows Gaudí to realize his greatest architectural desire, to perfect and surpass the Gothic style: the hyperboloid vaults have their center where the Gothic vaults had the keystone, with the exception that the hyperboloid allows the creation of a hollow in that space, a void that allows the passage of natural light. Likewise, at the intersection between the vaults, where the Gothic vaults had the ribs, the hyperboloid again allows the opening of small openings, which Gaudí takes advantage of to give the sensation of a starry sky.

This organic vision of architecture is complemented in Gaudí by a singular spatial vision that allowed him to conceive his architectural designs in a three-dimensional way, as opposed to the two-dimensionality of the flat design of traditional architecture. Gaudí said that he had acquired this spatial sense as a child, seeing the designs his father made for the boilers and stills he manufactured. Because of this spatial conception Gaudí always preferred to work on molds and models, or even improvising on the ground as the work progressed; reluctant to draw plans, he rarely made sketches of his works, only when he was required to do so by official authorities.

One of his many innovations in the technical field was the use of a model for the calculation of structures: for the church of the Colonia Güell he built a large-scale model (1: 10), four meters high, where he installed a wooden board -fixed on the roof- where he had drawn the plan of the church; from the points that in this drawing represented the supporting elements of the building -columns and intersection of walls- he hung strings from which hung fabric bags filled with lead pellets -whose weight was proportional to the loads-, which thus suspended, and by the effect of gravity, gave the resulting catenary curve, both in arches and vaults. From here he took a photograph, which once inverted gave the structure of columns and arches that Gaudí was looking for. On these photographs Gaudí painted, with gouache or pastel, the already defined outline of the church, highlighting every detail of the building, both architecturally, stylistically and decoratively.

Gaudí”s position in the history of architecture is that of a great creative genius who, inspired by nature, created a style of his own, of great technical perfection as well as a careful aesthetic value, marked by the stamp of his strong personality. His structural innovations, which to a certain extent represent the overcoming of previous styles, from Doric to Baroque, passing through Gothic, the architect”s main source of inspiration, could be considered to represent the culmination of classical styles, which Gaudí reinterprets and perfects. Thus Gaudí overcame the historicism and eclecticism of his generation, but without connecting with other currents of 20th century architecture, which with its rationalist postulates derived from the Bauhaus School would represent an evolution antithetical to that initiated by Gaudí, a fact that would mark the initial contempt and incomprehension towards the work of the modernist architect.

Another factor in the initial fall into oblivion of the Catalan architect is that, despite having numerous assistants and disciples in the execution of his works, Gaudí did not create a school of his own, as he never devoted himself to teaching and left practically no writings. Some of his collaborators followed in his footsteps closely, especially Francisco Berenguer and Josep Maria Jujol; others, such as Cèsar Martinell, Francesc Folguera and Josep Francesc Ràfols evolved towards Noucentisme, moving away from the master”s wake. Despite this, we can perceive a certain influence of the creator of the Sagrada Familia in some modernist architects -or who started from modernism- who did not have direct contact with Gaudí, such as Josep Maria Pericas (Casa Alòs, Ripoll), Bernardí Martorell (Olius Cemetery) or Lluís Muncunill (Masía Freixa, Tarrasa).

Even so, Gaudí has left a deep mark on 20th century architecture: architects such as Le Corbusier declared themselves admirers of the Catalan architect”s work, and others such as Pier Luigi Nervi, Friedensreich Hundertwasser, Oscar Niemeyer, Félix Candela, Eduardo Torroja or Santiago Calatrava are to this day indebted to the style initiated by Gaudí. Frei Otto used Gaudinian forms in the Munich Olympic Stadium. In Japan, the work of Kenji Imai is clearly influenced by Gaudí, as can be seen in the Memorial to the 26 martyrs of Japan in Nagasaki (National Architecture Prize of Japan in 1962), where the use of the famous trencadís of the architect from Reus stands out. On the other hand, the teaching and research work carried out by art critics since 1950 has placed the artist in a well-deserved place of relevance in 20th century architecture.

Architecture is the first plastic art; sculpture and painting need the first. All its excellence comes from light. Architecture is the arrangement of light.

Also read, history – Qara Qoyunlu

Design and craftsmanship

As a student, Gaudí frequented various craft workshops, such as those of Eudald Puntí, Llorenç Matamala and Joan Oñós, where he learned the basics of all the trades related to architecture, such as sculpture, carpentry, forging, glassmaking, ceramics, plaster casting, etc. He was also able to assimilate new technological advances, incorporating iron and reinforced concrete construction into his technique. All this was due to Gaudí”s global vision of architecture as a multifunctional work of design, in which even the smallest detail had to be elaborated in an integrated, proportionate whole. This knowledge allowed him not only to dedicate himself to his architectural projects, but also to design all the elements of the works he created, from the furniture to the lighting or the iron forge finishes.

Gaudí was also an innovator in the field of craftsmanship, devising new technical or decorative solutions with the materials he used, such as his way of designing ceramic cladding made from scrap pieces (trencadís), in original and imaginative combinations. For the restoration of the Cathedral of Mallorca he created a new technique for making stained glass, consisting of juxtaposing three glasses of the primary colors -and sometimes a neutral one-, varying the thickness of the glass to be able to graduate the intensity of the light.

He also personally designed many of the sculptures of the Sagrada Familia, applying a curious working method of his own devising: first, he made a thorough anatomical study of the figure, focusing on the joints -for which he carefully studied the structure of the human skeleton-; sometimes he made use of wire dolls to test the proper posture of the figure to be sculpted. Secondly, he took photographs of the models, using a system of mirrors that provided multiple perspectives. Next, he made plaster casts of the figures, both of people and animals (on one occasion he had to hoist a donkey so that it would not move). On these molds he modified the proportions to achieve a perfect view of the figure depending on its location in the temple (the higher the figure, the larger it was). Finally, it was sculpted in stone.

In addition to being an architect, Gaudí was an urban planner and landscape designer, always trying to place his works in the most appropriate environment, both natural and architectural. He made a deep study of the location of his buildings, which he tried to integrate naturally into the surrounding landscape, often using the most common material in his environment, such as slate stone in Bellesguard or the gray granite of Bierzo in the Episcopal Palace of Astorga. Many of his projects included gardens, such as Casa Vicens or the Güell Pavilions, or were even completely landscaped, such as the Güell Park or the Can Artigas Gardens. A perfect example of integration in nature was the First Mystery of Glory of the Monumental Rosary of Montserrat, where the architectural frame is nature itself -in this case the rock of Montserrat-, which gives space to the sculptural group that decorates the path to the Holy Cave.

Gaudí also excelled as an interior designer, taking personal charge of the decoration of most of his buildings, from the design of the furniture to the smallest details. In each case he knew how to apply stylistic particularities, personalizing the decoration according to the owner”s taste, the predominant style of the building or its location in the environment, whether urban or natural, or depending on its typology, secular or religious -a good part of his production was linked to liturgical furniture-. Thus, from the design of a desk for his own office at the beginning of his career, through the furniture designed for the Sobrellano Palace in Comillas, he made all the furniture for the Vicens, Calvet, Batlló and Milà houses, the Güell Palace and the Bellesguard Tower, to end up in the liturgical furniture of the Sagrada Familia. It should be noted that Gaudí carried out ergonomic studies to adapt his furniture to the human anatomy in the most optimal way possible. Much of the furniture he designed is currently on display at the Gaudí House-Museum in Park Güell.

Another aspect to highlight is the intelligent distribution of space, designed to create an atmosphere of comfort and intimacy in the interior of all its buildings. To this end, he organized the space into different sections or environments adapted to their specific use, through the use of partitions, false ceilings, sliding doors, stained glass windows or wall cabinets. In addition to taking care of all the structural and ornamental elements down to the last detail, he made sure that his constructions had perfect lighting and ventilation, for which he studied in detail the orientation of the building with respect to the cardinal points, as well as the climate of the area and its fit in the surrounding natural environment. At that time the demand for greater domestic comfort began, with the canalization of water, gas and electricity, elements that Gaudí knew how to incorporate in a masterful way in his constructions. For the Sagrada Familia, for example, he carried out in-depth studies of acoustics and lighting to optimize them. Gaudí had this to say about light:

The light that achieves the maximum harmony is the one that has an inclination of 45°, because it strikes the bodies in a way that is neither horizontal nor vertical. It is the one that can be considered medium light and gives the most perfect vision of the bodies and their most exquisite nuance. It is the light of the Mediterranean.

The lighting also serves Gaudí to organize the space, attending in a carefully studied way to the gradation of light intensity to suit each specific environment. This is achieved with different elements such as skylights, stained glass windows, blinds or lattices; noteworthy in this regard is the chromatic gradation used in the courtyard of the Casa Batlló to achieve a uniform distribution of light throughout the interior. Likewise, he usually orients the houses to the south to make the most of the sunlight.

Gaudí”s work is difficult to classify. As part of modernism, he undoubtedly belongs to this trend due to his eagerness for renewal -without breaking with tradition-, the search for modernity, the ornamental sense applied to his work and the multidisciplinary character given to his creations, where craftsmanship plays a fundamental role. To these premises Gaudí adds certain doses of baroque, the inclusion of technological advances and the maintenance of traditional architectural languages, which together with the inspiration in nature and the touch of originality that he gives to his creations constitute the amalgam that gives the whole of his work a personal and unique stamp in the history of architecture.

Chronologically, it is difficult to establish guidelines that determine in a truthful way the evolution of his style. Although he starts from clearly historicist postulates to frame himself fully in the modernism that emerged strongly in the last third of the nineteenth century in Catalonia and finally reach the final resolution of his personal and organic style, this evolution does not present precise stages with breaks between one and the other, but in all there are reflections of the first, as he assimilates and overcomes them. One of the best periodifications of Gaudí”s work is that of his disciple and biographer Joan Bergós, carried out according to plastic and structural criteria; Bergós establishes five periods in Gaudí”s production: preliminary period, Mudejar-Moorish, evolved Gothic, expressionist naturalism and organic synthesis.

Also read, biographies – Alexander Jagiellon

First works

His early works, both as a student and after graduation, stand out for the great precision of the details, the use of superior geometry and the preponderance of mechanical considerations in the calculation of structures.

During his studies Gaudí carried out several career projects, including: a cemetery gate (1875), a Spanish pavilion for the Philadelphia World”s Fair of 1876, a pier (1876), a courtyard for the Diputación de Barcelona (1876), a monumental fountain for the Plaza de Cataluña in Barcelona (1877) and a university auditorium (1877).

Gaudí began his professional career during his university studies, since to pay for his studies he worked as a draughtsman for several of the best architects who stood out in Barcelona at the time, such as Joan Martorell, Josep Fontserè, Francisco de Paula del Villar y Lozano, Leandre Serrallach and Emilio Sala Cortés. Gaudí had an old relationship with Josep Fontserè, since his family was also originally from Riudoms and they had known each other for a long time. Despite not having a degree in architecture, Fontserè was commissioned by the Barcelona City Council to develop the Parc de la Ciutadella, built between 1873 and 1882. In this project Gaudí was in charge of the design of the entrance gate to the park, the balustrade of the square of the municipal band and the hydraulic project of the Monumental Waterfall, where he projected an artificial grotto that already demonstrates his taste for nature and the organic sense that he applies to his architecture. Gaudí”s authorship as Fontserè”s draughtsman is also noted in a fountain-farola-clock installed in the Borne market in 1875. Made of cast iron, it had a base with a fountain with spouts coming out of swan figures, on top of which were four sculptures of nereids holding gas lanterns, with a clock on top. This design was very similar to the crowning of the monumental fountain designed by Gaudí for the Plaza de Cataluña, which leads us to believe that it was the work of the architect from Reus.

For Francisco del Villar Gaudí worked on the apse of the monastery of Montserrat, drawing in 1876 the Camarin of the Virgin for the Benedictine church; later, he would succeed Villar in the works of the Sagrada Familia. With Leandre Serrallach he worked on a tramway project to the Villa Arcadia de Montjuïc. Finally, with Joan Martorell he collaborated on the Jesuit church on Caspe Street and the Salesas convent on Paseo de San Juan, as well as the church of Villaricos (Almería). He also designed for Martorell the project for the competition for the new façade of the cathedral of Barcelona, which was not approved in the end. His relationship with Martorell, whom he always considered one of his main and most influential teachers, brought him an unexpected and fortunate fruit, since it was Martorell who recommended Gaudí to take charge of the Sagrada Familia project.

Once he obtained his degree as an architect in 1878, his first works were street lamps for the Plaza Real, the Girossi Kiosks project and that of the Cooperative “La Obrera Mataronense”, which was his first important work. Gaudí was commissioned to design street lamps for the Barcelona City Council in February 1878, when he had passed his degree but had not yet received his diploma, which was issued in Madrid on March 15 of that year. For this commission he designed two different types of street lamps: one with six arms, of which two were installed in the Plaza Real, and another with three arms, of which two were also installed in the Plaza de Palacio, in front of the Old Customs House of Barcelona. The lampposts were inaugurated during the Mercè festivities of 1879. Made of cast iron, with a marble base, they are decorated with the caduceus of Mercury, symbol of commerce, as well as the coat of arms of Barcelona.

The unrealized project of Girossi Kiosks was commissioned by the merchant Enrique Girossi de Sanctis; it would have consisted of twenty kiosks scattered throughout Barcelona, each of which would have included public toilets, a flower stand and glass panels for advertising, as well as a clock, calendar, barometer and thermometer. Gaudí conceived a structure of iron pillars and marble and glass slabs, topped by a large iron and glass canopy, with a gas lighting system.

The Cooperativa Obrera Mataronense was Gaudí”s first major project, on which he worked from 1878 to 1882, commissioned by Salvador Pagès Inglada. The project, for the company”s headquarters in Mataró, consisted of a factory, a neighborhood of houses for the workers, a casino and a service building, of which only the factory and the service building were finally completed. In the factory building Gaudí used for the first time the catenary arch, with a bolted assembly system devised by Philibert de l”Orme. He also applied for the first time, in the service building, the ceramic tile decoration. Gaudí designed the urban layout based on solar orientation, another of the constants in his works, and included landscaped areas in the project. He even designed the Cooperative”s emblem, with the figure of a bee, a symbol of industriousness.

In May 1878 Gaudí designed a showcase for the Esteban Comella Guantería, which was exhibited in the Spanish pavilion at the Universal Exposition in Paris that year. It was this work that attracted the attention of the businessman Eusebi Güell, who was visiting the French capital; he was so impressed that on his return he wanted to meet Gaudí, thus beginning a long friendship and professional collaboration, Güell being Gaudí”s main patron and sponsor of many of his great projects.

Güell”s first commission to Gaudí, that same year, was the design of the furniture for the chapel-pantheon of the Palacio de Sobrellano in Comillas, which was then being built by Joan Martorell, Gaudí”s teacher, at the request of the Marquis of Comillas, Güell”s father-in-law. Gaudí designed an armchair, a bench and a kneeler: the armchair was lined with velvet, topped by two eagles with the coat of arms of the marquis; the bench stands out for the relief of a dragon, designed by Llorenç Matamala; the kneeler has bas-relief decoration of plant forms.

Also in 1878 he made plans for a theater in the old town of San Gervasio de Cassolas (Gaudí was not involved in the subsequent construction of the theater, now disappeared. The following year he designed the furniture and counter of the Gibert Pharmacy, with Arabic-influenced marquetry. That same year he made five drawings for a parade in homage to the poet Francesch Vicens García in Vallfogona de Riucorb, the town where this famous 17th century writer, a friend of Lope de Vega, was parish priest. Gaudí”s project revolved around the glorified poet and different aspects of work in the countryside, such as harvesting or harvesting grapes and olives; however, due to organizational problems of the event, Gaudí”s idea was not carried out.

Between 1879 and 1881 he carried out several works for the Congregation of Jesús-María: in San Andrés de Palomar he designed the decoration of the Congregation”s chapel (today”s church of San Paciano), which included the Gothic altar, the Byzantine-influenced monstrance, the mosaic and the lighting, as well as the school”s furniture. When the church was burned down during the Tragic Week of 1909, only the mosaic, opus tessellatum, probably the work of the Italian mosaicist Luigi Pellerin, remains today. For these same nuns he was in charge of the decoration of the church of the College of Jesus-Maria in Tarragona (1880-1882): He made the altar in white Italian marble, and its front part, or antipendium, he arranged it with four columns that exhibited polychrome alabaster medallions, with figures of angels; the ostensory, of gilded wood, work of Eudald Puntí, decorated with rosaries, angels, the symbols of the Tetramorphos and the dove of the Holy Spirit; and the choir stalls, destroyed in 1936. …

In 1880 he made a project of electric lighting for the Muralla de Mar of Barcelona, which finally was not carried out. It would have consisted of eight large iron lampposts, profusely decorated with plant motifs, friezes, shields and names of battles and Catalan admirals. That same year he participated in the competition for the construction of the Casino of San Sebastián (Gaudí presented a project that was a synthesis of several of his previous studies, such as the fountain project for the Plaza Cataluña or the courtyard for the Provincial Council.

A new commission from the Güell-López family for Comillas was a kiosk for the visit of King Alfonso XII to the Cantabrian town in 1881. Gaudí designed a small pavilion in the shape of a turban of Hindu influence, covered with mosaic and decorated with a great profusion of small bells that produced a constant musical chime. It was later installed in the Güell Pavilions.

In 1882 he designed for his former teacher, Joan Martorell, a Benedictine monastery and a church dedicated to the Holy Spirit in Villaricos (Cuevas del Almanzora, Almería). It was a neo-Gothic plan, similar to the Salesas convent that Gaudí also designed with Martorell. In the end it was not carried out, and the plans of the project were destroyed in the sacking of the Sagrada Familia in 1936. That same year he was commissioned to build a hunting lodge and wine cellars on an estate called La Cuadra, in Garraf (Sitges), owned by the magnate Eusebi Güell. In the end the pavilion was not built, and only the cellars were built a few years later.

Gaudí”s collaboration with Martorell was decisive in the latter”s recommendation of Gaudí for the Sagrada Familia. The famous Gaudí church was the idea of Josep Maria Bocabella, founder of the Association of Devotees of St. Joseph, for which he acquired a whole block of Barcelona”s Eixample. The project was initially entrusted to the architect Francisco de Paula del Villar y Lozano, who planned the construction of a neo-Gothic church, and work began in 1882. However, the following year Villar resigned due to disagreements with the construction board, and the commission passed to Gaudí, who completely reformed the project – except for the already built part of the crypt. Gaudí would spend the rest of his life in the construction of the temple, which will be the synthesis of all his architectural findings, culminating in its final stage.

Also read, battles – Siege of Candia

Orientalist stage

In these years Gaudí made a series of works of marked oriental taste, inspired by the art of the Near and Far East (India, Persia, Japan), as well as Hispanic Islamic art, mainly Mudejar and Nasrid. Gaudí used ceramic tile decoration with great profusion, as well as mitered arches, exposed brick gussets and temple or dome-shaped finials.

Between 1883 and 1885 he built the Casa Vicens, commissioned by the stockbroker Manuel Vicens i Montaner. It is structured on four levels or floors, with three facades and a large garden, with a monumental brick fountain formed by a parabolic arch above which there was a passage between columns. The house was enclosed by a fence wall with a cast iron grille, decorated with palm leaves, the work of Llorenç Matamala. The walls of the house are made of masonry alternated with rows of tile, which reproduces yellow flowers typical of the area; the house is topped with chimneys and towers in the form of temples. Inside, the ceilings are made of polychrome wooden beams, decorated with papier-mâché floral motifs; the walls are sgraffitoed with plant motifs, as well as paintings by Francesc Torrescassana; finally, the floor is made of Roman mosaic opus tesselatum. One of the most original rooms is the smoking room, where the ceiling in the form of a ceiling decorated with Arab mucarnas, reminiscent of the Generalife of the Alhambra in Granada, stands out.

In the same year of 1883 Gaudí designed an altarpiece for the chapel of the Blessed Sacrament in the parish church of San Félix de Alella, as well as topographical plans for the Can Rosell de la Llena estate in Gelida, and was commissioned to build a small hotel annex to the Palacio de Sobrellano, owned by the Marquis of Comillas, in the town of the same name in Cantabria. Known as El Capricho, it was commissioned by Máximo Díaz de Quijano and built between 1883 and 1885. The direction of the works was in charge of Cristóbal Cascante, Gaudí”s fellow student. Of oriental style, it has an elongated floor plan, with three levels and a cylindrical tower in the form of a Persian minaret, completely covered with ceramic. The entrance has four columns and linteled arches, with capitals decorated with birds and palm leaves, as in the Casa Vicens. The main hall has a large window with sash windows and a smoking room covered by false stucco vaults in the Arab style.

Gaudí carried out a second commission for Eusebi Güell between 1884 and 1887, the Pabellones Güell de Pedralbes. Güell had an estate in Les Corts de Sarrià, a union of two plots of land known as Can Feliu and Can Cuyàs de la Riera. The architect Joan Martorell had built a small palace with a Caribbean air, demolished in 1919, in whose place the Royal Palace of Pedralbes was built. Gaudí was commissioned to renovate the house and build a fence wall and the gatehouse pavilions, in addition to the design of the gardens, where he placed the Fountain of Hercules. He built the masonry wall with several entrance gates, the main one with an iron grille in the shape of a dragon, with symbolism alluding to the myth of Hercules and the Garden of the Hesperides. The pavilions consist of stables, riding arena and porter”s lodge: the stables have a rectangular base, covered with a catenary-shaped vault; the riding arena has a square base, with a dome of hyperboloidal profile, topped by a small temple; the porter”s lodge consists of three small buildings, the central one with a polygonal floor plan and hyperbolic dome, and two smaller ones with a cubic floor plan. The three are topped by fans in the form of chimneys covered with ceramic. The work is made of exposed brick in various shades of red and yellow, and covered with colored glass; in certain sections he also used prefabricated concrete blocks. The pavilions currently belong to the Polytechnic University of Catalonia.

In 1885 Gaudí received from Josep Maria Bocabella, the promoter of the Sagrada Familia, the commission for an altar located in the oratory of the Bocabella family, having obtained permission from the pope to have an altar in his private home. The altar is made of mahogany, with lacquer varnish, with a white marble slab in the center for the relics. It has vegetal decoration and various religious motifs, such as the Greek letters alpha and omega, symbol of the beginning and the end, phrases from the Gospel and images of St. Francis of Paola, St. Teresa of Jesus and the Holy Family; it is closed with a curtain with an embroidered chrism. It was made by the cabinetmaker Frederic Labòria, who also collaborated with Gaudí on the Sagrada Familia.

Shortly thereafter Gaudí received a new commission from Count Güell, the construction of his family home on Carrer Nou de la Rambla in Barcelona. The Güell Palace (1886-1888) follows the tradition of the great Catalan stately homes such as those on Montcada Street. Gaudí designed a monumental entrance with magnificent doors of parabolic arches and wrought iron grilles, ornamented with the coat of arms of Catalonia and a helmet with a winged dragon, the work of Joan Oñós. It is the central core of the building, as it is surrounded by the main rooms of the palace, and is notable for its double-domed roof with a paraboloid profile on the inside and conical on the outside, a typical solution of Byzantine art. In the tribune of the facade Gaudí used an original system of catenary arches and columns with hyperboloidal capitals, a style not used before or after Gaudí. He carefully designed the interior of the palace, with a sumptuous decoration in Mudejar style, where the ceilings with wood and iron coffered ceilings stand out. On the roof, the geometrically shaped chimneys, covered with brightly colored ceramics, stand out, as well as the tall lantern-shaped spire that is the exterior finish of the dome of the central hall, also made of ceramics and topped with an iron weather vane.

Between 1886 and 1902 the Reus-born artist designed two stained glass windows for the Can Pujades Chapel in Vallgorguina: the first, datable between 1886 and 1902, is a rose window of about 90 cm in diameter, representing the hand of God with the all-seeing biblical eye, surrounded by three anagrams of Jesus, Mary and Joseph; the second, dated 1894, is a representation of the Archangel Michael, measuring 75 × 24.5 cm. These works provoked some controversy in 2014, when the Ministry of Culture of the Generalitat de Catalunya and the Institute of Catalan Studies announced that two new, previously unknown works by Gaudí had been discovered, within an inventory that was being made of stained glass windows from all over Catalonia. However, it was later found that these works were already known previously, and had been cited in specialized magazines and books on the Gaudí corpus.

On the occasion of the Universal Exposition held in the Ciudadela Park in Barcelona in 1888, Gaudí built the pavilion of the Compañía Trasatlántica, owned by the Marquis of Comillas, in the Maritime Section of the event. It was built in the Granada Nasrid style, with horseshoe arches and stucco decoration; it survived until the opening of Barcelona”s Paseo Marítimo in 1960. On the occasion of this event he was commissioned by the Barcelona City Council to restore the Salón de Ciento and the Escalera de Honor of the Casa de la Ciudad, together with the creation of an armchair for the Queen Regent; of the project only the armchair that Mayor Francisco de Paula Rius y Taulet gave to the Queen was carried out.

Also read, history – League of Nations

Neo-Gothic period

At this stage Gaudí was inspired mainly by medieval Gothic art, which he assumed in a free, personal way, trying to improve its structural solutions. Neo-Gothic was at that time one of the most successful historicist styles, especially as a result of the theoretical studies of Viollet-le-Duc. Gaudí studied in depth the Catalan, Balearic and Rosellonian Gothic, as well as the Leonese and Castilian styles during his stays in León and Burgos, coming to the conviction that it was an imperfect, half-resolved style. In his works he eliminated the need for buttresses by using ruled surfaces, and suppressed cresting and excessive fretwork.

A first example is the Teresian School (1888-1889), on Ganduxer Street in Barcelona, commissioned by San Enrique de Ossó. Gaudí fulfilled the will of the order to reflect austerity in the building, in compliance with the vow of poverty; following the indications of the nuns, he designed a sober building, made of brick on the outside, and with some brick elements on the inside. He also incorporated wrought iron railings, one of his favorite materials, and crowned it with a set of battlements that suggest a castle, a possible allusion to St. Teresa”s work The Interior Castle. In the corners of the facade there are brick pinnacles with a helical column topped with the four-armed cross, typical of Gaudí”s works, and ceramic shields with various symbols defining the Teresian order. Inside there is a corridor that is famous for the succession of catenary arches it contains. These arches of elegant lines are not merely decorative, but have the function of supporting the ceiling and the upper floor. Gaudí used the parabolic arch as an ideal construction element, capable of supporting heavy weights by means of thin profiles.

The next commission Gaudí received from a clergyman friend of his native Reus, Joan Baptista Grau i Vallespinós, who upon being appointed bishop of Astorga commissioned Gaudí to build an Episcopal Palace for that city, as the previous building had recently burned down. Built between 1889 and 1915, it has a neo-Gothic air, with an articulated floor plan with four cylindrical towers, surrounded by a moat. The stone in which it is built (gray granite from the region of El Bierzo) is respectful of the environment, especially with the cathedral that is in the immediate vicinity, as well as with nature, which in the Astorga of the late nineteenth century was more present than today. The entrance portico has three large flared arches, made of ashlars separated from each other by inclined buttresses. The structure of the building is supported by pillars with decorated capitals and ribbed vaults over pointed arches of glazed ceramic. It is topped with a Mudejar-style crenellated roof. Gaudí abandoned the project in 1893, on the death of Bishop Grau, due to disagreements with the Cabildo, and it was finished in 1915 by Ricardo García Guereta. It is currently the Museum of the Roads.

Another Gaudí project outside Catalonia was the Casa Botines, in León (1891-1894), commissioned by Simón Fernández Fernández and Mariano Andrés Luna, fabric merchants from León, who received Gaudí”s recommendation from Eusebi Güell, with whom they had business dealings. Gaudí”s project was an impressive neo-Gothic style building, resolved in his unmistakable modernist style. The building was used to house the offices and warehouses of the textile business on the ground floor, and at the same time had apartments on the upper floors. The building is flanked by four cylindrical towers topped by tall conical spires made of slate and surrounded by a moat with a wrought iron grille. The windows are sash windows, with inclined overhangs to retain the snow, very frequent in the Leonese winter. The façade is Gothic in style, with lobed arches, and has a clock and a sculpture of St. George and the dragon, the work of Llorenç Matamala. It currently houses the Gaudí Casa Botines Museum, managed by the España-Duero Foundation.

In 1892 Gaudí was commissioned by Claudio López Bru, second Marquis of Comillas, to design a Catholic Franciscan Mission for the city of Tangier, in Morocco (at that time a Spanish colony). The project consisted of a complex consisting of a church, hospital and school, and Gaudí conceived a quadrilobular plan structure, in the form of five crosses (a sign of the Franciscan missionaries in Morocco), with Catholic arches and towers of parabolic profile, with hyperboloidal windows. In the end the project was not carried out, something that Gaudí deeply regretted, always keeping with him the sketch he made of the complex. Nevertheless, this project influenced him for the works of the Sagrada Familia, especially in the design of the towers, with parabolic profile as in the Missions.

In 1895 he designed a funeral chapel for the Güell family for the monastery of Montserrat, an unrealized work of which little is known. That year work finally began on the Bodegas Güell, an old 1882 project for a hunting lodge and cellars on the La Cuadra estate in Garraf (Sitges), owned by Eusebi Güell. Built between 1895 and 1897 under the direction of Francisco Berenguer, Gaudí”s assistant, the cellars have a triangular front profile, with very vertical roofs with steep slopes of stone slabs, topped by a set of chimneys and two bridges that connect it to the old building. It has three floors: the ground floor for the garage, the dwelling and a chapel covered with a catenary vault, with the altar in the center. The complex is completed with a porter”s lodge, where the wrought iron door, in the shape of a fishing net, stands out.

In the municipality of Sant Gervasi de Cassoles (today a district of Barcelona), Gaudí was commissioned by the widow of Jaume Figueras to renovate the Torre Bellesguard (1900-1916), the former summer palace of King Martin I the Humane. Gaudí designed a neo-Gothic project, respecting the previous building as much as possible; as always, he sought to integrate the architecture into the surrounding natural setting, so he built the building with local slate stone. The building has a square floor plan of 15 x 15 meters, with the vertices oriented to the four cardinal points. Built with stone and brick, it has much more vertical projection, aided by a truncated conical tower crowned with the four-armed cross, along with the Catalan flag and a royal crown. The house has a basement, first floor, main floor and attic, with a hipped roof.

Also read, biographies – Jan Hus

Naturalistic stage

In this period Gaudí perfected his personal style, inspired by the organic forms of nature, putting into practice a series of new structural solutions based on Gaudí”s profound analysis of ruled geometry. To this the architect added a great creative freedom and an imaginative ornamental creation. Starting from a certain baroque style, his works acquire great structural richness, with forms and volumes devoid of rationalist rigidity or any classical premise.

Commissioned by the company Hijos de Pedro Mártir Calvet, Gaudí built the Casa Calvet (1898-1899) on Caspe Street in Barcelona. The facade is made of Montjuïc ashlar stone, adorned with wrought iron balconies and topped by two pediments, crowned with wrought iron crosses. Also noteworthy on the façade is the tribune on the main floor, decorated with plant and mythological motifs. In this project Gaudí used a certain baroque style, visible in the use of Solomonic columns, the decoration with floral motifs and the roof project with a waterfall and rococo planters. For this work he won in 1900 the prize for the best building of the year awarded by the Barcelona City Council.

An almost unknown work of Gaudí is the Clapés House (1899-1900), at 125 Escorial Street, commissioned by the painter Aleix Clapés, who collaborated on occasion with Gaudí, as in the decoration of the Güell Palace and the Casa Milà. It has a ground plan and three floors, with plastered walls and cast iron balconies. Due to its lack of decoration or original structural solutions, Gaudí”s authorship was unknown until 1976, when plans signed by the architect were found. In 1900 he renovated the house of Dr. Pere Santaló, at 32 Nou de la Rambla Street, a work of equally little importance. Santaló was a friend of Gaudí, whom he accompanied during his stay in Puigcerdà in 1911, and was the one who recommended him to do manual labor for his rheumatism.

Also in 1900 he designed two banners: that of the Orfeó Feliuà (from San Felíu de Codinas), made of brass, leather, cork and silk, with ornamental motifs based on the martyrdom of St. Felix (a mill wheel), on music (and that of the Virgin of Mercy of Reus), for the pilgrimage of the Reus residents in Barcelona, which presents an image of Isabel Besora, the shepherdess to whom the Virgin appeared in 1592, work of Aleix Clapés and, on the back, a rose and the flag of Catalonia. Precisely, of the Sanctuary of the Virgin of Mercy of Reus Gaudí made that same year a preliminary project for the reform of the main facade of the church, which finally was not carried out, since the board of the Sanctuary considered it onerous. This rejection made Gaudí feel very bad, leaving him with a certain resentment towards Reus, which could be the origin of his later affirmation that Riudoms was his birthplace. Between 1900 and 1902 Gaudí worked on the Miralles House, commissioned by the industrialist Hermenegildo Miralles; Gaudí only designed the fence wall and the access door, made of masonry with undulating forms, with an iron door topped with the four-armed cross. Later, the Miralles house was the work of Domingo Sugrañes, an architect who collaborated with Gaudí.

Gaudí”s main project at the beginning of the 20th century was the Park Güell (1900-1914), a new commission from Eusebi Güell to build a residential development in the style of the English garden cities. The project was unsuccessful, as only one of the 60 plots into which the land was divided was sold. Despite this, the park”s accesses and service areas were built, with Gaudí displaying all his architectural genius and putting into practice many of his innovative structural solutions that would be emblematic of his organicist style and that would culminate in the Sagrada Familia. Park Güell is located in the so-called Montaña Pelada, in the Carmel district of Barcelona. It was a steep site, with steep slopes that Gaudí overcame with a system of viaducts integrated into the terrain. The entrance to the park has two buildings, used as gatehouse and administration, surrounded by a wall of masonry and polychrome glazed ceramics. These entrance pavilions are an example of Gaudí”s fullness, with Catalan vaulted roofs in the form of a hyperbolic paraboloid. Past the pavilions is a staircase leading to the upper levels, decorated with sculpted fountains featuring a dragon, which has become a symbol of the park and one of Gaudí”s most recognized emblems. This staircase leads to the Hypostyle Hall, which would have served as the market of the development, made with large Doric columns. Above this hall is a large square in the form of a Greek theater, with the famous sliding bench covered with cut ceramic (“trencadís”), the work of Josep Maria Jujol. The show house of the park, the work of Francisco Berenguer, was Gaudí”s residence from 1906 to 1926, and now houses the Gaudí House-Museum.

At this time Gaudí collaborated in an interesting collective project, the Monumental Rosary of Montserrat (1900-1916). Located on the road to the Holy Cave of Montserrat, it was a series of sculptural groups that evoked the mysteries of the Virgin Mary that are prayed in the Rosary. This project involved the best architects and sculptors of the time, and is a unique example of Catalan modernism. Gaudí designed the First Mystery of Glory, which alluded to the Holy Sepulchre, with a statue of the risen Christ, the work of Josep Llimona, and the group of the Three Marys sculpted by Dionisio Renart. Another monumental project conceived by Gaudí for Montserrat was never realized: it would have consisted of crowning the Cavall Bernat (one of the peaks of the mountain) with a viewpoint in the form of a royal crown, incorporating a twenty-meter-high coat of arms of Catalonia into the wall.

In 1901 Gaudí decorated the house of Isabel Güell López, Marquise of Castelldosrius, daughter of Eusebi Güell. Located at Carrer Junta de Comerç 19, the house had been built in 1885 and renovated between 1901 and 1904; the house was destroyed by a bomb during the Civil War. The following year Gaudí was involved in the decoration of the Bar Torino, owned by Flaminio Mezzalama, located at Paseo de Gracia 18; Gaudí designed the ornamentation of the Arab Hall of this establishment, made with pressed and varnished cardboard tiles, in the Arab style (now disappeared).

A project of great interest to Gaudí was the restoration of the Cathedral of Mallorca (1903-1914), commissioned by the bishop of that city, Pere Campins. Gaudí planned a series of actions such as dismantling the Baroque altarpiece of the main altar, leaving the bishop”s chair in view, moving the choir from the center of the nave and placing it in the presbytery, leaving the Trinity Chapel open, placing new choir stalls and pulpits, decorating the cathedral with electric lighting, removing the Gothic windows of the Royal Chapel and providing them with stained glass, placing a large baldachin over the main altar and completing the decoration with paintings. The works were directed by Juan Rubió, Gaudí”s assistant, with Josep Maria Jujol and the painters Joaquín Torres García, Iu Pascual and Jaume Llongueras also taking part. Gaudí abandoned the project in 1914 due to disagreements with the cathedral chapter.

One of Gaudí”s greatest commissions and most emblematic works was Casa Batlló (1904-1906). Commissioned by Josep Batlló i Casanovas to renovate an earlier building by Emilio Sala Cortés from 1875, Gaudí focused on the façade, the main floor, the courtyard and the roof, and built a fifth floor for the service staff. For this work he had the collaboration of his assistants Domingo Sugrañes, Juan Rubió and José Canaleta. The façade was made of sandstone from Montjuïc, carved according to ruled surfaces in warped form; the columns are bone-shaped, with plant representations. Gaudí kept the rectangular shape of the balconies of the previous building -with iron railings in the shape of an eye mask-, giving the rest of the façade an undulating shape in an upward direction. He also clad the facade with ceramic pieces of glass of various colors (trencadís), which Gaudí obtained from the waste of the Pelegrí glassworks. The inner courtyard was covered with a glass skylight supported by an iron structure in the shape of a double T, which rests on a series of catenary arches. On the roof there are helicoidal chimneys topped by conical caps, covered with transparent glass in the central part and ceramic on the top, and topped by transparent glass balls filled with sand of different colors. The façade is crowned by a vault formed by catenary arches covered with two layers of brick, covered with glazed ceramic in the form of scales (on the left side there is a cylindrical tower with the anagrams of Jesus, Mary and Joseph, and with the Gaudí cross with four arms.

In 1904, commissioned by the painter Lluís Graner, he designed the decoration of the Sala Mercè, in the Rambla dels Estudis, one of the first cinemas in Barcelona; the room imitated a grotto, inspired by the Caves of Drach in Mallorca. Also for Graner he designed a villa in Bonanova, of which only the foundations and the main door were built, with three openings: for people, carriages and birds; the building would have had a structure similar to the Casa Batlló or the porter”s lodge in Park Güell. A few years later, the bricklayer Julián Bardier -who worked on the Graner villa- built a replica of the Bird Gate in Comillas (Cantabria).

The same year he built the Taller Badia, for Josep and Lluís Badia Miarnau, blacksmiths and smiths who collaborated with Gaudí in several of his works, such as the Batlló and Milà houses, Park Güell and the Sagrada Familia; located at 278 Nàpols Street, it was a building of simple lines, made of masonry (now disappeared). At that time he also designed a hydraulic hexagonal tile pavement for the Casa Batlló, although they were not finally placed in that location and were reused for the Casa Milà; they were green and decorated with a seaweed, a snail and a starfish. This tile was later chosen to pave Barcelona”s Passeig de Gràcia.

The following year he built the Catllaràs chalet-shelter, in La Pobla de Lillet, for the Asland cement factory, owned by Eusebi Güell. It has a simple but very original structure, in the form of a pointed arch, with two semicircular flights of stairs leading to the two upper floors. In the same locality, between 1905 and 1907, he built the gardens of Can Artigas, in the area called Fuente de la Magnesia, commissioned by the textile industrialist Joan Artigas i Alart; workers who had worked on the Parque Güell took part in this project, carrying out a project similar to that of the famous Barcelona park.

In 1906 he designed the bridge over the Torrent de Pomeret, between Sarrià and Sant Gervasi. This torrent was precisely between two of Gaudí”s works, the Torre Bellesguard and the Chalet Graner, so the architect was asked to carry out a study to bridge the difference in level: Gaudí designed an interesting structure composed of juxtaposed triangles that would support the framework of the bridge, following the style of the viaducts he had built in the Parc Güell. It would have been built of concrete, and would have had a length of 154 meters and a height of 15 meters; the railing would have been covered with tiles, with an inscription dedicated to Saint Eulalia. The project was not approved by the City Council of Sarrià.

The same year Damià Mateu, in Llinars del Vallés, was apparently involved in the tower, in collaboration with his assistant Francisco Berenguer, although it is not clear who was responsible for the project or to what degree each was involved. The style of the building evokes Gaudí”s early works, such as Casa Vicens or the Güell Pavilions; it had an entrance gate in the shape of a fishing net, now installed in the Güell Park. The house was demolished in 1939. Also in 1906 he designed a new banner, this time for the Guild of Locksmiths and Blacksmiths, for the Corpus Christi procession of 1910 in the cathedral of Barcelona. It was dark green, with the coat of arms of Barcelona on the upper left edge, and an image of St. Eloy, patron saint of the guild, with typical instruments of the trade. The flag was burned in July 1936.

Another of Gaudí”s greatest commissions and one of his most praised works was the Casa Milà, better known as La Pedrera (1906-1910), commissioned by Pedro Milá y Camps. Gaudí conceived the house around two large curvilinear courtyards, with a structure of stone pillars, brick and cast iron, and iron girders. Its entire facade is made of Villafranca del Panadés limestone, except for the upper part which is covered with white tiles, evoking a snow-capped mountain. It has a total of five floors, plus an attic – made entirely of catenary arches – and the roof, as well as two large inner courtyards, one circular and the other oval. The rooftop features stair exits, topped with the four-armed cross, as well as the chimneys, covered in ceramic with shapes that suggest soldiers” helmets. The interior decoration was the work of Josep Maria Jujol and the painters Iu Pascual, Xavier Nogués and Aleix Clapés. The facade would have been topped by a sculptural group of stone, metal and glass with the Virgin of the Rosary surrounded by the archangels Michael and Gabriel, four meters high. A sketch was made by the sculptor Carles Mani, but due to the events of the Tragic Week of 1909 the project was abandoned.

On the occasion of the seventh centenary of the birth of King Jaume I Gaudí projected in 1907 a monument in his memory. It would have been located in the Plaza del Rey, and would also have involved the renovation of the adjacent buildings: new roof for the cathedral, as well as the completion of its towers and dome; placement of three vases on the buttresses of the Chapel of St. Agatha, dedicated to the invocations of the Lauretan litanies (Vas Spirituale, Vas Honorabile and Vas Insigne Devotiones), as well as the figure of an angel on the bell tower of the chapel; finally, to open a large square next to the wall (now Plaza de Ramon Berenguer el Grande). The project was not carried out because the Barcelona consistory did not like it.

In 1908 Gaudí is credited with an unrealized project for a large hotel-skyscraper in New York, the Hotel Atracción, commissioned by two American businessmen whose names are unknown. It would have been 360 meters high (more than the Empire State Building), with a paraboloid-shaped central body, topped with a star, and flanked by four building bodies dedicated to museums, art galleries and auditoriums, with forms similar to the Casa Milà. Inside, it would have had five large overlapping halls, one dedicated to each continent. There are doubts about the authorship of the project.

The last project for his great patron, Eusebi Güell, was a church for the Colonia Güell, in Santa Coloma de Cervelló, of which only the lower nave was built (known today as the Crypt of the Colonia Güell) (1908-1918). A workers” colony project begun in 1890, the factory, service buildings and housing for the workers had been built. What would have been the Colonia”s church was designed by Gaudí in 1898, although the first stone was not laid until October 4, 1908. Unfortunately, only the lower nave of the church was built, since when Count Güell died in 1918 his sons abandoned the project. Gaudí designed an oval church with five naves, a central nave and two more on each side. He designed a complex fully integrated into nature, reflecting Gaudí”s concept of architecture as an organic structure. A portico of hyperbolic paraboloid vaults precedes the crypt, the first time Gaudí used this structure and the first example of paraboloid vaults in the history of architecture. The crypt features large hyperboloidal windows covered with stained glass in the shape of flower petals or butterfly wings. Inside, circular brick pillars alternate with inclined basalt columns from Castellfollit de la Roca.

Also read, biographies – Avicenna

Final stage: culmination of its style

In the last years of his career, dedicated almost exclusively to the Sagrada Familia, Gaudí reached the culmination of his naturalistic style, making a synthesis of all the solutions and styles tried and tested until then. Gaudi achieves a perfect harmony in the interrelation between structural and ornamental elements, between plastic and aesthetics, between function and form, between content and container, achieving the integration of all the arts in a structured and logical whole.

The first example of its final stage is in a simple but very ingenious building, the Schools of the Holy Family, a small building intended as a school for the children of the workers who worked in the temple. Built in 1909, it has a rectangular floor plan of 10 x 20 meters, and consisted of three classrooms, a vestibule and a chapel. The construction was made with exposed brick, in three superimposed layers, following the traditional Catalan technique. Both the walls and the roof have an undulating shape, which gives the structure a feeling of lightness but at the same time a great resistance. The Sagrada Familia Schools have been an example of constructive genius and have served as a source of inspiration for many architects, due to their simplicity, strength, originality of volume, functionality and geometric purity.

In the same year he could have collaborated with his assistant, Francisco Berenguer, in the parish of San Juan Bautista de Gracia (Barcelona), where he could have been responsible for the chapel of the Blessed Sacrament and the jubé. This possible authorship, which has not been documented, was made known by the writer and Gaudí biographer Josep Maria Tarragona at the Second Gaudí World Congress held in 2016. According to this expert, this work could be awarded to the architect based on his stylistic analysis, and given that Berenguer did not have the title of architect, so he needed accreditation for his work. The chapel is subway, with an apse and four domes covered with trencadís, decorated with a Maltese cross with twelve ears of corn, a vine with twelve bunches of grapes – in allusion to the twelve apostles – and several inscriptions in Latin. For its part, the jubé is located on a side façade of the building, and is formed by a balcony surrounded by choirs, with a crucifixion on top.

In May 1910 Gaudí spent a brief stay in Vic, where he was commissioned to design street lamps for the Plaza Mayor of the city, in commemoration of the first centenary of the birth of Jaume Balmes. They were obelisk-shaped lampposts, with base and shaft of basalt stone from Castellfollit de la Roca and wrought iron arms, topped by the four-armed cross; the decoration was of plant motifs and included the dates of birth and death of Balmes. The lampposts were demolished in 1924, as they were in a poor state of preservation.

That same year, on the occasion of Eusebi Güell obtaining the title of Count, Gaudí designed a coat of arms for his great patron: he made a coat of arms with a catenary-shaped lower part, so typical of Gaudí; He divided it in two with the figure of the pavilion of the Güell Palace, placing on the right a dove with a cogwheel -in allusion to the Colonia Güell of Santa Coloma de Cervelló (coloma is dove in Catalan)-, with the legend “ahir pastor” (yesterday shepherd) and on the left an owl perched on a crescent moon -symbol of prudence and wisdom- with the legend “avuy senyor” (today sir). The coat of arms is topped by a helmet with a crown and a dove symbol of the Holy Spirit.

In 1912 he built two pulpits for the church of Santa Maria de Blanes: the one on the Gospel side had a hexagonal plan, decorated with the dove of the Holy Spirit and the Latin names of the four evangelists and the seven Gifts of the Holy Spirit; the one on the Epistle side had the names of the apostles who wrote epistles (Saint Peter, Saint Paul, Saint John the Evangelist, Saint Jude Thaddeus and Saint James the Less), with the three theological virtues and the flames of the fire of Pentecost. These pulpits were burned in July 1936. For the restoration of the cathedral of Manresa, Gaudí was asked in 1915 to make an assessment of the preliminary design made by the architect Alexandre Soler i March, who was in charge of the works. Gaudí suggested some corrections, such as placing a portico next to the baptistery, a gabled roof over the main nave and a room over the portico for a museum and archive.

From 1915 Gaudí devoted himself almost exclusively to his masterpiece, the Sagrada Familia, which represents the synthesis of all the architectural evolution of the brilliant architect. After the completion of the crypt and the apse, still in neo-Gothic style, the rest of the temple was conceived in an organic style, imitating the forms of nature, where geometric shapes abound. The interior was to resemble a forest, with a set of inclined arborescent columns, helical in shape, creating a structure that was both simple and resistant. Gaudí applied in the Sagrada Familia all his findings previously experienced in works such as the Park Güell or the crypt of the Colonia Güell, managing to develop a structurally perfect temple while harmonious and aesthetic.

The Sagrada Familia has a Latin cross plan, with five central naves and a transept of three naves, and an apse with seven chapels. It has three facades dedicated to the Birth, Passion and Glory of Jesus, and when completed it will have 18 towers: four on each portal for a total of twelve for the apostles, four on the transept invoking the evangelists, one on the apse dedicated to the Virgin and the central tower-cimborium in honor of Jesus, which will reach 170 meters in height. The temple will have two sacristies next to the apse, and three large chapels: the chapel of the Assumption in the apse and those of Baptism and Penance next to the main facade; it will also be surrounded by a cloister designed for processions and to isolate the temple from the outside. Gaudí applied to the Sagrada Familia a high symbolic content, both in architecture and sculpture, dedicating to each part of the temple a religious meaning.

During Gaudí”s lifetime, only the crypt, the apse and, partially, the Nativity façade -of which Gaudí only saw the tower of San Bernabé crowned- were completed. Upon his death, his assistant, Domingo Sugrañes, took over the construction; subsequently, it has been under the direction of various architects, with Jordi Faulí i Oller being director of the works since 2016. Artists such as Llorenç and Joan Matamala, Carles Mani, Jaume Busquets, Joaquim Ros i Bofarull, Etsuro Sotoo and Josep Maria Subirachs, author of the decoration of the Passion façade, have worked on the sculptural decoration.

During the last years of his life, apart from his dedication to the Sagrada Familia, he only intervened in small projects that were not completed: in 1916, when the bishop of Vic Josep Torras i Bages, a friend of Gaudí, died, he planned a monument in homage to the clergyman, which he thought of installing in front of the Passion façade of the Sagrada Familia. He made a sketch of the project, which finally was not carried out, and a plaster bust of Bishop Torras was made, the work of Joan Matamala under the orders of Gaudí; installed in the Sagrada Familia -it would have been part of the monument-, it was destroyed in 1936. Another project for a commemorative monument, also unrealized, was the one dedicated to Enric Prat de la Riba, which would have been located in Castelltersol, birthplace of the Catalan politician. The project dates from 1918, and would have consisted of a tall tower with two porticoes and a spire topped by an iron structure from which the Catalan flag would hang. The drawing of the project was by Lluís Bonet i Garí, Gaudí”s assistant.

In 1922 Gaudí received a commission from the Franciscan priest Angélico Aranda for a church dedicated to Our Lady of the Angels in Rancagua (Chile). Gaudí excused himself by saying that he occupied his time exclusively with the Sagrada Familia, but he sent to Chile some sketches of the chapel of the Assumption that he had designed for the apse of the Sagrada Familia, which more or less coincided with those requested by Father Aranda. This project was not carried out, although there is currently the intention to take it up again -by the Chilean architect Christian Matzner-, and finally build a work designed by Gaudí in the New Continent. For this purpose, some land -called Parque Cataluña- was acquired for the construction of the church and, in 2017, its construction began, although the works stopped due to the bankruptcy of the company.

That same year Gaudí received a consultation for the construction of a monumental train station for Barcelona (the future Estación de Francia). Gaudí suggested an iron structure in the form of a large suspended canopy, an original solution well ahead of its time; perhaps for this reason, the project repulsed the engineers in charge, who declined Gaudí”s offer. The last known projects of the architect are a chapel for the Colonia Calvet in Torelló, 1923, and a pulpit for Valencia (the exact location is unknown), 1924. From then on Gaudí worked exclusively for the Sagrada Familia, until the fateful day of the accident that caused his death.

Also read, civilizations – Dnieper–Donets culture

Gaudí”s main works

The enormous task that Gaudí had to face – not in terms of the number of works, but in terms of their complexity, with every last detail taken care of – meant that he needed the collaboration of a large number of assistants, both architects and craftsmen and professionals from all sectors. Gaudí always set the guidelines for the work, but left room for maneuver to the individual abilities of all his collaborators. Proof of his mastery of both his craft and human relations is that he was able to bring together a large number of professionals, all with different idiosyncrasies and ways of working, and create an integrated and perfectly structured team.

His collaborators include:

Seven of Gaudí”s works have been declared World Heritage Sites by Unesco: in 1984 Park Güell, the Güell Palace and Casa Milà; and in 2005 the Nativity façade, the crypt and apse of the Sagrada Familia, Casa Vicens and Casa Batlló in Barcelona, along with the crypt of the Colonia Güell in Santa Coloma de Cervelló.

The declaration of these works of Gaudí as World Heritage is recognition of their outstanding universal value. According to its Criteria for the Evaluation of Outstanding Universal Value, the works meet three of these criteria, being reasoned by UNESCO as follows.

The figure of Gaudí has been recreated in literary and cinematographic works.

Sources

1. Antoni Gaudí
2. Antoni Gaudí