Antonio Gaudi

Introduction

One of Spain's most internationally recognized architects; Antonio Gaudi has left his mark throughout Barcelona and Catalonia. His whimsical vision and imaginative designs have brought a bit of magic to this historic region. Gaudi´s culmination of traditional elements with fanciful ornamentation and brilliant technical solutions paved the way for future architects to step outside the box (Azevedo and Diaz, pp 367-369). Antonio Gaudi was a unique architectural talent, not easily compared with other architects in the terms used by architectural historians. Not only was his work strongly individualized, but Antonio Gaudi was fortunate to have loyal clients to support him. From early in his career, wide attention was given to his work, although Antonio Gaudi shunned publicity.

Discussion

Antonio Gaudi has been indentified with the catalan Modernismo moevement of the late nineteenth century and, by extension with the international art nouveau style. His strong personality drew like-minded people of talent to him, and the collaboration of structural engineers, sculptors, and metalworkers was needed to carry out his ideas. It is often possible to identify the artists and engineers involved (Benton, pp 34-282).. The nationalist desires of Catalonians had been a problem of long standing for Spain. By the late nineteenth century, Barcelona had developed strong trade relationships with the UK and Western Europe. The wealth created contrasted with the difficult economic times in the rest of Spain and the loss of its last possessions in the war of 1898. the artistic activity in Barcelona was supported by business clients who by their travels were well acquainted with other countries, particulary with the arts and crafts movement in the United Kingdom. The development of illustrated periodicals further spread the art news to Barcelona. The cafe Els Quatre Gats, where Picasso's early work was shown and for which Antonio Gaudi designed menus in 1899, was an example of the international influences of the time (Collins and Nonell, pop 34-272).

Personal Life and Work

Gaudí was born in provincial Catalonia on the Mediterranean coast of Spain. Of humble origins, he was the son of a coppersmith who was to live with him in later life, together with a niece; Gaudí never married. Showing an early interest in architecture, he went in 1869/70 to study in Barcelona, then the political and intellectual centre of Catalonia as well as Spain's most modern city. He did not graduate until eight years later, his studies having been interrupted by military service and other intermittent activities(Benton, pp 34-282).

Gaudí's style of architecture went through several phases. On emergence from the Provincial School of Architecture in Barcelona in 1878, he practiced a rather florid Victorianism that had been evident in his school projects, but he quickly developed a manner of composing by means of unprecedented juxtapositions of geometric masses, the surfaces of which were highly animated with patterned brick or stone, gay ceramic tiles, and floral or reptilian metalwork (Casanelles, pp 23-189). The general effect, although not the details, is Moorish—or Mudéjar, as Spain's special mixture of Muslim and Christian ...