If you're coming to Barcelona, you can't miss it! incredible works by Gaudi...
A character with multiple facets The architect, the devout Catholic, the master of Catalan modernism...
But his life wasn't easy, and ended rather tragically.in a certain kind of solitude devoted to art...
Gaudi... his real name...
Antoni Gaudà i Cornet was born on June 25, 1852 in Reus or Riudoms.
An international reputation!
Gaudi is admired by all Catalans and the ever-increasing number of visitors to beautiful Barcelona.
And Gaudi created scattered works all over the city.
Today, almost all of these achievements are listed on the world heritage site. We salute the fact that his work is varied: from the early Palacio Güell, with its distinctly Gothic inspirations, to the English park on Park Güell to the incredible Sagrada Familia.
Take a stroll along Passeig de Gracia to discover houses such as the Casa Milà or the Casa Batlló is a real pleasure.
And with Gaudi, we discover even more incredible places like Casa Vicens, that superb mansion in the heart of Gracia that used to be a vacation home, or Colonia Güell, slightly outside the city.
An opportunity to a little getaway!
At the time, Gaudi was not only well known in Barcelona, but also internationally, as he took part in a skyscraper project in New York and an exhibition at Grand Palais de Paris for which he received rave reviews!
But it didn't start out that way...
"We've awarded the diploma to a madman or a genius. Time will tell".
So says the director of his architecture school when Gaudi graduates in Barcelona.
And yes! Even at the time, Gaudi was a troublemaker and a question mark.
Gaudi transformed everything and revolutionized art.
What's so special about Gaudi?
The end of the 19th century was marked by a real artistic breakthrough in Europe.
Commonly known as Art Nouveau in French, this willingness to break away is also called "Secession in Austria or "Jugendstil in Germany.
Artists wanted to break away from artistic trends such as Gothic art and move closer to the forms of nature. While curved. The disappearance of straight lines. Flowers and plants invade architecture and all objects.
Because Art Nouveau is a total art, where all the furniture is Art Nouveau, as are the jewels, the paintings...
A style that would also develop in Catalonia under the name of modernism or "modernismo.
And the roots of Catalanism permeate the style, as the precursors and important artists of this movement wanted a particular, typically Catalan style... An original style!
Modernism is everywhere in the city.
Artists like Gaudi, Puig i Catafalchs, Domenec i Montaner create sensational architecture...
And Gaudi is a particular kind of modernism, a modernism found nowhere else... unique!
Highly colorful with risk-taking... Building systems you wouldn't believe possible...
A myth, a Sagrada that may never end...
Gaudi was inspired by nature: Montserrat mountains, Catalan caves, Majorcan landscapes...
A life devoted to art and religion
Gaudi is a practicing Catholic and entirely dedicated to religion and its art.
He spent his childhood in a design and architecture school.
His life is marked by misfortunes like the death of his mother when he was very young.
During his lifetime, Gaudi did not create a family, and 1914 was a dark year in which he lost many of his friends.
From then on, he decided to devote himself entirely to his major work: the Sagrada Familia, begun in 1900.
And today, as you know, it is still under construction.
Everyone has their own bet to make in Barcelona or gives information heard by others: "the Sagrada would be ready in 2025... or 2035..." And this contributes to the myth...
An incredible place whose completion is still uncertain.
To complete his work, he then lived ascetic and worshipper of God.
La Sagrada is one of the most visited monuments in Spain.
Gaudi's beatification by the Catholic Church is currently underway.
His friend and patron Eusebi Güell
When we visit Gaudi's works, one name comes up very often: Eusebi Güell.
In those days, houses and works of art were named after the person who had commissioned them.
And Eusebi Güell was a friend of Gaudi's and above all his patron. He commissioned many works from him: the Güell Cellars, the Guëll Pavilions, Güell Palace, Güell Park and the Colonia Güell crypt.
Gaudi killed by a streetcar
Over the years, Gaudi put aside his appearance to live in a rather rigid asceticism.
His preoccupations revolved mainly around the Sagrada, and his physical appearance became very neglected.
Unfortunately, in 1926, he was run over by a streetcar on the Gran Via de les Corts Catalans. He was taken to the Santa Creu hospital.
No one recognizes him and it's only a few days later that a chaplain realizes it's the incredible architect.
It's already too late...
His art was recognized during his lifetime and long after his death.
We often hear that artists are recognized after their death. This is not really the case with Gaudi, who enjoyed considerable patronage and recognition during his lifetime...
But as with the whole Art Nouveau movement, there were the dark years where public opinion criticized its curvaceous forms and dreamlike appearance.
After that, it's NoucentrismThis was a return to classicism, taking over from Modernismo. It wasn't until the 1950s and the figure of Dali to bring Gaudi back into the limelight...
And today, there's no doubt about it: he's recognized and acclaimed the world over for Barcelona's beauties...
I've always loved Gaudi for his genius, for his spirituality, for his extraordinary personality. His buildings seem so alive that they vibrate like all the Nature he loved, he the vegetarian who became an ascetic of God who, let there be no doubt, spoke to us through him and all his work. I hope one day to see the Sagrada Familia completely finished, and only then will Antoni be able to rest in peace.