Antoni Gaudi is an architect whose impact on the city of Barcelona is huge. His unique style is recognised all over the world for its innovation and creativity.
Gaudi was born in 1852 in Catalonia. In his childhood, Gaudí was plagued with rheumatic fever. This debilitating sickness meant that he often spent time alone, unable to keep up with other children. He took comfort in nature and would often spend time outdoors in meditative silence.
This early connection with the natural world may have been a defining period in his life, as his later work often drew heavily upon natural forms. At the age of 26, Gaudi had completed his degree in architecture and went on to become Spain’s most famed architect.
Style
Gaudi’s work was unlike that of other architects of the day, or indeed, any day. His love of nature could be seen in the organic forms he employed with curvaceous lines and twisting, undulating planes. Gaudi’s style was also very decorative and mosaic work often forms part of his buildings, in vibrant colour.
A few of the most popularly visited works of Gaudi are listed here:
This enormous cathedral is seen as Gaudi’s most important work, despite the fact that it remains incomplete. This gothic structure, begun in 1882, goes beyond the Gothic style with its visionary scope and attention to fine detail, seen in the intricate mouldings of its interior.
This is a house like no other and is a landmark in the Eixample district of Barcelona. A fairy tale construction, it is also known locally as Casa dels ossos or the House of Bones, a reference to its skeletal appearance. Its windows are formed from uneven oval shapes and its facade is embellished with brilliantly coloured ceramic tiles.
Set in parkland in the Gracia district of Barcelona, Gaudi’s Park Guell is an otherworldly environment, filled with sculptures of fantastical creatures, magical buildings and beautiful mosaic work.
The park, situated on the top of a hill, offers panoramic views of Barcelona and the rest of the park. A terraced area is dotted with mosaic seats of jewel like colors where you can rest and enjoy the view.
Park Guell is also the location of the house where Gaudi resided at one point. This is now a museum, dedicated to Gaudi and his work, and some of his unusual furniture designs are exhibited there.
Gaudi brought a vivid artistic viewpoint together with the form and function based skill of an architect and his visionary creativity is in evidence only in Spain, making it well worth viewing for any tourist to the country.
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