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...remember to say you saw it in the SOL TIMES
SOLTIMES NOVEMBER 2012
THE SPAINIAC | La Sagrada Família | Candice Parsons
As the first publication of this column, Antoni Gaudí’s Sagrada Família of Barcelona may seem like an all-too-common and predictable attraction for a ‘Spainiac’ from Australia to write about. On the contrary, it would be imprudent to not give any attention to the deeper discussion behind how this incomplete masterpiece has become one of Spain’s most globally recognized icons. George Orwell once described the Sagrada Família as “one of the most hideous buildings in the world.” Salvador Dali, overwhelmed by Gaudí’s “superbly creative bad taste”, called it a “tactile erogenous zone.” Perhaps such confrontational opinions towards work of the Spanish Catalan genius, acclaimed for his seven idiosyncratic UNESCO World Heritage sites, have somewhat inadvertently contributed to the mass attraction shaping the building’s emblematic significance to Spain. Following its construction in 1882 by architect Francisco de Paula del Villar, Gaudí inherited Sagrada Família the following year and entirely took over, transforming the architectural style and engineering plans to a synthesis of his own. This combined neo-Gothic, art noveau, modernist and noucentisme elements together with his vision inspired by religious faith and love of nature. From the age of 31, Gaudí committed most of his life to
constructing the church, whilst throughout this, radically changing his design plans. “My client is not in a hurry”, he used to say, referring to God when explaining the delayed time it was taking to complete the Roman Catholic Church. Lucidly aware that his extensive project plans could not be finished in his lifetime, he envisaged the Sagrada Família as a towering and majestic visual tale of Christ’s life. Gaudí spent the last year of his life living on the site, and completed the Nativity Façade, one tower, the apse and the crypt before he was hit by a Barcelona tram in June 1926. After his death, further construction severely decreased due to the lack of funds and outbreak of the Spanish Civil War. Many of Gaudí’s construction models were destroyed in a fire started by anti-clerical anarchists at the beginning of the Civil War in 1936. The remaining construction drawings and models have been vital to his successors in reconstructing them and pursuing Gaudí’s vision, allowing architects to continue working on the building. Being under construction for over 125 years now, almost 60, 000 people still attended its consecration mass in November 2010 by Pope Benedict XVI. Much controversy, followed by a stream of assorted questions and answers now flows around the Sagrada Família; is it still credible as Gaudí’s art due to the amount of people that have
worked on it after him? If Gaudí’s models and plans were destroyed, how do we surely know the reconstructed models are true to his vision? Is it worth completing? Will completing it remove the Basilica’s horrifically compelling beauty and uniqueness of seeing art in progress, rather than the usual completed art we see? The list goes on and the discussions continue to amplify, whilst the amount of its visitors keeps growing. Upon completion, roughly estimated between years 2026–2028, the Sagrada Família will have 18 towers, of which twelve will be dedicated to the apostles, four to the evangelists, one to Jesus and one to Mary. When, or if, this does actually happen, the Basilica has and will continue to encompass a rare hype and recognition like no other and Gaudí’s legacy will live on from this alone. One solid answer is definite here; despite living in poverty and poor health prior to his ill-fated death, the gifted man with unfinished business attests a successful life, testifying that what you do in life is as equally imperative as how you do it... Candice Parsons is a writer and avid Spain and Spanish culture lover from Melbourne, Australia: follow her on Twitter @MiLlamoCandi
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