Impact of the Gaudi's theories and writings on his work

Table of Contents ACKNOWLEDGEMENT ............................................................................................................... 2 INTRODUCTION ......................................................................................................................... 3 PART 1// A DIDACTIC ESSAY ..................................................................................................... 4 MODERATING ELEMENTS.......................................................................................................... 6 ESTHETIC IDEALS........................................................................................................................ 6 CONTEXT................................................................................................................................... 7 LIFE IN THE WORK OF ART......................................................................................................... 8 ILLUMINATION......................................................................................................................... 13 PART 2// GAUDINIAN GEOMETRY.......................................................................................... 17 SYNTHESIS................................................................................................................................ 18 GEOMETRIC RHYTHMS ............................................................................................................ 18 PART 3// ARCHITECTURE OR SCULPTURE?.............................................................................. 26 THE ABSTRACT......................................................................................................................... 27 THE CRAFT OF CONSTRUCTING ............................................................................................... 28 PIONEER OF ERGONOMICS ..................................................................................................... 30 LITURGICAL ART....................................................................................................................... 31 CONCLUSION ........................................................................................................................... 32 BIBLIOGRAPHY......................................................................................................................... 33

Impact of the Gaudi’s theories and writings on his work

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Impact of the Gaudi’s theories and writings on his work

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT I would like to thank Dr. Everhard Korthals Altes at Kunstgeschiedenis, TU Delft for providing friendly outset and guidance for pursuing thesis research topic on Gaudi and being a constant source of encouragement throughout the process. I would even like to thank friendly exhibition representatives at Gaudi Centre at Reus (Spain) for sharing their valuable views on certain aspects of Gaudi and his manuscript. I would also like to extend my gratitude towards staff of Koninklijke Bibliotheek (Den Haag) and Biblioteques de Barcelona for being so helpful.

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Impact of the Gaudi’s theories and writings on his work

INTRODUCTION Antoni Gaudí i Cornet was born on 25 June 1852. He was a Spanish Catalan architect and is often regarded as figurehead of Catalan Modernism. Some people have seen work of Gaudi as that of just another primarily Catalan modernisme architect, employing organic or natural forms, curved or undulating lines, reclaimed materials, ceramic bricks, trencadís mosaics, etc. However, while Gaudí certainly participated in that characteristic movement of his time, there are many reasons why Gaudí should be considered separately from the general theme of modernisme, since his genius rose far above what has been reduced to merely stylistic and ornamental tendencies. Today, the vast majority of art and architecture historians agree that Gaudí deserves a specialized treatment differentiated from the rest of modernisme. One way in which Gaudí sets himself apart is precisely in the synthesis of form and function that he projects in such a way that the form does not become a mere stylistic caprice following the current trends, but rather finds its reason for being in the function for which it was conceived.

The thesis seeks to contribute to the shaping of an overall – not necessarily absolute – Gaudian vision of what manifests itself as an architectural or design action. In light of this and for the sake of synthesis, it was decided to define certain aspects capable of reflecting the realm, characteristic and impact of architecture, geometry or craft influenced by Gaudian theories and writings. Citation of multiple author’s perspectives and stands should be seen as a means of crossing and understanding the complex nature of Gaudian theories and its impact.

The proposed thesis is cultivated out of three parts: 1) An exploration of the Gaudian theories as interpreted by other art historians and Gaudi’s preserved manuscripts at Reus Center; 2) Structural-geometric coherency; 3) Profound impact on the art and craft as they relate to an understanding of architecture.

The study of Antonio Gaudi’s Expiatory Church of the Sagrada Familia, Casa Batilo, Casa Mila, Park Guell in Barcelona were few of the main venues which were selected towards understanding the correlation between principles of part one and a design ideas derived from the analysis of part two. All of these parts serve to chisel away a theoretical framework to solidify my understanding of how everything integrates to part three. Another aim of this thesis is to understand Gaudi’s architectural creativity resulting from the perfect combination of his good construction craft and profound structural vision with his surprising geometrical research into forms, transformations and spatial operations.

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Impact of the Gaudi’s theories and writings on his work

PART 1// A DIDACTIC ESSAY

The theoretical framework is based on a large extent on Gaudi’s original manuscript and interpretations based on other historians and artists. Talking about manuscript there is a thick student notebook, clearly penciled lettering with the exception of a few final pages in ink. There exist in the Gaudi Center Reus two manuscripts which reveal a certain satisfaction in expressing his ideas on paper. The notebook contains fading notes from Gaudi’s student days on the preceding sheets. When the young architect finished his studies, perhaps having extra time on his hands, he reviewed what he had learned at the school and what he had thought and seen on his own relating to ornamentation. Perhaps stimulated by his first Figure 1: Lampposts commemorating the centenary of Balmes, suggested by Gaudi and commissions, which were mainly ornamental in executed by the architects Canaleta and Jujol. nature, he decided to make a broader study of the Source: Gaudi Center Reus subject which he entitled.

The manuscript on ornamentation, although written in the very year that Gaudi finished school as per the information provided by Reus center employee. By interviewing employees at Reus center, one thing was quiet evident that Gaudi’s findings deserves consideration as a serious and carefully thought-out study. It was that time; the City of Barcelona had commissioned him to design a type of lamppost for the city streets, a project on which he spent considerable time and effort. Martinell, one of Gaudi’s disciples has also mentioned in one of his literature reviews that the essays written by Gaudi were not simply a theoretical or academic exercise, but rather an explanation of carefully considered points of view, some taking off from school materials and others originating in his own intuition.1 This observation became one of the major starting points of the investigation in my thesis, to understand and approve of this very relationship.

In the course of the manuscript Gaudi speaks several times of color. In the beginning he says that “Ornamentation has been, is, and will be polychromatic; nature does not present us with any object that is monotonously uniform ... therefore we must necessarily color, partially or completely, all architectonic members" 2 and in the "archaic and Greek [styles] where color, far from being omitted, enters greatly into the formation of artistic character.

The forms are more elegant, more distinguished, and the animation of the color gives them great luster."

The most important of these manuscripts is that Figure 2: Casa Batllo, ceramic elements of which deals with ornamental theory, and which we the crowning. Photo: Anurag will be more concerned with when we review the other theoretical aspect of Gaudi's architecture. We 1 2

Martinell, Conversaciones con Gaudí, 12.

Martinell, Collins, and Rohrer, Gaudi, 125.

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Impact of the Gaudi’s theories and writings on his work can find the traces and indirect connection between Gaudian ideology and his later projects, which will be discussed in the later parts of the thesis.

IDEOLOGICAL UNREST AND THE EMBERS OF FAITH Aforementioned Gaudian ideology is incomplete without discussing the role of spirituality in architect’s life. After reading various literature contents, one thing is for sure that Gaudi was brought up in a decade of political and labor activity which was enveloped in an atmosphere of secularism and non-belief that was encouraged by the various governments, all generally hostile to the Church. Such was the ideological environment. This mixture of doubt, atheism, substitute ideals and despair, served as the incubator for Gaudi's spirit, so eager for perfection and novelty, in his late formative years. It should also be noted that these were the years in which free-thinking and progressive ideas were prevalent in the field of philosophy. Given Gaudi’s passionate temperament and his relative inexperience, it is logical that the young Gaudi would be swept up in the current of liberal-progressive aspirations then prevalent.

I am certain that Gaudi never felt himself cut off from religion. His anticlerical outburst was something superimposed. The principles of faith which he had inherited from his elders and nourished throughout childhood and adolescence. Author of Antoni Gaudi, Valles mentions that Gaudi remembered with admiration the impressive personality and humanitarian qualities of the director of his school, yet Gaudi was apparently reluctant to join in his group's activities because of the director's notorious atheism3, proof that, despite his youthful turbulence, the embers of faith nested always in his soul.

SECULARISM ABANDONED I do not know how long this phase of his youth lasted, but it must have been short-lived, for his manner and social position were soon to change as he adapted himself to the customs of high society while still maintaining for the moment, his advanced ideas. This phase of Gaudi can’t be ignored and thus played an instrumental role in rendering his services towards the design of later temple designs.

Antonio Dulcet, a Spanish cultural historian writes, “When Gaudi took over as architect of

the Sagrada Familia in 1883; his irreligiosity worried the temple's extremely devout founder, Jose Maria Bocabella, for some time.”

4 Later his relationships with the bishop of Figure 3: The architect in his Sagrada Familia office.

Astorga, Dr. Grau, were all influential in re- Drawing by Ricardo Opisso . igniting the temporarily buried embers of his faith. The theme which is most extensively developed is that of Gaudi’s reflections on religion we can deduce an acquaintance with the articles of faith which he treats with respect. According to Martinell, “he believed that the stylistic imitation of the great ancient 3 4

Vallès, Antoni Gaudí, 51.

Dulcet, Memorias de un librero catalán, 84.

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Impact of the Gaudi’s theories and writings on his work temples responded more towards romantic ideas than religious ones, giving rise to religious protection of the art of past ages and an art which imposes itself as a style rather than an art.”

MODERATING ELEMENTS:

CLEAR-SIGHTEDNESS, PRUDENCE, REVISIONISM. Gaudi's character included certain moderating elements which contributed to his heightened creativity. One of these was his clarity of judgment which illuminated the professional aspects of his life and even the personal ones. According to Martinell’s account on Gaudi, it is pretty clear that “born of this clarity was the prudence which he practiced not only as a cardinal virtue but also as a way of life which helped him to foresee and avoid possible difficulties in the future. With the aid of prudence he was able to control and moderate the impulses of his passionate genius before carrying them into practice, and thus to avoid unfortunate consequences.” 5 Then there was the development of his keen critical sensitivity. This in turn led to the revisionism which impelled him to revise all that was revisable, beginning with the historic architectural styles.

ESTHETIC IDEALS:

BEAUTY, GOODNESS, EXEMPLARINESS. The most coveted goal, and that which can probably summarize all of Gaudi's artistic theories, was the creation of beauty. Light, color, and spatial qualities were valued as sources of beauty, and he saw them as his compatriots. Even a moment arrived when he was completely enveloped in mysticism, and beauty became only a relative end. It became something to awaken goodness through exemplariness.

Roberto Pane, and architectural historian writes, “Gaudi used to Figure 4: Gaudi's office desk. Photograph of the time. rationalize with his open loquacity the architectural problems on which he was working, using esthetic, structural, and functional principles to make clear the rationale of his new solutions.” 6 After interviewing a historian at Reus center, few interesting aspects about Gaudian theory came into light. According to him, critics in recent years have generally divided writers on Gaudi into two camps: one are often called "old guard" composed of those of us who knew him directly and can report his principles from personal contact, and the other consisting of the new theoreticians who focus on his works in the light of recent architectural trends.

I prefer not to take sides in favor of either of the two groups, yet I would like to make it clear that there exists enough evidence to judge and appreciate the evolution of Gaudi's esthetic 5 6

Martinell, Collins, and Rohrer, Gaudi, 191.

Pane, Antoni Gaudi., chap. IX.

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Impact of the Gaudi’s theories and writings on his work ideas from his youth to his latest years, and thus to understand the relationship between cause and effect – the ideas and the works of art-during each phase of his life. According to Pane, “We see certain esthetic ideas of his last years which serve as guides to the most personal phase of his production, and the Municipal Museum at Reus possesses a notebook which has been often cited but never analyzed.” 7 If Gaudi possessed one thing it was his clear ideas and practical sense of life and work, which was reinstated by reviewing various literature inputs. According to authors of Barcelona and Modernity, “if analyzed in depth any of his productions, from the smallest object to the largest building, to a process of reflection which finally led him to determine the forms and functions of things, it is interesting and necessary to take a leap forward and discover his capacity for questioning everything, for experimenting with new ways of creation.”

Among all the possible solutions, there is one which is the best, which surpasses the previous proposals and suggests new solutions at a constructional and functional level.8 It is quite evident from his works that idea, functionality, form, symbolism, structure and construction are aspects always present in his production. Therefore, separating Gaudi the artist from the designer, and the designer from the architect is not possible. He seeked the best collaborators to make what he has personally designed: be it the paneled walls and ceilings, grills, doors, door handles, peepholes, folding screens or seats. His projects formally aimed to distinguish each object but which basically seeks to improve its functionality.

CONTEXT Gaudi knew how to conciliate the rational and the passionate, what comes from the medieval tradition and what will be the foundations of a new rendered for architecture and design.

The Delft researcher of Gaudi's work Jan Molema writes,

“Gaudi's originality, lies in the empirical and experimental way of understanding his work and in his decisive aim to break with tradition, first at a formal and ornamental level (with historicist styles) and later at a structural Figure 5: Park Guell. Detail of the fragmented ceramics of the and constructive level.” 9 bench. Photo: Anurag Gaudian theory talks about his obsession with plastic results, in order to underline the expressive capacity of forms and materials and transform any of his works into art. This can be observed quite well in many of Gaudi’s creations, where his obsession made him go 7

Ibid., 12.

Robinson, Falgas, and Lord, Barcelona and Modernity, 90.

9 Molema, Gaudí, 23.

8

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Impact of the Gaudi’s theories and writings on his work beyond traditional painting and sculpture. Gaudi used all the crafts he knew and took them to the limit of their creative and expressive possibilities.

Salvador Dali, a prominent Catalan surrealist painter and one of the most passionate defenders of Gaudi, rightly affirmed that, “in any of his constructions, whether big or small, the material, formal, plastic, chromatic or textural aspects cannot be separated from what is functional. It is necessary to approach his work with “the five senses” because space, colour, forms, light and texture play a decisive role.” 10 It is quite clear that the architecture of Gaudi is endowed with a great artistry, which he called plastic, and also that he was always a great experimenter with morphologic aspects. Juan Eduardo Cirlot, a Catalan poet and art critic writes, “Gaudi is characterized by a practice Figure 6: Courtyards of Casa Mila. Photo: that anticipates the so- called abstract art, Anurag close to the gestalts form of kinetic art, the stains of intense colors in the courtyards of Casa Mila or the overview of any surface of broken ceramics.” 11 It is therefore not surprising that Gaudi has been successively considered as a modernist, surrealist, cubist, expressionist, constructivist, abstractionist, etc. Moreover, because of the audacity and magic of Gaudi's forms his liking for symbols as well as for popular and religious iconography, he has often been defined as a forerunner of Surrealism. In historical terms, Gaudi also coexists with Cubism, the most important abstract style of the 20th century, focused on the formal decomposition and the multidimensional view of the object.

Gaudi portrayed characteristic of cubist approach, which he does through a combination of diverse geometries. Be it columns, pinnacles, chimneys, corbels; reveal a large number of points of coincidence with the approaches of Cubism. Gaudi reaches the final form based on the study of geometry and the cubists dress their forms with an idealized geometry.

LIFE IN THE WORK OF ART: LIFE, MOVEMENT, AND COLOR. Gaudi while working in his studio once said to his disciple Martinell, "To be interesting, ornamentation should represent objects which remind us of poetic ideas, and which constitute motifs. In order that an object be very beautiful, it is necessary that its form contains nothing superfluous, but only the material conditions which make it useful; we must take into account both the material and the use which will be made of it... My goal is to make it interesting and intelligible.”12 This proposal to make architectural ornamentation interesting and intelligible by Gaudi could be located somewhere between ingenuous and conceited. It seems to indicate that 10

Dalí, Oui, 166.

Cirlot and Gaudi, El Arte De Gaudi, 21.

12 Pane, Antoni Gaudi., sec. 31.

11

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Impact of the Gaudi’s theories and writings on his work what he had been taught in the school did not meet such qualifications, and that he felt it would be useful to restructure and broaden it, adding his own observations, some of which could be used to predict the later Gaudi styles.

Figure 7: Gaudi during a holy procession. Source: Gaudi Centre Reus

Gaudi’s manuscript preserves in Reus reads, “The most important requirement for an object that is to be considered beautiful is that it fulfills the purpose for which it is destined, not as if it were a matter of gathering together problems solved individually and assembling them to produce a heterogeneous result, but rather with a tendency toward a unified solution.” 13 It could be paraphrased further as once the good solutions are known it is a matter of taking that one which is most fitting to the object as deduced from the need to satisfy its function, character, and physical conditions.

The manuscript content is interesting and unravels Gaudian insights. Some ideas were probably taken during Gaudi’s scholarly studies. There are ingenious original ideas which he later carried into practice. His ideas of this sort can be divided into those dealing with esthetic principles and those concerning practical procedures. It provides us with an interesting example of the changes which took place after Gaudi’s early youth. Certain characteristics and qualities persisted, but others, when compared to his later ways, seem hardly to relate to the same person. But even more than for the specific value of these contradictions, the manuscript is interesting for the generic significance which can be inferred from the whole of it and which suggests tolerance in accepting those religious, moral, and artistic deviations of his youth which are not in agreement with the later Gaudi.

The notebook written in Catalan, some part of it translated in the book Antonio Gaudí and the Catalan movement provides us with a description and praise of the concept of casa: "The house is the small nation of the family.”

"The family, like the nation, has its history, external relations, changes of government, etc."

"The independent family has its own home; that which is not independent must rent a home."

"One's own home is his native country; a rented home is the country of immigration: thus to own his own home is every man's dream."

"One cannot imagine his own home without the family; only a rented house can be imagined in that manner.”14 This short manuscript is completely saturated with a strong feeling for family and for one's own home, possibly reflecting desires which it is logical that the architect would have entertained in the optimism of his youth. From Gaudi’s and other theoretical literature review, one can define the basic foundations of his work like character, proportion, colour, expression, etc. and can contemplate further upon that.

13 14

Martinell, Collins, and Rohrer, Gaudi, 125.

Collins, O’Neal, and Farinas, Antonio Gaudí and the Catalan movement, 1870-1930, 7.

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Impact of the Gaudi’s theories and writings on his work CHARACTER: Gaudi speaks of the character of a work of art which he says is "the definition of its esthetic-moral condition," adding that it is also the criterion for ornamentation which should reveal the form that is "dictated solely by the complete satisfaction of some need."15 Public objects should be dominating in character, and he finds geometric ornamentation to be preferable, with the use of natural forms from time to time for contrast. He further states that "common sense tells us that simple forms are characteristic of magnificence and that abundant ornamentation is more properly found in small masses."16

Figure 8: The complex geometry of the pinnacles of the church of the Sagrada Familia.

Source: Gaudi Centre Reus

PROPORTION: In my opinion, proportion is a subject with which we are well enough acquainted to state clearly and without digression. For Gaudi, it meant something else.

According to him; “while we can derive a certain intuition from the study of nature and the study of new materials, thus there can be each building with a special character all its own." 17 This unusual distinction could be traced down from his earliest works, where he employed mechanically equilibrated forms and materials that are not ordinarily found in the existing artistic tradition of that time, first in Mataro where Gaudi used a somewhat empirical solution, and later in the Guell Palace with a look of great solidity on the façade bringing a sense of seduction and lightness on the interior. The materials employed by Gaudi also resolved many mechanical deficiencies through the use of continuous forms adapted to function, structure, and beauty. In the Batilo and Mila houses where such continuous forms were adopted, they effectively enhance the overall sense of unity and proportion. In other words, he related the esthetics of the object to the mechanical properties of the material employed.

COLOR: THE IMPORTANCE OF COLOR There are numerous works of Gaudi which proves his high esteem for color theory, where architecture as a work of art, must produce a sensation of life. Judith Rohrer, an art historian from Columbia University in her book writes, “Life and Beauty are two concepts which demand color. As a devoted naturalist Gaudi took lessons from nature in which the contrast [of color] is always more or less vivid.” 18 I have found it reflected in almost all the Gaudi’s works, were we necessarily find color partially or completely on all architectonic members.

15

Cirlot and Gaudi, El Arte De Gaudi, chap. X. Ibid.

17 Ibid.

18 Martinell, Collins, and Rohrer, Gaudi, 141.

16

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Impact of the Gaudi’s theories and writings on his work Color in certain places has the great value of making the outlines and structural planes seem more energetic, and of giving a clearer idea of the object. Experts at Reus center mentioned, “Gaudi preferred the natural coloration of materials for elements of polychromic, such as stone (often without any additional finishing) or reddish or clinker brick, the latter being employed with optimum results in the crypt of the Guell Colony church, and in the pinnacles of the Sagrada Familia towers.”

Sometimes Gaudi faced the stone and brick elements with small smooth glazed ceramic tiles an in the Casa Vicens or with tiles ornamented in relief as in "EI Figure 9: Stairway in Guell Park with polychrome Capricho" at Comillas. At other times he decoration. Photo: Anurag used patterned tiles broken into pieces to form a mosaic so as to adapt them to concave and convex surfaces without losing the pattern, as in the lateral walls of the Guell Park stairway, or to form the mosaics of mixed pieces of colored tiles, which we see in the curving bench of the grand plaza and in the roofs of the entrance pavilions in the same park, as well as in the elements on the roof terrace of the Guell Palace.

Author Rohrer in her book “Gaudi” brought attention to the unique usage of the mosaic centers of the vaults, where Gaudi utilized colored glass and other materials such as fragments of porcelain plates, bottles, and other such things. “In one of the pinnacles of the concierge's pavilion, embedded chocolate cups are used as the dominant surface detail. Throughout the principal facade of the Batllo house, he used glass and ceramic disks, and on the roof he used special varnished pieces that give off metallic reflection.” 19 It could be said that Gaudi used color to a decorative end, without the intention of creating a painting as he has later been credited with doing. Gaudi employed all of the resources and chromatic effects contained in the modern painting movements. He wished to give decorative expression to objects never before used and thus obtained collage effects of great plastic and polychromatic feeling.

I though admit that, Gaudi did initiate an effective procedure for the use of lively and tectonic materials with Figure 10: Gaudí's multicolored multiple possibilities, to the point that portions of his mosaic dragon fountain at the Park polychrome revetments became masterpieces of non- Guell main entrance. Photo: Anurag figurative art, even though many artists today conceive them as mere secondary elements of his works.

19

Martinell, Collins, and Rohrer, Gaudi, 141.

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Impact of the Gaudi’s theories and writings on his work ELEGANCE AND EXPRESSION: DECORATIVE FORMS The author Maria Antonietta Crippa, history professor from Politecnico di Milano in her book talks about the role of expression and visual vocabulary used by gaudi. Gaudi says and I quote, “Beauty must not be overloaded with elements but rather should display a sobriety by which Elegance is achieved”20 i.e., elegance is a beauty obtained with minimal means. Elegance allows Figure 11: Detail of sculpted architecture with symbolic an imperceptible increase or representations on the Nativity facade. Photo: Anurag decrease in one of its parts or characteristics to obtain a greater agility or a certain desired expression.

Maria Crippa says that, “at times plastic beauty is best sacrificed on the altar of a preconceived idea that can be obtained through formal expressiveness, replacing it with a sort of intellectual or moral beauty.” This was the case with the Passion facade of the Sagrada Familia which Gaudi conceived in angular, deliberately austere forms in order to express the pathetic death of Jesus. Gaudi’s apprentice Martinell explains it further by bringing our notice to the naturalistic sculpted work which Gaudi left behind on this facade which is copious and varied, and which could be subdivided it into various groups. “There are the animals, some cast or copied from life. Animals present are the evoking the days of Christmas, and exotic birds used for decorative purposes. The plant kingdom is represented by flowers, foliage, palms, and the tall cypress which Figure 12: Incense smoke interpreted in tops the entrance triptych. The minerals are there in stone on the same facade. Source: a representation of the mountain of Montserrat, and Martinell, Collins, and Rohrer, Gaudi. in the snow and zodiacal stars; incense sends stylized smoke to the Sacred Heart of Jesus ... various objects, inscriptions ...” 21 It is interesting to observe a sense of religiosity in the details, all have a religious symbolism.

All three archivolts and pinnacles of Sagrada are filled to the brim with symbols in a way which reminds me of Baroque Altarpieces. In spite of the Gothic framework, Gaudi showed sympathy for that ostentatious and dynamic style while taking special care in the contrast of convexities and concavities so that the latter would enhance the relief of the former. It was due to this consideration, that art historians have called his as Hellenic (art of the Hellenistic period, dating from 323 BC to 146 BC. A number of the best-known works of Greek sculpture belong to this period).22

20

Crippa, Antoni Gaudi, 1852-1926, 8.

Martinell, Conversaciones con Gaudí, 48.

22 Ibid., 46.

21

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Impact of the Gaudi’s theories and writings on his work Martinell spoke of Gaudi’s decorative technique without alluding to a peculiar ornamental system. It consisted of surfaces covered with naturalistic interlaced motifs executed in low relief which recall traditional arabesques. It could be found on reliefs in some of the borders and friezes of the lower parts of the Faith, Hope, and Rosary portals. “The draperies of the prophets which are included in this portal are enriched with small-scale geometric themes which recall the sumptuousness of the Castilian sculpture of the XVth century.” 23

Figure 23: Plastic art on Passion façade, Sagrada Familia. Photo: Anurag

ILLUMINATION Gaudi always stressed on importance of illumination.

He said, “light is necessary for a clear vision of all that surrounds us, and it also makes that vision possible while influencing greatly the esthetic results by its intensity and the direction from which it comes. Light gives birth to the various colors into which it can be decomposed, and it is the basis of all ornamentation.

Light reigns in the plastic arts; the movement of architecture and sculpture allow the light to play on surfaces that produce an infinite number of shades and variations.” 24 Gaudi had great admiration for the sense of sight and that light which makes it possible with its effects augmented or diminished according to the intensity or Figure 14: Decorative chiaroscuro effect of direction of its rays. A very clear observation would be the Casa Mila balconies. Photo: Anurag 23 24

Ibid., 46.

Martinell, Collins, and Rohrer, Gaudi, 142.

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Impact of the Gaudi’s theories and writings on his work that of a beautiful figure, it can appear different and even the expression of its parts can vary as a result of whether or not it is bathed in light, which demonstrates the importance of illumination in the esthetic effect of all works of plastic art.

EXTERIORS: On flat surfaces, the chiaroscuro is usually restrained in expression; but on threedimensional surfaces where smooth convexity and concavity alternate in a decided manner, the shades and variants of the chiaroscuro can achieve a great expressive richness.

In Sagrada Familia, Guell Park, and above all in the Casa Mila, I observed that how at diverse times of the day, according to how the sun hits the facade, certain diverse expressions are achieved, all of Figure 3: Decorative chiaroscuro effect of great beauty. Sometimes the light colors the Casa Mila balconies. Photo: Anurag dominate, and sometimes the dark; at times the great projections are emphasized and shaded in half-tones at times. Martinell writes in his biography that “ fluidly undulating surfaces of Casa Mila are able to take on the living adornment of the light, every day from morning to night, and Figure 15: The same decorative effect in every day from summer to winter, and offers its another section of the same facade. Photo: Anurag rays in diverse ways to pattern them with 25 interminable arabesques." One thing is pretty clear from my observation and literature reviews that, Gaudi always preferred solar light for the illumination of his architecture. Nevertheless, Martinell did mention that he was the first to think up the idea of electric beams which would project the rays against, the darkness of the night.

INTERIORS: Gaudi took great care of exterior illumination under the direct light of the sun and was echoed in the interiors, as will be evident when we refer to some of his completed buildings and even more for the Expiatory Temple, in all of which he used natural light in an ingenious and logical manner.

George R. Collins, an American art historian and expert on the works of Gaudi in his book describes, “When using artificial light, of more easy gradation, Gaudi maintained the same principles for giving value and expression to his forms and took advantage of the sources themselves as a decorative element. He was opposed to the uniform and monotonous effect of central illumination.” Gaudi applied this criterion most rigorously in the case of churches where light should be moderate, providing only that which is necessary for the worshippers to read comfortably, and without overly powerful sources which distract and cause uneasiness. Collin writes that these candles, in spite of their weak light, when aided by the mobility given to them by the air, acquire a life which electricity cannot have.26

25 26

Martinell, Gaudinismo, 56.

Martinell, Conversaciones con Gaudí, 77.

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Impact of the Gaudi’s theories and writings on his work

Figure 16: Palau Guell. Stained glass windows illuminating the central hall , treated in the manner of fragments. Photo: Anurag

TEXTURES In regard to materials, Gaudi only used those which would enhance the desired effect. In the Sagrada Familia we can observe a variety of finished surfaces of the stone, depending on the character desired in each case. In the Colonia Guell and in Guell Park we can see walls and pillars of brick or rubblework which in the mere choice of materials and in their rusticity acquire a variety of rich textures and are surprising in their structural expressiveness and harmony with the landscape.

Catalan historian Cirlot in his book writes, “Gaudi used expressive variety not only with stone materials, but also with glass, ceramic, and enamel revetments which he employed freely and with great diversity, at times achieving a "Collage-like" quality.”27 I have found Gaudi frequently combining different materials to obtain the expressive effects that he desired. One of the examples is that of Palacio Guell, where wrought iron is coupled with stone on the exterior and with wood and stone on the interior; in addition, these compositions have an architectonic interest in themselves.

IRON: Gaudi excelled most admirably in his work of iron forging in which he realized objects Figure 4: The letter E, initial of the name of that were exemplary in their composition and Eusebi Guell, heads the entrance grill of Palau technique. The early works are generally of a Guell which is finished with wrought iron curved plates. Photo: Anurag

27

Cirlot and Gaudi, El Arte De Gaudi.

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Impact of the Gaudi’s theories and writings on his work more geometric composition-as in the dragon gate of the Palace Guell, the lower part of the front door gratings of the Guell Palace, and the window openings at the Teresan school. Here we can observe certain naturalistic fragments and capricious curves which relate to the Art Nouveau. In Palau Guell, Gaudi employed factory-made elements with great success, revealing the mechanical structure artistically without recourse to hand-forged work.

WOOD: Gaudi frequently employed unpainted wood with faint moldings, leaving the artistic effect of the work to basic structure and perfection of execution. Already in his first works at the Casa Vicens and at Comillas we note the special attention paid to the wooden objects (doors, windows) which become more artistic than functional. In the Calvet house he Figure 16: Sacristy wardrobe for the Sagrada constructed the ceilings of uncarved wood.

Familia Church, which can be transformed into an altar, a masterful work in iron and wood.

Source: Gaudi Center Reus

Notable examples of wood construction were the portal of the Rosary at the Sagrada Familia.

Cirlot says, “Sometimes Gaudi combined wood with iron, in rare cases as a simple superimposed ornamentation where the large curved iron straps serve as hinges, but more frequently to form part of a mixed structure where the iron serves to consolidate or stiffen, as we will see in some of the furniture.” 28 Here comes the end of the first part of my thesis that dealt with Gaudian theories, philosophies related to design and interpretation of his works. As we know of Gaudi, one thing is clear; geometry dictated the greater parts of his designs. This characteristic will be reviewed in much more detail in the coming second part of the thesis.

28

Cirlot and Gaudi, El Arte De Gaudi.

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Impact of the Gaudi’s theories and writings on his work

PART 2// GAUDINIAN GEOMETRY Gaudi was interested in the observation of nature to yield an in-depth understanding of specific geometries which were inherently structural. That allowed Gaudi to approach his thinking on design through material and structural lenses.

Oriol Bohigas, Catalan architect and urban planner in his book writes, “Not long ago I found out that the best observers I know are not naturalists, or even scientists in the current sense of the word ... neither are they philosophers, politicians, artists or psychoanalysts. They are architects.

Antoni Gaudi was a great observer. Observing is not the same as seeing, looking, experimenting, simulating.

Observing is something very precise and involves paying close attention. Paying close attention when something before you awakens the interest of some corner of the brain. Almost everybody looks but far fewer observe. In order to be an observer one must be ready to change plans at any moment. It is curious, but one can be a creator, even a great creator, by flouting the phase of observation.” 29

Figure 17: Interior panorama of sagrada Familia. Photo: Anurag

Discovering it was, for me, an interesting experience and this is what I'd like to relate here in this part of the thesis.

The moment of truth was the observation. Here begins my reflection: there are spontaneous forms that are incompatible with the fundamental laws of nature, there are living forms in which natural selection has allowed, like the branch in the bush and intelligent forms.

Many of the few approaches written down by various art historians to understand Gaudian geometry seeks to highlight Gaudi’s in-depth geometrical analysis and his spatial research without precedent in the world of architecture.

Gaudi’s cultural and natural referents Gaudi said, "The interior of the church will be like a forest." for Sagrada Familia.

Daniel Giralt, a Catalan art historian in his journal mentions that “Gaudi's work could be considered to be associated with the natural and cultural referents that the architect observed with particular pleasure during his youth. During his early period, the knowledge of architectural styles that he had acquired from his study of books, his observations in the fields in Reus, his countless excursions throughout Catalonia and so on constituted a source of inspiration for his forms.”30 This statement would be tested and critically reviewed in following pages.

We can find the decoration of the Alhambra in Granada, the arches at Poblet, the rocks of Montserrat, the forms of fruit and trees, the twisting of tree trunks and bones, all of these 29 30

Gaudí and Bohigas, Gaudí 2002, 161.

Giralt-Miracle, Gaudi. Exploring Form, 27.

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Impact of the Gaudi’s theories and writings on his work formed a range of elements that became natural or artistic references that partially explain many details in Gaudi's early works and sources of inspiration. Gaudian solutions are rarely the literal expression of a pre-existing thing. For example, the tree-like columns in Sagrada Familia go much further in terms of geometrical sophistication.

SYNTHESIS: To know the logic behind the synthesis, profound study is necessary. For this purpose one must have recourse to both analysis and synthesis. There are various levels of synthesis. Author Crippa states, “The line is a synthesis of points; the surface is a more general synthesis and the volume more general still. The volume is greater and has more plastic possibilities than the surface; the latter in turn is greater than the line which is itself superior to the point which is a mere abstraction and therefore artistically sterile.”31 Gaudi developed certain three dimensional syntaxes by combing four key elements: Spatial intelligence; Contemplation of reality; Research into tangible models; A pragmatic vision of constructional, structural and compositional possibilities.

This sort of acts as a precedent for the new branch of architecture called “parametric or computation design” techniques. I have jotted down some of the syntaxes or rules used by Gaudi to explore space: TRANSLATION SYMMETRISATION MODULATION HELICOIDAL GENERATION ROUNDING OF FORMS TWINNING AND INTERSECTING VOIDAGE DISSECTION FRACTALITY

GEOMETRIC RHYTHMS

Another aspect of Gaudi’s work as per art historian Maria Crippa was the decorative and geometric one; frequently independent of the mechanics and the structure which are mentioned in youthful notes of Gaudi discussed in part one of the thesis. “He Figure 5: Staircase. Source: Gaudi Centre Reus sometimes applied such geometric studies in traditional ways, but at other times he introduced innovations of a very personal sort. From these were born his variety of rhythms, some of which are characteristic of different stages of his development.”32 One of the material historians at Reus center said, “Gaudi's intuition told him as early as the first applications of his theory in the Palacio Guell that these new forms were incompatible with traditional ornamental vocabulary.” For this Gaudi himself had to create the forms which would give proper emphasis to the basic structures without interfering with their mechanical and utilitarian functions of the building. This is a very interesting and an unique approach towards form exploration, even mentioned in some of his theories.

31 32

Crippa, Antoni Gaudi, 1852-1926, 35.

Crippa, Antoni Gaudi, 1852-1926, 92.

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Gaudi used motifs of geometric and above all naturalistic ornamentation. Gaudi wrote in his manuscript, “Decoration is not only for the pleasant entertainment of the eye, but also should give expression to a form or an idea.” His ideal was that whatever was visible in his architecture should correspond to its function and to its structural essence, and he achieved this through form, material, textures, color, and light.

In this part, I have reviewed some aspect of Gaudi’s work and came to a consensus were complete application of his theories were never realized; he only set it forth in some of the three-dimensional models which he worked out. These were based on warped surfaces, geometrically generated, which in themselves have artistic expression and allow decoration along their generatrices, thus accentuating their geometric origin to an even greater extent.

His goal was to emphasize the lines of force in an expressive and beautiful manner. Martinell writes, “After having taken care of the utility, mechanics, and logic which Gaudi considered basically important, he hoped to instill his works with an expression of life which was for him the source of beauty and of truth.” 33

Figure 6: Guell Park. Rectangular pattern of the ceramic facing with repetitive rhythms in the upper part. Source: Martinell, Collins, and Rohrer, Gaudi.

STRAIGHT LINES AND PLANES While going through many of Gaudi’s projects, I see a preference for rectangular and triangular rhythms. Catalan historian Giralt in his book mentions, “The rectangular motifs were influenced by structure, and the triangular ones were merely decorative, being frequently converted into a framework of hexagonal forms.

Gaudi employed various materials to take advantage of its chromatic qualities.”34 The iron fence at Guell Park is composed of a structural network of squares; and in the upper part of the house, the rectangular rhythm becomes vertical rather than horizontal, and its decorative facing of glazed tile is enriched with colors which alternate in a checkerboard pattern.

The brickworks at Colonia Guell or stables are found in hexagonally grouped triangular networks, and purely decorative horizontal banded rhythms in the house at Comillas; emphasizing vigorous stone junctures in the basement and application of ceramic tile on the brick surface in the main body by.

Among the rectangular network-like patterns that Gaudi used, Giralt mentions, “the alternation of rectangles and squares in both horizontal bands and in a vertical Figure 7: A rhythm of triangles and hexagons with simple decoration over a framework of triangular nets in the Guell stables and Colonia Guell church. Source: Martinell, Collins, and Rohrer, Gaudi.

33 34

Martinell, Collins, and Rohrer, Gaudi, 136.

Giralt-Miracle, Gaudi. Exploring Form, 27.

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Impact of the Gaudi’s theories and writings on his work direction; in the stones of the Sagrada Familia bell towers and in the ceramic facing on the lateral retaining walls of the Guell Park stairway, where Gaudi alternates concave surfaces of squares with convex rectangles.”35 Here I observed the rhythmic repetitions which the architect lavished on the park. I refer to the uniformly distributed oval hollows in the upper part of the rubblework which contrasts with the ceramic veneer and the ceramic merlons which crown them.

Figure 8: Paraboloid of revolution in Palau Guell with hexagonal decoration and entry points for light directly overhead, inspired by the Alhambra in Granada. Photo: Anurag

Figure 9: Trilobed rhythm combined with a sinuous form in Guell Park. Source: Martinell, Collins, and Rohrer, Gaudi.

PARABOLIC AND LOBED ARCHES The Palacio Guell, which was conceived in rectangular rhythms using vertical arrangement to give a Gothic spirit while the elements of carpentry in the interior still reflect an Arabic influence in their quadrangular network patterns combined with triangles. In his building we note the structurally efficient parabolic arches of the two main doors which Gaudi lavishly employed in a more elongated form in the interior along the main floor tribune, in the dining room, and in the central hall. I observed that, materials like rubblework and brick follows the same rhythmic patterns as the Guell Palace in the graceful parabolic arches of the interior and the triangular-hexagonal reticulation of, the projecting portion of the facade.

All these rhythms seem to seek precedence of the motif for forms established by Art Nouveau architecture which Gaudi has been credited with revitalizing. The representative at Reus center said, “Gaudi often applied the rhythm in an open manner as in the Rosary portal of the Sagrada Familia, and in Guell Park; at other times he used it as the ordering schema or underlying framework, as in the Nativity facade where it regulates the naturalistic ornamentation of the three portals.”

My personal observation lead to the understanding of the rhythms enumerated here, which in my opinion were not simply a decorative resource, Gaudi used them to give his works the expression he desired as well. He would use straight lines when he wanted to obtain a severity of expression, and curves to achieve an optimistic note. Giralt in his book writes,”At the beginning of this century, Gaudi bid farewell to historical styles with a building whose compositional expression resides solely in its silhouette and the distribution of the openings.”36 This statement is quite relevant in this context.

Figure 23: Decorative parabolic arches at Palacio Guell. Source: Martinell, Collins, and Rohrer, Gaudi.

35 36

Ibid., 160.

Giralt-Miracle, Gaudi. Exploring Form.

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Impact of the Gaudi’s theories and writings on his work SINUOUS RHYTHMS: REGULAR AND FREE “The modernist movement which had its roots in Catalonia, acted as a liberating force for Gaudi, which freed him from stylistic preoccupations and allowed him to forget rectilinear rhythms or outlines drawn with a compass in his search for dynamic rhythms implying movement; the results were sometimes completely free, but also frequently subject to geometrical order.” as written by Collins.

Gaudi's most typical modernist work was the sinuously outlined entrance, and the fluid termination of the surrounding walls. This rhythmic type could be found in the iron gratings of the Guell Palace. In the same style Gaudi conceived some of the Nativity facade details, such as the brackets that support the four evangelists and the balconies where the towers change from their square bases into a circular plan. I even found such sinuous rhythms in the lower floor grilles and the roof of the Casa Mila, and also in Guell Park.

Figure 10: Regular semi-free sinuous rhythm in the Sagrada Familia.

Source: Martinell, Collins, and Rohrer, Gaudi.

Martinell says that, “The Nativity facade, which falls within the new style, generally followed three rhythmic patterns: a hidden free triangulation, a partially apparent polylobulation, and a helicoidal composition. The fact that Gaudi was dealing with unusual height which was therefore difficult to correctly built, plus his usual prudence, forced him to submit the overall facade to his own triangulation in order to harmonize the parts.”37

Figure 11: Regular semi-free sinuous rhythm in the Casa Mila roof elements and Colonia Guell church.

Source: Martinell, Collins, and Rohrer, Gaudi.

37

Martinell, Gaudinismo.

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Impact of the Gaudi’s theories and writings on his work THE HELIX The helix is the fourth form under the discussion of geometrical rhythm. It emerges when the circumference emigrates in the direction perpendicular to the plane that contains it.

Gaudi re-discovered the helix for the skeletons of buildings, staircases, towers, chimneys ... columns. The starting point perhaps is the inclined and helicoidal columns of Park Guell. They also appear on the façade of the founding saints in the Sagrada Familia. Another considerable example is the helicoidal staircase that emerges, within the well and from the terrace of Casa Mila.

Figure 12:(Clockwise from top) Guell Park, spire of the entrance, pinnacle in the cloister portals of the Sagrada Familia, Casa Mila roof element. Source: Martinell, Collins, and Rohrer, Gaudi.

I have come across another form. It’s called the wave. Architect Bohigas writes, “It is an omnipresent form in matter, light, sound, the strings of a violin and the music that it emits, the sea waves, the waves on the smooth sand of the desert ... In general, waves carry information without the need to carry matter. The wave communicates and displaces.”38 Martinell writes, “Waves exist in Gaudi's work, waves that mark the rhythm of his constructions, waves that communicate the inside with the outside of a building, or the inside with the outside of a room, waves that crown the upper limit of a fence ...” 39 After reviewing Gaudian theory and philosophy, I have understood one of the greatest limitation of a building is that it does not move. “Waves, going over surfaces and contours, make buildings move” is what Gaudi advocated of. I would like to state two examples, both of them in Casa Mila. The first is in the ceiling of the office of Casa Catalunya on the ground floor. The second is the contour itself of the building, that of the outer and inner balconies, both from the street and from the inner central courtyard, as from any of the balconies Casa Mila.

Bohigas writes, “Gaudi always had an admiration for the hyperbolic paraboloid form and its multiple advantages: facile structure, good reflective properties for light and sound, adaptability to endless situations, esthetic qualities, etc.”40 In my analysis I realized how Gaudi solved a wide variety of architectural problems using hyperbolic paraboloid, and he even used them in his design for the future Expiatory Temple. Proofs have been found where Gaudi took inspiration from the forms found in the Figure 13: Spiral ceiling of Casa batillo.

Basilica di San Lorenzo (one of the largest churches in Photo: Anurag 38

Gaudí and Bohigas, Gaudí 2002, 166.

Martinell, Collins, and Rohrer, Gaudi, 170.

40 Gaudí and Bohigas, Gaudí 2002, 171.

39

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Impact of the Gaudi’s theories and writings on his work Florence, Italy), and with them he planned to resolve the nave vaulting.

It was the time when new art and new rhythms were born which could be adapted to any mechanical needs and create esthetic effects. During my visit to Guell Park, I observed a geometrical structurally determined rhythm which predominates and is most evident in the galleries below the viaducts. These are in the helicoidally descending supports and continuous sloping retaining wall with its inclined frontal colonnade.

This rhythm is called equilibrated structural forms and was most highly developed in the Park Guell. Figure 14: Helicoidal columns of Park Guell.

Along with this rhythm, Gaudi also employed purely Photo: Anurag decorative geometric ones as in the rectangular patterns. The sinuous rhythm which can be seen in the polychrome bench that encloses Park Guell plaza is echoed in several of the viaducts and retaining walls.

What I realized was that, the reason why Gaudi used the double helix in the spire was because of the property of ascending movement which he attributed to this form. In case of Sagrada Familia spires, the intention was to give the idea of ascension to the cross which it was to sustain.

Bohigas wrote “The idea of ascent was emphasized further by supporting the cross on an extremely open iron stand, and thus making it appear disconnected from all that is earth-bound.”41 This is totally justified after visiting religious built forms designed by Gaudi.

Figure 15: Staircase wall of Casa Mila. Photo: Anurag

FREE SPATIAL RHYTHMS As Gaudi gradually discovered the new theories concerning forms that result from the acting loads and the constructional necessities he became aware of the infinite possibilities of the new system. The two park buildings, built outside of town, received from this an expressive strength coupled with nature of materials. Martinell said, “Gaudi found the excellence of spatial forms then and decided not to limit himself any longer to the two dimensions of the plane.” 42

41 42

Ibid., 172.

Martinell, Collins, and Rohrer, Gaudi, 170.

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Figure 16: Interaction of complex rhythms with hexagonal patterns and triangular networks at Casa Mila. Source: Martinell, Collins, and Rohrer, Gaudi.

It was in that Gaudi was commissioned to design two apartment houses on the Paseo de Gracia- adapting them to his new plastic and mechanical theories in order to prove that it was apt for all types of architectural construction. The Casa Batllo was actually a remodeling job where he used continuous forms on the facade in a completely free and threedimensional rhythm that gave the building a sense of unity. On the less remodeled floors he undulated the facade wall and covered in with a poly-chromatic ceramic mosaic.

I observed, In order to achieve a maximum spatial illusion, the tile decoration symbolizes the earth, the sea, and the heavens using plants, marine animals, and star motifs in low relief. As each tile is composed in triangular radial symmetry, the three motifs would be completed by putting the tiles together, as can be seen in the illustrated. Bohigas writes, “The observer with scientific intuition has recourse to the hexagon when it has to do with paving. It is an intelligent form, a form of artificial selection. Gaudi's version is decorated with other interesting forms, such as spirals, circles Figure 17: Paving stone rivaling for the space between the legs of a hexagonal star, designed by Gaudi in 1904. waves ... all of them specially appreciated forms of natural Photo: Anurag selection.” 43 Personally I got the impression that in these two buildings on the Paseo de Gracia, Gaudi wanted to avoid a priori geometric rhythms and to let him be carried away by a spontaneous outpouring of free forms in space. Thus it was that these two buildings on passing from paper into reality were to acquire greater structural coherence. Martinell says that, “Gaudi obtained plasticity in both buildings by modeling surfaces which he organized according to geometric rhythms, but the surfaces tend to slip away from the geometry. The synthesis to which he aspired was to be realized in his beloved project Sagrada Familia church . 44

43 44

Gaudí and Bohigas, Gaudí 2002, 165.

Martinell, Gaudinismo, 72.

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Impact of the Gaudi’s theories and writings on his work GEOMETRIZED PLASTICITY “Once the Nativity facade of Sagrada Familia was completed, the four towers were slowly erected.” 45 as quoted in the book La Sagrada Familia. These towers follow Gaudi's architectural theory in which forms correspond to structural forces, giving them a sense of unity. In the decorative terminations of these towers, Gaudi achieved the formal concept toward which he had been working throughout his life to achieve pure geometry.

Before reaching the pinnacle, the twelve vertical rib-like elements of the towers are joined in pairs to form six converging elements which in turn make up the base of the triangular pyramid with chamfered edges which form the main body of the pinnacle.

Figure 18: Free geometric rhythm in the tower pinnacles of the Sagrada Familia.

Source: Martinell, Collins, and Rohrer, Gaudi.

While considering the compositional varieties which I have summarized, one can realize the strength of Gaudi's creative maturity and sense of responsibility, which kept him from relying completely upon his own inspiration. We can see the immense distance that has been travelled between the rectangular or triangular rhythms of the first works or even the later categorization but which contain the fluidity of a completely free conception of mechanical and geometric solutions to a problem.

After the critical analysis of Gaudi's projects and opinions by other historians and authors, I extracted three consistent parts: geometry, structure, and materials. It is quite evident from my research that Gaudi observed and analyzed nature to develop a syntax, which disciplined the geometries of his architecture. Geometry revealed itself as syntax for design (syntax as in set of rules). Gaudi was interested in the observation of nature to yield an in-depth understanding of specific geometries which were predominantly structural. That allowed Gaudi to approach his thinking on design through material and structural lenses, which at certain occasions followed the theoretical discourse as discussed in part one of the thesis and sometimes not.

Figure 19: Sketch of Passion façade, Sagrada Familia. Source: La Sagrada Familia Museum.

45

La Sagrada Familia, 91.

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Impact of the Gaudi’s theories and writings on his work

PART 3// ARCHITECTURE OR SCULPTURE? Part three of my thesis talks about the interpretation of Gaudian theories and manuscripts in decorative arts and craft as they relate to an understanding of architecture and his later derived philosophies. In addition to the naturalistic forms, likes of leaves and animals in cast or wrought iron in Casa Batllo, he was the fecund creator of forms which today are called sculptural but which Gaudi regarded simply as decorative in nature.

George R. Collins, an American art historian and expert on the works of Gaudi writes that, “In the historical classification of the arts, architecture is presented as an interpretative Figure 20: Splay of the Rosary portal art whereas sculpture and painting are sculpted in imitation of basketwork. Source: imitative and auxiliary to it. Gaudi, in his Gaudi Center Reus passion to give life to his works, found himself creating forms which have later been called abstract many years before the restless movements of contemporary art led sculptors and painters to non-figuration.” 46 Collin’s remarks are quite critical in this regard. This is a question of nomenclature which I would like to comment on, in order to clarify certain misconceptions. There are visible aspects of the last works of Gaudi, which are indeed sculptural in the widest sense, but the work cannot for that reason be considered merely as sculpture. Architecture is more spatial, sculpture more concise.

Gaudi’s models could be called sculptures; though in their final reality they are true architecture which allows surface decoration, be it figurative or not.

Figure 21: Sculptural Casa Mila balconies. Photo: Anurag

46 47

In the notes written on ornamentation, Gaudi distinguishes clearly between the objects or the structures, and the ornamentation that enriches them and which seems superfluous to him. Martinell adds: "complication in ornamentation is nothing but a poor and expensive solution which only succeeds in making the object indifferent... Common sense tells us that simple forms are characteristic of magnificence and that abundant ornamentation is more properly found in small masses."47 I found that this criterion as mentioned by Martinell does not prevail in the Nativity facade where the main object of Gaudi was to accentuate the optimistic significance of the subject.

Martinell, Collins, and Rohrer, Gaudi, 157.

Martinell, Gaudinismo.

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Martinell further explains that, "Ornamentation is a means by which certain qualities of form are used to dress an object in order to infuse it with a predetermined character, in some cases making the massiveness disappear to achieve a spiritual result, and in others accentuating it to make its nature felt in all of its rudeness and simplicity."48 Gaudi did show an intense and highly sensitive feeling for form, and for him what was essential was to give it life and beauty. I found Sagrada Familia, as a type of architectonic sculpture or sculpted architecture in which structure and decoration are united in the service of religious symbolism.

Figure 22: Statue of the child Jesus preaching in the temple flanked by Saints Zachariah and John in stone. Source: Gaudi Center Reus.

In the shown facade, despite its abundance of sculpture, there is nothing that is "superimposed" as pointed out by Rohrer which means that everything "comes from within." 49 Gaudi applied the principle as set forth in his youth; by which sculptural ornamentation should always have as its object. The intention behind it was to increase the importance of surfaces without weighing them down and give them a religious or naturalism meaning.

THE ABSTRACT: SCULPTURAL AND GEOMETRIC Gaudi in his first works used decorative elements which modern writers classify as abstract sculptures. Later he used expressionistic forms which can be more easily classified within the abstract category.

Collins writes, “We can distinguish gaudi’s works in two phases: one merely sculptural, without geometric control and another which was rigorously geometric.” 50 First use of three-dimensional surfaces in an urban work came in the Casa Batllo. Gaudi later used them on a wider scale in the Casa Mila. Rohrer points out to the surface quality, and wrote, “smooth-to-the-eye caves and projections, causing the light sliding over them to enrich the chiaroscuro (painting type) effects. These were the concrete versions of the effects which he imagined and which led to those forms now called abstract.” 51 Figure 23: Pinnacles of the towers of the Sagrada Familia with geometrized abstract forms. Source: Gaudi Center Reus.

48

Martinell, Conversaciones con Gaudí, 43.

Martinell, Collins, and Rohrer, Gaudi, 147.

50 Ibid., 218.

51 Ibid., 228.

49

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Impact of the Gaudi’s theories and writings on his work

One of the aspects I pondered for quite a while during my research on Gaudi was the interpretation of his ideas, theories and drawings into construction. From paper into becoming reality and to transmit his orders to the assistants, Gaudi developed and used the precise concrete language of mathematics, in which error was impossible. Thus those geometrically generated forms took shape, and far from producing any sort of rigidity, the geometry has rather put them more in tune with the laws of artistic harmony. An example of such forms can be found in the tower tops dealing with rhythm of the Sagrada Familia.

THE CRAFT OF CONSTRUCTING One thing that I can infer after going through his projects and published papers, is that Gaudi had an obsession towards the craft of constructing; the fact of giving forms to something, uniting the constituting parts, according to a determined plan.

Martinell writes, “Everything Gaudi has learnt throughout his life, what he has learnt at university and what he has experimented in his workshops and in professional practice brings him to a spirit of synthesis to the point that, for him, the external appearance of things "must be nothing but the reflection of their utilitarian, mechanical and constructive needs". 52 The way I understood his way of working is by visiting his studio preserved and located at the premises of Sagrada Familia. The drawing board, the plaster models, the scale models, the molds, tools, mirrors, artifacts ... revealed one Figure 24: Casa Batllo, dining room door. of the important aspects, that Gaudi thought with All the elements - moulding, frame, transom his hands, tested personally on models and united and leaves have been painstakingly designed the parts to construct a whole. At Reus center, I and adorned. Photo: Anurag found this interesting quote said by Gaudi, “The architect is the man of synthesis who has a clear overview of things before they are constructed, who situates and unites the elements within their plastic relation and at an appropriate distance.”53 According to Gaudi, “architectural works must be complemented by small interior structures-the furniture-which come into more intimate contact with man than does the house itself.” 54 Gaudi, with his designs converted objects into useful and sumptuous objects of bodily and artistic comfort.

Figure 25: Casa Calvet, peephole and pull handle. Photo: Anurag 52

Martinell, Gaudinismo, 86.

Gaudí, El pensament de Gaudí, 104.

54 Gaudí, El pensament de Gaudí, 107.

53

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Impact of the Gaudi’s theories and writings on his work In small objects as shown in the figure, one can notice Gaudi's domination of surfaces and volumes which he links with space in an expressive and harmonious manner. In addition, we can observe his great understanding of materials and their properties.

Figure 26: Easy chair accommodating two people

When I chronologically examined the evolution from Casa Batllo. Photo: Anurag of his furnitures, from the chapel of the Marquises of Comillas or in that of Palau Guell in Barcelona, I realized that Gaudi became more synthesized and analytical, he abandoned the neo-classical styles of medieval character in order to project a more austere and functional work which matches the physical characteristics of the human body. During 19th century on arrival of modernisme in the academic arena influenced many artists and architects. One of them was Gaudi who adopted a more functional and rational approach towards his designs rather than more grandeur and exuberant neoclassical designs. In this context I am talking about furniture design and not architecture. When I say "neoclassical styles of medieval character", I mean the influence of the character of the medieval period seeming to slip into parts of the neoclassicism. It can be even considered as a revival of the styles and spirit of antiquity inspired directly from the medieval period. Bohigas wrote, “Gaudi never separates project from construction. If we analyse the different parts that make up his furniture, we will see that anything built is not accidental. The way the arms of the chair connect to the back, the back to the seat, and the seat to the legs is always solved with a great knowledge of the craft, but with new constructive formulae which do not follow traditional chair making and he even allows himself some innovations” 55

Gaudi in Casa Batllo (1906) and Casa Mila broke the formal tradition of cabinetmaking and propose a kind of seat, which like his later architecture had rounded forms and smooth edges, thus making body adjust to human morphology.

Bohigas mentions, “Despite being made of wood, they are extraordinarily comfortable.

They have some subjection points, adapted to the concavities of the fingers, which make them manageable” 56.

55 56

Gaudí and Bohigas, Gaudí 2002, 165.

Gaudí and Bohigas, Gaudí 2002, 246.

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Figure 27: Bench from the offices of Casa Calvet.

Source: Gaudi Center Reus

PIONEER OF ERGONOMICS Both the analysis that the author Riccardo Dalisi, an Italian architect and designer makes are a perfect demonstration that the forms of the human body (fingers, hands, arms, back, hips, buttocks and legs), the scale and the postures have been born in mind when designing this furniture, a way of approaching the relationship between man, objects and spaces.57 One of the interesting aspects to observe in Gaudi’s furniture is that none of these pieces are constructed with vertical and horizontal planes, as the neo-plasticists would do; in contrary: the structural and formal models followed organic vocabulary.

I would like to point out that what, according to me makes Gaudi modern, would not be so much his forms as the way he approaches his projects. In his work everything is variable, transformable, and open to review. The close relationship that he maintains with the practice of crafts and what these bring to him in the field of reflection and creation is found in multiple objects that are present in his buildings, which fulfill both a practical and ornamental function. The range of door and window handles, knobs, pull-handles or peepholes present in the Calvet, Batllo and Mila houses reflect it perfectly. They are pieces cast in metal, modeled with plaster and worked with the fingers and hands. Martinell writes, “One only needs to touch the furniture Figure 24: Pull handle and handle models from Casa objects to realize that they adjust perfectly to Mila. Source: Gaudí and Bohigas, Gaudí 2002 the forms and proportions of a hand.” 58 The door knob of Casa Calvet and especially those in Casa also responds to very specific uses; if the door opens to the right or left, the direction of the handle varies; if it is a knob, it will have a star shaped form; if it is only a pull handle, it will have the shape of a hook.

Gaudi once told Martinell, “The ornamental richness of furniture conceals a basic sobriety of forms.” 59 There are covered armchairs that have great form and a certain structural originality within traditional lines with orientalizing wrought-iron fittings. Gaudi produced the last examples of that style in a set of chairs covered in green silk and velvet with gilded 57

Dalisi, Gaudí, Furniture & Objects, 17.

Gaudí and Bohigas, Gaudí 2002, 248.

59 Martinell, Gaudinismo.

58

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Impact of the Gaudi’s theories and writings on his work helicoidal legs of carved wood, using gilded iron to decorate and reinforce the other elements. The table and chairs are constructed of carved oak which adapts perfectly to the body and gives a sensation of softness. These are decorated with incised flowers and elegantly flowing openwork.

LITURGICAL ART It is not possible to appraise Gaudi's work in its artistic dimension without mentioning the specific significance of the reference to the liturgical art and, above all, the iconography of Christianity. This could be seen as an indirect link with his childhood religiosity as discussed in part one of the thesis.

The fact that all Gaudi’s buildings are crowned by four-armed crosses is an expressive sign of his aim of finishing his works with the most characteristic sign of Christianity. Now when I looked back at the ornamental and decorative elements of his civil and religious buildings, I realized how all of them, to a certain extent, revealed Gaudi's aim to link them to religious fact as well.

Francesc Pujol, a Catalan writer and Figure 29: The greatest symbol of Christian iconography, the cross, appears several times on the philosopher, in his journal writes, “The ceiling of the Church of the Guell Colony. Source: building with greatest symbolic Gaudi Center Reus significance in the religious sense is undoubtedly the Expiatory Temple of the Sagrada Familia (1883-1926), where the sentence by Gaudi which reads “ornamentation must be figurative” is fulfilled because in it everything refers to episodes of holy history.” 60 The façade of Sagrada Familia makes reference to the Nativity, Passion and Glory of Christ. The portals of the Nativity are devoted to the great virtues: Faith, Hope and Charity and the towers according to their heights are devoted to Jesus, Mary, the four evangelists and the twelve apostles. However, what makes this building different from conventional churches is that here there are no images imposed on architecture but rather all the elements are integrated into the structural and conceptual setting that Gaudi wished to represent.

Gaudi even went on to design benches for the crypt of the Colonia Guell church, using some of the patterns employed in the Casa Calvet, where wedges of iron reinforce the seats which are arranged in such a way that the two people seated in them find themselves in a position which makes conversation uncomfortable. The furniture which Gaudi designed in my opinion could be observed as moving in the direction of greater robustness and simplicity accomplished with great artistic purity.

60

Pujols, La visió artística i religiosa d’en Gaudí, 105.

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Impact of the Gaudi’s theories and writings on his work

CONCLUSION In the preceding three parts of my thesis, I have examined the principal theoretical motives behind Gaudi's art. We saw the events in his life as they affected his personality and character. It was from a combination of the theoretical and the personal that his work was produced. The manuscript preserved in Gaudi's center at Reus played an instrumental role in understanding certain aspects that appeared in Gaudi - some in a frank manner, others in seminal form which regulated his later decisions.

Martinell says, "The basic source of Gaudi's creative activity was a warm decisive passion guided by faith and an ideal of beauty which encompassed small details as well as great works of art‌ His spirit was kindled by the flames of art and religion." 61 This is quite evident from my research as well.

The outcomes of this thesis are two-fold: the first was to understand and critically analyze correlation that exist between Gaudian art-architecture and the Gaudian theories written by different art historians/ authors and by Gaudi himself in his notebook; the second was to draft the genealogy and evolution of his certain theoretical principles reflected in his architecture, craft and geometry. It was interesting to find that Gaudi himself contradicted writings from his own personal notebook at times during his career as an architect.

I would like to mention yet another temperamental element which I inferred during my research. Gaudi was aware of his passionate temperament, and he valued it for its dynamic qualities. Gaudi's intelligence was so highly developed that we can call it genius; his technical and artistic solutions went beyond the current norms and were far ahead of his time.

His privileged imagination and talent, moved by passion, led him to break the molds established by tradition in art, craft and architecture. His works are subtly based in reflection and calculation, but they appear to be intuitive and spontaneous.

Lastly and in addition to the final exhibition, I anticipate that the research and conclusions involved in the thesis will result in a defined personal understanding of Gaudian creations in light of the theoretical discourse which prevails today. I was in search of a design syntax; a set of rules, system or an ideology that disciplined his design decisions. These I have tried expressing partly through writing individual inferences after visiting his buildings and partly through research of primary and secondary sources of information, which describes the genealogy and evolution.

61

Martinell, Collins, and Rohrer, Gaudi, 147.

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BIBLIOGRAPHY Cirlot, Juan Edardo, and Antonio Gaudi. El Arte De Gaudi. Ediciones Omega, 1965.

Collins, George Roseborough, William Bainter O’Neal, and Maurice E. Farinas.

Antonio Gaudí and the Catalan movement, 1870-1930. Published for the American Association of Architectural Bibliographers [by] the University Press of Virginia, 1973.

Crippa, Maria Antonietta. Antoni Gaudi, 1852-1926: From Nature to Architecture.

Edited by Peter Gossel. Edition Unstated. Taschen, 2003.

Dalí, Salvador. Oui: Methode Paranoiaque-critique, Et Autres Textes. DenoelGonthier, 1971.

Dalisi, Riccardo. Gaudí, Furniture & Objects. Barron’s, 1980.

Delft, Gaudi-groep. Gaudi: Rationalist Met Perfecte Materiaalbeheersing. Delftse Universitaire Pers, 1979.

Dulcet, Antonio Palau y. Memorias de un librero catalán: 1867-1935. Librería Catalonia, 1935.

Gaudí, Antoni, and Oriol Bohigas. Gaudí 2002: Miscellany. Planeta, 2002.

Gaudí, Antoni. El pensament de Gaudí. La Gaya Ciència, 1981.

Giralt-Miracle, Daniel. Gaudi. Exploring Form : Space, Geometry, Structure and Construction. LUNWERG EDITORES, S.A., 2002.

La Sagrada Familia: De Gaudi Al CAD (Col·leccio D’art, Disseny, Arquitectura i Urbanisme). Edicions UPC, Universitat Politecnica de Catalunya, 1996.

Martinell, Cã©sar, George R. Collins, and Judith Rohrer, eds. Gaudi: His Life, His Theories, His Work. 1St ed. The MIT Press, 1975.

Martinell, César. Conversaciones con Gaudí. Ediciones Punto Fijo, 1969.

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Molema, Jan. Gaudí: constructie van verleiding. episode publishers, 2005.

Pane, Roberto. Antoni Gaudi. 1St ed. Edizione Di Comunita, 1964.

Pujols, Francesc. La visió artística i religiosa d’en Gaudí. Llibreria Catalonia, 1927.

Robinson, William H., Jordi Falgas, and Carmen Bellon Lord. Barcelona and Modernity: Picasso, Gaudi, Miro, Dali. Yale University Press, 2006.

Roe, Jeremy. Antoni Gaudi. Translated by Elise Noetinger. Parkstone, 2009.

Teshigahara, Hiroshi. Antonio Gaudi. Criterion Collection, 2008.

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Antoni Gaudí. Industrial Kadex-Edicions Cedel, 2008.

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