Gaudí, as promised

Need a refresher? Here's my post about Barcelona.

Antoni Gaudí, the most recognizable figure of Catalán, and Barcelona's, history. He was an incredibly innovative architect that I certainly would never have thought possible. He left his mark on the city of Barcelona with several distinctive buildings and one still-unfinished basilica.

Gaudí was a master of modernismo, a new type of art and architecture in his time (early 1900s). His work has deep connections with nature, both in the literal sense--having a seashell hanging on the wall--and in a less obvious sense--putting mosaics at the top of columns to mimic a tree, using gravity to design his buildings, and much more.

Let's start with Parc Guell, one of my favorite works of Gaudí. The original plan was to design a housing complex for Barcelona's elite upper class, with a massive park in the middle. After building two test-homes (no two houses would be alike, keep in mind), the public was
never really interested, so the project was stopped. But not before they had also completed the Hall of 100 Columns, and the seating area above. Gaudí was a perfectionist, often designing every element in his works--including the furniture--to make everything come together perfectly. In this case, the benches look incredibly uncomfortable (there's a giant rock at the back of the seat), but they fit your body so perfectly that you could sit there for hours.

Moving on to Casa Batlló, where Gaudí's connection to nature and brilliant use of light really shine through. (Pun not intended.) The entire house is inspired by the sea, with sea shells used as sconces, swirls of a whirlpool in the ceiling, and a central courtyard used to bring light to the entire house. Gaudí used this "light tunnel" to allow natural light into every room of the house. And the brilliant thing? At the top of the house, the tiles are a very dark blue, and they get lighter as you descend. The reasoning? To spread the light evenly throughout the house. Obviously there's more light at the top, so make the tiles darker to absorb a bit more. At the bottom, make them nearly white to reflect as much as possible. And for the artistic touch, add textured glass panels to make the light tunnel look like the movement of the ocean.

And even though there are many, many more Gaudí works, I'm stopping here with the Basilica de la Sagrada Familia (Basilica of the Holy Family--aka Jesus, Mary, and Joseph). Still unfinished, it's what I consider Gaudí's crowning achievement. He was a very religious man, and he took this commission very seriously. Starting on the outside, there are four facades--one at each point of the cross, the shape that most churches take. The first facade was finished under Gaudí, and it is the most traditional of the four. This is because Gaudí knew this would be his last work, that it would continue long after his death, and that in order to be completed the work needed donations.

And no one would donate if he had started on the other side. Why? Because the other side is incredibly modern, as per Gaudí's instructions. It depicts the story of Jesus, including Judas' kiss, the Last Supper, and the Ascension of Christ. There are "Magic Squares" that, if you add the four numbers in any direction, add up to 33, Jesus' age at his death.

There will eventually be a total of 14 towers on the outside of the Sagrada Familia, 12 smaller ones for each of Jesus' disciples, one slightly larger for Mary, and one massive, central tower crowned with a 5-pointed cross (a recurring Gaudí symbol) for Christ.

Inside, there is an overwhelming amount of light. Stained glass colors the floor, and incredibly open spaces abound. The four massive columns in the middle (used to support what will eventually be the tower of Christ) are dedicated to Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. Never one to abandon nature, the tops of the columns are tiled with mosaics to represent a canopy of trees.

And I would be remiss if I didn't tell you about Gaudí's parabolic arches. He was disgusted with the concept of buttresses and flying buttresses, so he found a way to eliminate them altogether. Gravity. He designed his buildings upside-down, using chains to illustrate the design. Then he added weights along the chains to account for the effect of gravity on his buildings. Stick a mirror underneath, and viola! There's your building design! Gaudí incorporated these parabolic arches into almost all of his works, so it's become an easy way to identify his work.

And now, after a ton of pictures and some long-winded wording, my explanation of Gaudí is complete.