(1852-1926) Catalan architect and figurehead of Catalan Modernism.
Gaudi was not a genius at school, which many attribute to a childhood rheumatic condition. He missed many classes because it was difficult for him to get around. Nevertheless, he illustrated his school's weekly newspaper and moved to Barcelona in 1868 to study architecture.
Gaudi said that architectural styles did not depend on aesthetic ideas but on the social and political atmosphere. This outlook shows in his works all around Barcelona: Park Guell, the Sagrada Familia, even the lampposts along La Rambla. It is interesting to walk around the city and notice all the tiny architectural details he had a hand in. My favorite was the tiled sidewalks.
Gaudi was not a genius at school, which many attribute to a childhood rheumatic condition. He missed many classes because it was difficult for him to get around. Nevertheless, he illustrated his school's weekly newspaper and moved to Barcelona in 1868 to study architecture.
Gaudi said that architectural styles did not depend on aesthetic ideas but on the social and political atmosphere. This outlook shows in his works all around Barcelona: Park Guell, the Sagrada Familia, even the lampposts along La Rambla. It is interesting to walk around the city and notice all the tiny architectural details he had a hand in. My favorite was the tiled sidewalks.
His interpretation through architecture of the myth of St. George and the Dragon is also pretty interesting.
The top of the rof was designed to mimic the dragon's scales. The turret represents St. George's lance. The bottom two floors are supposed to look like dragon's ribs.
I especially like the terraces that look like skulls.
His influences were midieval books, gothic illustrations of oriental structures, and organic shapes in nature. He appreciated artist John Ruskin's view that ornament is the origin of architecture. He was proudly Catalan, and the Crest of Catalonia as well as homages to St George(like the house above), who was the patron saint of Catalonia.
His very first project was to design the worker's quarters for Cooperativa Mataronense. Only one section of the factory and a kiosk were built, but his project was presented at the 1878 Paris World Fair, introducing Gaudi to the world.
His collaboration with architect Martorell allowed him to gain management in 1883 of what is perhaps one of his greatest works, the Sagrada Familia. He spent 43 years working on it, and it's still being finished to this day.
Plan for the finished Sagrada Familia
What it looks like today
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