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Juan Bassegoda-NonellPhotography by Melba Levick
Gaudia n t o n i o
M A S T E R A R C H I T E C T
Juan Bassegoda-NonellPhotography by Melba Levick
Gaudia n t o n i o
M A S T E R A R C H I T E C T
Abbeville Press22 Cortlandt Street
New York, NY 10007
1-800-ARTBOOK (in U.S. only)
Available wherever fine books are sold
Visit us at h t t p : / / w w w. a b b ev i l l e . c o m
ARCHITECTURE
About the AuthorProfessor Juan Bassegoda-
Nonell has ser ved as
director of the Càtedra
Gaudí at the School of
Architecture within
Barcelona University since
1968. He is the author of
many notable books on
Gaudí, among them The
Designs and Drawings of
Antonio Gaudí, with George
R. Collins.
About thePhotographerMelba Levick is an
accomplished and
cosmopolitan architectural
photographer whose work
has most recently appeared
in such books as Barcelona
and Paradise Found: The
Beautiful Retreats and
Sanctuaries of California and
the Southwest.
Also Available from Abbeville PressCharles Rennie MacKintosh
Edited by Wendy Kaplan
1-55859-791-3 $75.00
Frank Lloyd Wright: America’s Master Architect
By Kathryn Smith
0-7892-0287-5 $35.00
Antonio Gaudí (1852-1926) is one of the most admired
architects of the twentieth century. Even today, seventy-five
years after his death, his fanciful, exuberant buildings that
define Barcelona’s cityscape continue to influence archi-
tects, sculptors, and designers. Perhaps best known for the
dynamic, sculptural facades found on such buildings as the
Sagrada Familia church and Casa Mila, Gaudí was as much
respected as a technological innovator as a daring stylist.
In this enlightening volume, a concise, knowledge-
able text by the director of the Càtedra Gaudí at the
University of Barcelona combines with striking images by a
noted architectural photographer to provide a new perspec-
tive on Gaudí’s remarkable career. The text covers the range
of his oeuvre from early assignments in the 1870s as a
draftsman for leading architects in Barcelona to the com-
mission of his unfinished masterpiece, the Church of the
Sagrada Familia, which occupied him until his death. The
author traces all the influences that led to his definitive
style, including his fascination with the Orient,
Neogothicism, naturalism, and geometric forms.
This illuminating book is both a handy primer and
an insightful summation of the work of this visionary
artist.
7 35738 22040 5
ISBN 0-7892-2204
Printed in Hong Kong
c o n t e n t s
Introduction
Early Work 1870-1885
eastern influence 1883-1888
neogothicism 1883-1909
naturalism 1895-1916
ruled geometry 1908-1917
definitive style 1892-1929
chronology
index
n at u r a l i sm
1 8 9 5 1 9 1 6
GAU D Í’S M O S T C R E AT I V E period corresponds to the
c o m p l e t e ly free development of his ideas based on an
a rc h i t e c t u re inspired by nature. Understanding that in nature
t h e re is no straight line or plane and that by contrast there is an
immense variety of c u rved fo rm s, he changed the normal procedure of
designing on a plane surface and launched dire c t ly into the third
dimension, making use of eve ry kind of model. He made them of
wood, plaster, clay, metal screening, wet card b o a rd, and wire .
G a u d í ’s love of n a t u re was based on his attentive, naive observa-
tion of the fo rms of p l a n t s, animals, and mountains. He admired the
beauty of all these fo rm s, re c ognizing that nature ’s purpose is not aes-
thetic but functional. Nature does not try to make wo r ks of a rt bu t
rather elements that rule the gr owth and reproduction of s p e c i e s. He
concluded that in looking for function, one arr ives at beauty, and that
the direct search for beauty leads only to philosophy, aesthetics, or art
t h e o ry. Gaudí was a simple man, an enemy of a b s t ract ideas, a man
who knew how to see the reality of things without prejudice or profe s-
sional bias.
Among Gaudí’s naturalistic wo r ks is the Casa Calve t
(1898–1899). On the bu i l d i n g ’s facade he placed a collection of mu s h-
rooms to please his patron, Sr. Calvet, who was a micolo-
gist. The facade design was made fi rst in the fo rm of a plaster
model to a scale of 1 : 1 0 .
In the Güell Cellars (1895–1897), on the outski rts of G a rraf, he
e rected a building in the locale’s native stone, which is in perfect har-
m o ny with the rocky contour of the coast.
The concept of n a t u ralism becomes more evident in the Pa r k
Güell. Here, the architect planned the streets to adapt to the rough
t o p ograp hy, constructing viaducts so that the terra i n’s original con-
t o u rs we re left unchanged. He built with the native stone and eve n
took advantage of the ruins of a cave, distributing its rocks of d i ffe re n t
c o l o rs harm o n i o u s ly throughout the gr o u n d s.
The Casa Batlló (1904–1906) and the Casa Milà (1906–1910) we re
the culmination of his naturalist arc h i t e c t u re. The Casa Batlló, cove re d
with pieces of c o l o red glass cera m i c, and the Casa Milà, with its cliff -
like aspect, seem to be symbols of sea and earth. Other examples of
this way of wo r king can be seen in the stained glass of the Cathedral of
M a l l o rca (1903–1914), in the Re s u rrection of Christ on the Mountain of
M o n t s e rrat (1903–1916), and in other lesser wo r ks. Nature is re f l e c t e d
in Gaudí’s arc h i t e c t u re like trees in the surface of a lake.
63Y
naturalism • 75Y
page 62: The tower of an
entrance building in the
Park Güell estate.
page 63: Detail of a
mosaic lizard.
far left: The entrance to the
park displays Gaudí’s love
of nature and his admiration of
the shapes of plants, animals,
and mountains.
left: Mid-way up the stairs
is an over-sized sphere with
a snakes’ head peering
through a Catalan flag.
Park Güell • BARCELONA • 1900-1914
V92 • naturalism
right: The Casa Batlló rep-
resents the culmination of
Gaudí’s naturalist architec-
ture.
opposite: This huge stained
glass window allows col-
ored light to spill into the
rooms.
Casa Batlló•
BARCELONA
•1904-1906
V96 • naturalism
right & opposite: Casa Batlló
is characterized by a fanciful
contoured rooftop and gaily
decorated chimneys.
naturalism • 99Y
above: Inside this mushroom-shaped alcove is a delightful seating area flanking a graceful stove.
opposite: The hallway and staircase of the Casa Batlló is richly decorated with pieces of colored glass ceramic.
right & Opposite: The Sagrada
Familia church, Gaudí’s most
ambitious work, has come to
define the skyline of
Barcelona.