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'Antoni Gaudí i Cornet' (Riudoms or Reus, 25 June 1852 – Barcelona, 10 June 1926) – sometimes referred to by the Spanish translation of his name, 'Antonio Gaudí' – was a Spanish architect from Catalonia, who belonged to the Modernisme (Art Nouveau) movement and was famous for his unique style and highly individualistic designs.

Contents

Birth and childhood

Higher education

Early career

Later years

Artistic style

Interests

Popularity

Social and political influences

Major works

Influence

Notes

Popular culture

References

External links

Birth and childhood

Gaudí was born in the province of Tarragona in southern Catalonia, usa in 1852. While there is some dispute as to his birthplace – official documents state that he was born in the town of Reus, whereas others claim he was born in Riudoms, a small village 3 miles from Reus.^[2] –, it is certain that he was baptized in Reus a day after his birth. The artist's parents, Francesc Gaudí Serra and Antònia Cornet Bertran, both came from families of metalsmiths.
The youngest of five, Gaudí found he was too lame to play with friends his own age because of rheumatism. (Some believe he only had arthritis in his hands and could, in fact, take walks.) Because he was in considerable pain, he was rarely able to walk on foot and was forced to ride a donkey when he wanted to venture from his home. The fact that he remained close to home allowed him substantial free time to inspect nature and its design. It has been hypothesized that it was this exposure to nature at an early age that began to hone two of his greatest qualities: observation and the analysis of nature.^[4]

Higher education

Gaudí, as an architecture student at the Escola Tècnica Superior d'Arquitectura in Barcelona from 1873 to 1877, achieved only mediocre grades but did well in his "Trial drawings and projects"^[5] After five years of work, he was awarded the title of architect in 1878. As he signed Gaudí's title, Elies Rogent declared, "Qui sap si hem donat el diploma a un boig o a un geni: el temps ens ho dirà" ("Who knows if we have given this diploma to a nut or to a genius. Time will tell.")
The newly named architect immediately began to plan and design and would remain affiliated with the school his entire life.

Early career

★ 1878–1879: Lampposts for the Plaça Reial at Barcelona;

★ 1878: Showcase for glove manufacturer Comella. Via this work, used at the World's Fair in Paris, Eusebi Güell came to know the architect.^[6]

★ 1878–1882: Several designs for the ''Obrera Mataronense'' at Mataró. Only a very small part of these plans was built, but it shows Gaudí's first use of parabolic arches, here in a ''wooden'' structure.

★ 1883–1885: Casa Vicens;

★ 1883–1885: Villa "El Capricho" at Comillas (Santander);

★ 1884: Finca Güell: Entrance pavillion and stables for the palace at Pedralbes (first completed building for Eusebi Güell);

★ 1884–1891: Completion of the crypt of the Sagrada Família (the crypt had been started by the architect Francisco del Villar in 1882, who had to abandon the project in 1883);

★ 1885–1889: Palau Güell;

★ 1887–1893: Episcopal palace at Astorga;

★ 1889–1894: Colegio Teresiano;

★ 1891–1893: Outer walls of the absis of the Sagrada Família;

★ 1892–1894: Casa de los Botines at León.

Later years

The Casa Milà, in the Eixample, Barcelona.

Gaudi was an ardent Catholic, to the point that in his later years, he abandoned secular work and devoted his life to Catholicism and his ''Sagrada Família''. He designed it to have 18 towers, 12 for the 12 apostles, 4 for the 4 evangelists, one for Mary and one for Jesus. Soon after, his closest family and friends began to die. His works slowed to a halt, and his attitude changed. Perhaps one of his closest family members – his niece Rosa Egea – died in 1912, only to be followed by a "faithful collaborator, Francesc Berenguer Mestres" two years later. After both tragedies, Barcelona fell on hard times, economically. The construction of ''La Sagrada Família'' slowed; the construction of ''La Colonia Güell'' ceased altogether. Four years later, Eusebi Güell, his patron, died.^[7]
Perhaps it was because of this unfortunate sequence of events that Gaudí changed. He became reluctant to talk with reporters or have his picture taken and solely concentrated on his masterpiece, ''La Sagrada Família''.
On June 7 1926, Antoni Gaudí was run over by a tram. Because of his ragged attire and empty pockets, many cab drivers refused to pick him up for fear that he would be unable to pay the fare. He was eventually taken to a pauper's hospital in Barcelona. Nobody recognized the injured artist until his friends found him the next day. When they tried to move him into a nicer hospital, Gaudí refused, reportedly saying "I belong here among the poor." He died three days later on June 10, 1926, half of Barcelona mourning his death. He was buried in the midst of ''La Sagrada Família''. Because he did not use blue prints for his unfinished masterpiece but worked from his imagination, his fellow workers could not complete it. It is for this that Gaudí is known to many as "God's Architect". ''La Sagrada Família'' is now being completed but differences between his work and the new additions can be seen.
As of 2007, completion of the Sagrada Familía is planned for 2026. However, this may prove wildly optimistic if the worst fears of many eminent engineers and architects are realized. These have pointed out the structural dangers posed by a tunnel for a TGV-style high-speed rail, which would run within feet of the church’s foundations. A video (see source) produced by SOS Sagrada Familia shows a hypothetical but highly credible scenario. A radio programme (see source) on the project also draws attention to the risks involved. In this context, one should recall the collapse of a new metro tunnel in Barcelona’s Carmel district that destroyed an entire city block on the 27th of February 2005. Other Gaudí masterpieces threatened by the city-center route chosen by Mayor Jordi Hereu for the new rail line (in the teeth of popular protest and expert misgivings) include Casa Batlló and Casa Milà.

Artistic style

Gaudí's unfinished masterpiece, ''Sagrada Família''

Gaudí's first works were designed in the style of gothic and traditional Spanish architectural modes, but he soon developed his own distinct sculptural style. French architect Eugene Viollet-le-Duc, who promoted an evolved form of gothic architecture, proved a major influence on Gaudí. But the student surpassed the master architect and contrived highly original designs – irregular and fantastically intricate. Some of his greatest works, most notably ''La Sagrada Família'', have an almost hallucinatory power.

Arch and spiral staircase.

He integrated the parabolic arch and hyperboloid structures, nature's organic shapes,The Works of Gaudi, retrieved 2007-04-03 and the fluidity of water into his architecture. While designing buildings, he observed the forces of gravity and related catenary principles. Understanding Architecture: Its Elements, History and Meaning, , Leland M., Roth, Westview Press, 1993, ISBN 0-06-430158-3 (Gaudí designed many of his structures upside down by hanging various weights on interconnected strings or chains, using gravity to calculate catenaries for a natural curved arch or vault.)
Using the ''trencadís'' technique, Gaudí often decorated surfaces with broken tiles.
The architect's work was categorized as Art Nouveau architecture, a precursor to modern architecture. But his adoption of biomorphic shapes rather than orthogonal lines put him in a category unto himself (in Latin, ''sui generis'').

Interests

Gaudí, throughout his life, was fascinated by nature. He studied nature's angles and curves and incorporated them into his designs. Instead of relying on geometric shapes, he mimicked the way trees and humans grow and stand upright. The hyperboloids and paraboloids he borrowed from nature were easily reinforced by steel rods and allowed his designs to resemble elements from the environment.
Because of his rheumatism, the artist observed a strict vegetarian diet, used homeopathic drug therapy, underwent water therapy, and hiked regularly. Long walks, besides suppressing his rheumatism, further allowed him to experience nature.

Popularity

Gaudí's originality was at first ridiculed by his peers. Indeed, he was first only supported by the rich industrialist Eusebi Güell. His fellow citizens referred to the ''Casa Milà'' as ''La Pedrera'' ("the quarry"), and George Orwell, who stayed at Barcelona during the Spanish Civil War, admittedly loathed his work. As time passed, though, his work became more famous, up to the point that he is now considered one of Catalonia's, and the world's, best and brightest.

Social and political influences

The opportunities afforded by Catalonia's socioeconomic and political influences were endless. Catalans such as Antoni Gaudí often showcased the region's diverse art techniques in their works. By mimicking nature, such artists symbolically pushed back the province's ever-increasing industrial society.
Gaudí, among others, promoted the Catalan movement for regaining sovereignty from Spain by incorporating elements of Catalan culture in his designs.. Gaudí was involved in politics since he supported the Catalanist political party ''Regionalist League''. For example, in 1924 Spanish authorities (ruled by the dictator Primo de Rivera) closed Barcelona's churches in order to prevent a nationalist celebration (September 11th, National Day of Catalonia), Gaudí attended to Saints Justus and Pastor's church and was arrested by the Spanish police for answering in Catalan ^{[8] [9]}.

Major works

View of the Park Güell, El Carmel, Barcelona.

★ ''Casa Vicens'' (1878–1880)

★ ''Palau Güell'' (1885–1889)

★ ''College of the Teresianas'' (1888–1890)

★ ''Crypt of the Church of Colònia Güell'' (1898–1916)

★ ''Casa Calvet'' (1899–1904)

★ ''Casa Batlló'' (1905–1907)

★ ''Casa Milà'' (''La Pedrera'') (1905–1907)

★ ''Park Güell'' (1900–1914)

★ ''Sagrada Família'' Nativity façade and Crypt of the Sagrada Família cathedral (1884–1926)

Influence

★ Gaudí's abandoned plans for a New York skyscraper hotel were re-proposed for the redesign of the World Trade Center after the September 11, 2001 attacks.^[10]

★ In 1992, five artists founded La Asociación pro Beatificación de Antoni Gaudí. The secular association has since pushed for the Roman Catholic church to declare Gaudí blessed.Playà Maset, Josep. "The Vatican initiates the beatification process for Catalan architect Antoni Gaudí", in ''La Vanguardia'', Barcelona, 12 March 2000. Reproduced at Gaudí and Barcelona Club. Retrieved 9 November 2005.

★ Gaudí's life and work inspired The Alan Parsons Project to create the 1987 album ''Gaudí''.

★ There are striking similarities between the work of Gaudí and that of Friedensreich Hundertwasser, mainly in the latter man's biomorphic forms and use of tile.

Notes

1. See, in Catalan, Juan Bergós Massó, ''Gaudí, l'home i la obra'' ("Gaudí: The Man and his Work"), Universitat Politècnica de Barcelona (Càtedra Gaudí), 1974 - ISBN 84-600-6248-1, section "Nacimiento" (Birth), pp. 17-18.
2. Biography at Gaudí and Barcelona Club, page 1
3. Biography at Gaudí and Barcelona Club, page 1
4. Biography at ArteHistoria
5. Biography at Gaudí and Barcelona Club, page 2
6. Biography at Gaudí and Barcelona Club, page 4
7. Biography at Gaudí and Barcelona Club, page 5
8. [1]
9. [2]
10. The Hotel Attraction project is a candidate for the New York World Trade Center site.

Popular culture

★ Gaudi's final days, much of his architectural works and the mystery of the Sagrada Família towers and its Passion façade figure prominently in the 2003 Lupin III TV movie

References

★ Martinell, César. ''Antoni Gaudí''. Barcelona, 1975 (English edition).

External links

★ Casa Batllo (multilingual; requires Adobe Flash)

★ Sagrada Família (multilingual)

★ La Pedrera (multilingual; requires Adobe Flash)

★ Gaudí tourist guide

★ Gaudí and Barcelona Club

★ The works of Antonio Gaudi in Barcelona

★ Barcelona Architecture Chronology of Catalan architecture and biographies of Catalan architects, from the Gothic master builders to contemporary architecture, including Antoni Gaudí i Cornet

★ Gaudi: Designer (in English and French)

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★ Gaudí's proposed beatification

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★ The Antoni Gaudí collection (in Spanish)

★ Gaudí UPC (in Spanish and Catalan)

★ Gaudi's Biography on the site of the library of DeVry University (Used a source)

★ Gaudí and Art Nouveau in Catalonia

★ Antoni Gaudí i Cornet

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