Antoni Gaudí
Early Life and Education
Antoni Gaudí i Cornet was born on June 25, 1852, in Reus, a town in the Catalonia region of Spain. His family was of humble origins; his father was a coppersmith, a trade that gave Gaudí an early and intimate understanding of materials and the three-dimensional nature of form. He was the youngest of five children, and his health was poor in his youth, suffering from rheumatism, which often kept him from school and allowed him to spend long periods of time observing nature. This early immersion in the natural world would become a profound and lasting influence on his architectural work.
In 1868, Gaudí moved to Barcelona to study architecture. He initially attended the Piarists’ school, where he showed a talent for drawing and geometry. In 1873, he enrolled in the Provincial School of Architecture in Barcelona. He was not a conventional student; he was often critical of his professors and the historical styles they taught. He was more interested in developing his own unique approach to design, one that was rooted in the study of nature and the traditions of his native Catalonia.
During his time as a student, he also worked as a draftsman for several prominent Barcelona architects, including Joan Martorell and Josep Fontserè. This practical experience gave him a solid grounding in the building trades and allowed him to participate in major projects such as the design of the Cascada fountain in the Parc de la Ciutadella.
When he graduated in 1878, the director of the school, Elies Rogent, famously declared, “Gentlemen, we are here today in the presence of either a genius or a madman.” This statement proved to be prophetic, as Gaudí would go on to become one of the most original and unconventional architects in history.
Upon graduating, he established his own practice in Barcelona. The city was in the midst of a period of great economic and cultural flourishing, known as the Renaixença, or Catalan renaissance. There was a strong sense of regional pride and a desire to create a modern and distinctly Catalan culture. This environment, combined with the patronage of wealthy industrialists like Eusebi Güell, provided Gaudí with the perfect opportunity to develop his unique architectural vision.
Architectural Philosophy and Career
Antoni Gaudí’s architectural philosophy is one of the most personal and idiosyncratic in history. It was a deeply spiritual and nature-based approach to design, and it was rooted in his Catholic faith and his love for his native Catalonia. He is the most famous practitioner of the Catalan Modernisme style, which was closely related to the Art Nouveau movement in the rest of Europe.
Gaudí believed that nature was the “great book, always open and which we should make an effort to read.” He saw the natural world as a model of structural efficiency and aesthetic perfection, and he sought to emulate its forms and principles in his architecture. He studied the geometry of trees, flowers, and animal skeletons, and he used these natural forms to create a new and organic language of architecture. He famously said, “The straight line belongs to man, the curved line belongs to God.”
His work is characterized by its use of rich colors, textures, and materials, and by its integration of a wide range of crafts, including ceramics, stained glass, wrought ironwork, and carpentry. He was a master of creating complex, three-dimensional forms, and he developed innovative structural systems to support them. He was particularly known for his use of the catenary arch, a parabolic curve that is the ideal shape for supporting its own weight. He used this form to create soaring, light-filled spaces that were both structurally efficient and aesthetically breathtaking.
Gaudí’s career was almost entirely based in and around Barcelona, and his work is inseparable from the cultural and political context of Catalan Modernisme. He was a deeply religious man, and his Catholic faith was a central theme in his work. He saw his architecture as a form of worship, and his most ambitious project, the Sagrada Família, was conceived as a great “cathedral for the poor.”
His relationship with his patron, Eusebi Güell, was also crucial to his career. Güell was a wealthy industrialist and a man of great culture, and he gave Gaudí the freedom and the financial resources to realize some of his most imaginative and ambitious projects, including the Palau Güell, the Park Güell, and the church for the Colònia Güell.
Gaudí was not a theorist in the traditional sense; he did not write manifestos or publish his ideas in books. Instead, his philosophy is expressed in his buildings themselves. He was a hands-on architect who was deeply involved in the construction process, and he often made design decisions on site, working closely with his team of craftsmen. His work is a testament to his belief in the unity of art and life, and in the power of architecture to create a more beautiful and spiritual world.
Notable and Famous Works
Antoni Gaudí’s most famous works are all located in Barcelona and are among the city’s most popular tourist attractions.
The Sagrada Família is Gaudí’s magnum opus and one of the most famous and unconventional churches in the world. He began work on it in 1883 and devoted the last forty years of his life to its construction. The church is a vast and complex synthesis of his architectural and spiritual ideas. The design is inspired by the forms of nature, with columns that branch out like trees to support the soaring vaults. The exterior is adorned with a wealth of symbolic sculpture, depicting the life of Christ and the history of the faith. The church is still under construction today, funded by private donations, and its completion is expected in the coming years.
Park Güell (1900-1914) is a public park that was originally conceived as a private housing development for the wealthy. The park is a whimsical and imaginative landscape, with winding paths, viaducts that grow out of the hillside, and a large central plaza supported by a forest of Doric columns. The park is famous for its colorful mosaic work, known as trencadís, which was made from broken ceramic tiles.
Casa Batlló (1904-1906) is a radical remodeling of an existing apartment building on Barcelona’s elegant Passeig de Gràcia. The facade is a fantastical, dream-like composition of undulating stone, iridescent glass, and bone-like balconies. The roof is covered in shimmering, scale-like tiles and is meant to resemble the back of a dragon.
Casa Milà (1906-1912), also known as La Pedrera (“the stone quarry”), is another apartment building on the Passeig de Gràcia. It is a massive, sculptural building with an undulating stone facade that seems to have been carved from a single block. The roof is a surreal landscape of sculptural chimneys and ventilation shafts, which Gaudí called a “garden of warriors.”
Palau Güell (1886-1888) was one of Gaudí’s first major commissions from Eusebi Güell. It is a lavish and theatrical urban palace, with a dark and imposing facade and a rich and complex interior. The central living room is crowned by a high parabolic dome, which is pierced with small holes to create the effect of a starry sky.
Awards, Honors, and Legacy
During his lifetime, Gaudí’s work was not widely recognized outside of Catalonia. He was a deeply private and eccentric figure, and his radical designs were often met with ridicule. However, in the mid-20th century, his work was rediscovered and celebrated by artists and architects like Salvador Dalí and Le Corbusier.
Today, Gaudí is regarded as one of the most original and influential architects of the modern era. His work has had a profound impact on the development of organic architecture and on the use of color, texture, and craft in modern design.
In 1984, seven of his works in and around Barcelona were declared a UNESCO World Heritage site, under the title “Works of Antoni Gaudí.” This recognition is a testament to his “exceptional creative contribution to the development of architecture and building technology in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.”
His legacy is most visible in the city of Barcelona, which he helped to transform into a world capital of architecture. His buildings are a major tourist attraction and a source of great civic pride.
On a spiritual level, Gaudí’s deep Catholic faith and his devotion to the Sagrada Família have led to calls for his beatification by the Catholic Church. The process was initiated in 2000, and he is now known in some circles as “God’s Architect.”
Gaudí’s life was as unconventional as his architecture. He never married and devoted himself entirely to his work. On June 7, 1926, he was struck by a tram while on his way to the Sagrada Família. Because of his shabby dress, he was mistaken for a beggar and did not receive immediate medical attention. He died three days later, on June 10, 1926, and was buried in the crypt of the Sagrada Família, the great work that had been his life’s obsession.