According to the generally accepted classification, the style of Antonio Gaudi is modern, but in practice his creations cannot be attributed to any of the known styles. You can talk about the style of Gaudi, which will be more precise, the style that developed next to the modern, had a connection with him, but existed according to its own laws and rules.
Critics saw in Gaudi a lonely genius: eccentric, incomprehensible, a little crazy, and the most common myth says that the architect worked and lived in the basements of Sagrada Familia for 20 years. But in reality, he only spent the night there, and it lasted six months. The image of Gaudi is too romanticized.
Although in Catalonia even now there is no unequivocal relationship: the memory of this person is either extolled or desecrated. And while some consider him a false prophet, others demand canonization from the Vatican.
short biography
The full name of the architect is Antonio Placid Guillaume Gaudi i Cornet, date of birth - June 25, 1852. Born in the town of Reus, he received the name in honor of his mother, and the second part of the surname, according to the Spanish tradition, is also from her.
From early childhood, Gaudi was sick a lot, he began to walk late. He could not play outdoor games in the yard and attend physical education classes: he was tormented by rheumatic pains in his legs. And these pains did not even allow walking, Antonio got out for riding on a donkey. But closer to adulthood the pains passed.
Not having the opportunity to spend time on outdoor games, Gaudi was engaged in mental development, was much ahead of his peers, even looked older. If he could not take by force and agility - he took it with his mind. School he graduated from one of the best students.
However, in the process of studying, he did not shine with particular successes, standing out in only one subject - geometry. Gaudi did not like cramming, preferring to spend time in Riudoms instead. From there you can see the Montserrat Monastery, which shook the imagination of young Gaudi, the spiers of churches and mountains. The play of light on stone fascinated him, seemed mystical, and became the leitmotif of his subsequent work.
In 1868, Gaudi graduated from high school. Then he already knew that architecture would be the work of a lifetime. Having the opportunity to study at a higher educational institution, the 17-year-old Gaudi moved to Barcelona, where he got a job as an ordinary draftsman in the architectural bureau. He wanted to learn in practice. But he did not neglect the theory, enrolling in courses at the University of Barcelona, where they studied architecture. Here, Gaudi studied for 5 years, and during his studies he entered the Provincial School of Architecture.
During this period, he was looking for a way to combine Roman-Gothic Catalan art and decorative oriental architecture, geometry and the form of organic nature. But I still didn’t work on my own, although I managed a lot:
- in 1878-1879 he designed the lights of Real Square;
- in 1878-1882 he created a water cascade in the Citadel park;
- in the same years he developed a project of the working quarter and the factory building.
From 1883 to 1900, 2 important events took place in the life of Gaudi: the beginning of work on the Sagrada Familia and acquaintance with Guell, who was a wealthy industrialist, and later became one of the customers of the architect and his friend. For Guell, Gaudi built the estate of the same name and a palace, the most striking details of which include:
- original, plastic windows;
- almost sculptural accents;
- a combination of different ornaments and colors;
- connection of ceramics and brick.
After that, Gaudi worked on the construction of the Episcopal Palace in Astorga, the school of the monastery of St. Theresa and Casa de Los Botines, which turned out to be no less original and are considered a miracle of architecture. And in 1883, Gaudi received an order for the construction of the Sagrada Familia, and this instantly made him one of the leading architects of Barcelona, as he is known now.
Between 1900 and 1917, the architect’s unique style reached its peak, and he took on the design of the colony and Park Guell. Both that and another was a visible expression of the socially utopian views of Gaudi and Guell. Although it was not possible to complete the colony, Gaudi’s dreams of merging the natural world with the human one were realized. He built the Casa Batlo and Casa Mila, restored the cathedral in Palma de Mallorca. In 1926, the Sagrada Familia completed the facade of the Nativity, but in the same year it died when it fell under a tram. Antonio Gaudi was buried in the crypt of Sagrada Familia.
Sagrada Familia
This building is called differently: Gaudi Cathedral, Sagrada Familia, Sagrada Familia. But the full name is the Atoning Temple of the Holy Family. Gaudi planned this cathedral with three facades, each of which was supposed to have 4 tall spiers with curved outlines. Thus, at the top of the building would be:
- 12 spiers symbolizing the apostles of Christ;
- in the middle, the architect thought to position the largest tower - Jesus;
- around it - 4 smaller ones, in honor of the four Evangelists.
Tower decorations would reflect traditional symbols: eagle, lion, lamb and taurus. And on the tower of Christ was supposed to be a big cross. And above the abside there was supposed to be a bell tower symbolizing the Virgin Mary.
On each of the facades, Gaudi planned to make reliefs that would depict the 3 most important moments of Christ's life. One bas-relief is “Birth”, the second is “Passion”, the third is “Ascension”. And the cloister, a covered bypass gallery, which would create the courtyard of the cathedral, should have united the facades.
Gaudi did not complete the Sagrada Familia, he died earlier. And now there is only a facade with "Christmas" and 4 of the 18 towers. However, this is enough to amaze people from all over the world.
Park Guell
Park Guell is theatrical. It has external walls decorated with ceramic plates that say that the park is separate from the rest of the world. At the gate 2 of the pavilion house: disproportionate, as if arising from Wonderland. The roof of one of the houses is even made in the form of a hat of a magic mushroom. And on the tops of both roofs are inverted coffee cups.
As planned by Gaudi, the park was to be like an opera, as if unfolding in 3 unrelated actions. And the performance began from the gate, where 2 metal gazelles were hiding in the cells when the doors opened.
Right behind the entrance is a view of the main staircase that leads to the covered market. At its foot there is a stone pool, water flows into it from the mouth of snakes, whose hoods are the colors of the Catalan flag. The trading hall is a vast area and many Doric columns, under each there is a reservoir into which rain water must be drained, cleaned with layers of cobblestone and sand. Inside the columns there are thin pipes through which water must be lowered into the cistern hidden below.
From the square you can see the whole Park Guell: paths marked with stone balls, a crucifix at the top, a panorama of the whole city and the bay. Every thing in the park, from benches to columns, is a unique architectural masterpiece.
