Antoni Gaudí

antonio

Gaudi M A S T E R

A R C H I T E C T

Juan Bassegoda-Nonell Photography by Melba Levick

About the Author Professor Juan BassegodaNonell has ser ved as director of the Càtedra Gaudí at the School of Architecture within Barcelona University since 1968. He is the author of many notable books on Gaudí, among them The Designs and Drawings of Antonio Gaudí, with George R. Collins.

ARCHITECTURE

antonio

Gaudi M A S T E R

A R C H I T E C T

Juan Bassegoda-Nonell Photography by Melba Levick

Antonio Gaudí (1852-1926) is one of the most admired architects of the twentieth century. Even today, seventy-five years after his death, his fanciful, exuberant buildings that define Barcelona’s cityscape continue to influence architects, sculptor s, and designers. Perhaps best known for the dynamic, sculptural facades found on such buildings as the Sagrada Familia church and Casa Mila, Gaudí was as much respected as a technological innovator as a daring stylist.

In this enlightening volume, a concise, knowledge-

About the Photographer Melba Levick is an accomplished and cosmopolitan architectural photographer whose work has most recently appeared in such books as Barcelona and Paradise Found: The Beautiful Retreats and Sanctuaries of California and the Southwest.

able text by the director of the Càtedra Gaudí at the University of Barcelona combines with striking images by a noted architectural photographer to provide a new perspective on Gaudí’s remarkable career. The text covers the range of his oeuvre from early assignments in the 1870s as a draftsman for leading architects in Barcelona to the commission of his unfinished masterpiece, the Church of the Sagrada Familia, which occupied him until his death. The author traces all the influences that led to his definitive style,

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Orient,

Neogothicism, naturalism, and geometric forms.

This illuminating book is both a handy primer and an insightful summation of the work of this visionary artist.

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contents Introduction

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Early Work 1870-1885

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eastern influence 1883-1888

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neogothicism 1883-1909

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naturalism 1895-1916

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ruled geometry 1908-1917

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definitive style 1892-1929

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chronology

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index

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n at u r a l i s m 1

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AUDÍ’S MOST CREATIVE

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period corresponds to the completely free development of his ideas based on an architecture inspired by nature. Understanding that in nature there is no straight line or plane and that by contrast there is an immense variety of curved forms, he changed the normal procedure of designing on a plane surface and launched directly into the third dimension, making use of every kind of model. He made them of wood, plaster, clay, metal screening, wet cardboard, and wire.

Gaudí’s love of nature was based on his attentive, naive observation of the forms of plants, animals, and mountains. He admired the beauty of all these forms, recognizing that nature’s purpose is not aesthetic but functional. Nature does not try to make works of art but rather elements that rule the growth and reproduction of species. He concluded that in looking for function, one arrives at beauty, and that the direct search for beauty leads only to philosophy, aesthetics, or art theory. Gaudí was a simple man, an enemy of abstract ideas, a man who knew how to see the reality of things without prejudice or professional bias.

Among Gaudí’s naturalistic works is the Casa Calvet (1898–1899). On the building’s facade he placed a collection of mush-

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rooms to please his patron, Sr. Calvet, who was a micologist. The facade design was made first in the form of a plaster model to a scale of 1:10.

In the Güell Cellars (1895–1897), on the outskirts of Garraf, he erected a building in the locale’s native stone, which is in perfect harmony with the rocky contour of the coast.

The concept of naturalism becomes more evident in the Park Güell. Here, the architect planned the streets to adapt to the rough topography, constructing viaducts so that the terrain’s original contours were left unchanged. He built with the native stone and even took advantage of the ruins of a cave, distributing its rocks of different colors harmoniously throughout the grounds.

The Casa Batlló (1904–1906) and the Casa Milà (1906–1910) were the culmination of his naturalist architecture. The Casa Batlló, covered with pieces of colored glass ceramic, and the Casa Milà, with its clifflike aspect, seem to be symbols of sea and earth. Other examples of this way of working can be seen in the stained glass of the Cathedral of Mallorca (1903–1914), in the Resurrection of Christ on the Mountain of Montserrat (1903–1916), and in other lesser works. Nature is reflected in Gaudí’s architecture like trees in the surface of a lake.

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naturalism

The tower of an entrance building in the Park Güell estate.

page 62:

Detail of a mosaic lizard.

page 63:

The entrance to the park displays Gaudí’s love of nature and his admiration of the shapes of plants, animals, and mountains. far left:

left: Mid-way up the stairs is an over-sized sphere with a snakes’ head peering through a Catalan flag.

Park Güell

• BARCELONA • 1900-1914 naturalism

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Casa Batlló

• • 1904-1906

BARCELONA

right: The Casa Batlló represents the culmination of Gaudí’s naturalist architecture.

This huge stained glass window allows colored light to spill into the rooms. opposite:

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naturalism

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Casa Batllรณ is characterized by a fanciful contoured rooftop and gaily decorated chimneys. right & opposite:

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naturalism

above:

Inside this mushroom-shaped alcove is a delightful seating area flanking a graceful stove.

opposite:

The hallway and staircase of the Casa BatllĂł is richly decorated with pieces of colored glass ceramic.

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Sagrada Familia

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definitive style

• BARCELONA • 1883-1926

The Sagrada Familia church, Gaudí’s most ambitious work, has come to define the skyline of Barcelona.

right & Opposite:

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