La Sagrada Família, Casa Milà & Batlló – Gaudí in Barcelona
1. Gaudí in Barcelona
2. Casa Batlló
3. Casa Milà
4. La Sagrada Família
5. Park Güell
What is the origin of La Sagrada Família, Casa Milà & Casa Batlló – the Gaudí masterpieces in Barcelona? The Catalan Modernism arose towards the end of the 1800s. This period, characterised by an increased focus on culture and arts, preceded the artistic movement in the decorative arts named Art Nouveau or Jugendstil in the rest of Europe.
Thanks to a handful of gifted architects, the art, the architecture, and the culture in Barcelona were soon influenced by Catalan Modernism. Most visible in society were the architects and craftsmen Antoni Gaudí, Lluís Domènech i Montaner, and Josep Puig i Cadafalch. To a large extent, they shared some of the same ideas, although having very different visions and statuses in Barcelona. For instance, as a politician, Domènech enjoyed a high social status and had specific ideas on transforming society whereas Gaudí’s visions built on religion and the geometry existing in nature.
Photo: Nikolaus Bader / Pixabay
Some of the frequent elements used in Modernism relate to nature. Natural forms were incorporated into the architecture, where organic forms and curved lines played a main role. Buildings were constructed as organisms with arches and vaults. By using the new Portland cement and introducing new techniques, surfaces and forms could now be created in ways that had not previously been possible.
The national identity, La Renaixença, was also a significant part of Catalan Modernism, which included an increased focus on the Catalan language and identity.
At the same time, several political movements in favour of the Catalans’ rights saw the light of day – and the foundation of the Catalan constitution was established.
In addition to the focus on architecture, furniture design, glass and ceramics arts, the values of music and literature were renewed. The Modernism changed the Catalan society into a modern and national one. The Modernist style and ideas dominated Barcelona until around 1910. At this time, Catalan Modernism was abandoned in favour of a new cultural movement, the Noucentisme, interpreted as a reaction to Modernism in ideology.
Photo: Julien Rambaud / Pixabay
A madman or a genius? Antoni Gaudí i Cornet is today considered the greatest architect of Catalan Modernism.
Gaudí was born on June 25th 1852, in Reus, southwest of Barcelona. His family can be characterised as poor as well as deeply religious.
Gaudí was notably the architect behind some of the most remarkable constructions in Barcelona during the Catalan Modernism. He dominated, together with a handful of other ingenious architects, the Modernist design and architecture in Barcelona at the time. By including natural elements and Christian symbols in the architecture, he strived for a ‘renaissance’ of Christianity in Catalonia.
Photo: Jan McNally-Trainor / Pixabay
In 1926, Antoni Gaudí died as a result of a tram accident in Barcelona. Due to his poor and humble looks, he was first believed to be a tramp, not a famous architect. Therefore, he did not receive sufficient treatment in the hospital – which might have rescued him.
After his death, he was much criticised, and during the Spanish Civil War, many of his documents were burnt. Although not in the first years, he obtained – with time – recognition as one of our most outstanding architects. Years later, people started showing genuine interest in his great works and began to consider him the architectural genius he was.
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One of Gaudí’s true masterpieces, Casa Batlló, is located on the Passeig de Gràcia, the boulevard of the bourgeoisie in the Eixample district. The owners commissioned some of the most eminent architects in Barcelona, at the time, among these Gaudí.
Here, you will find elements of dragons, bones and nature united in an imaginary universe. The façade is decorated with mosaics in the colours of natural corals. The skulls on the façade are balconies, and the supporting pillars are bones!
Bones and skulls grow out of Casa Batlló in Passeig de Gràcia | Photo: Virginia G / Pixabay
The rooftop resembles the spine of a dragon. The cross on top of the building next to the dragon’s back gives associations to the lance of Saint George, the patron saint of Catalonia.
In general, religion was reflected in Gaudí’s architecture. Therefore, he was asked to conduct and design the construction of several churches. Deliberately, he applied natural elements in his architectural designs whenever possible.
Gaudí was convinced he could find all mathematical forms in nature, and thus, he modelled all natural objects. He obtained his inspiration from the sea, the mountains, the animals, the plants, the trees and the flowers. In this way, he applied the form of organisms in his works – like other Modernist architects. Anyhow, as opposed to many other architects, he also used other natural forms.
Remarkable Modernist houses lie side by side in Passeig de Gràcia | Photo: Athree 23 / Pixabay
Casa Milà is a brilliant example in Barcelona, where Gaudí managed to integrate nature completely into a building. It ended up looking like a stone quarry – which explains its popular name ‘La Pedrera’ (the Quarry). That is probably Gaudí’s most iconic and innovative work, with decorative and functional solutions. However, the public initially made fun of the ‘ugly’ construction. It was not until much later that it got the fame it deserved.
The building itself, the interior, along with the exterior, are altogether a brilliant work of art. It is one of only three residential buildings that Gaudí designed, included in the UNESCO World Heritage Sites in 1984. The other two are Casa Batlló and Casa Calvet. Casa Milà is still partly used for residential purposes and partly as an exhibition area managed by the Fundación Catalunya La Pedrera.
Casa Milà is also known as La Pedrera due to its quarry-like looks | Photo: Elena Cagianelli / Pixabay
Atop Casa Milà, the iconic sand beige terrace dotted with peculiar nomad-like chimneys and functional air vents rises towards the sky. The chimneys seemingly rotate about their axes – moving like smoke.
What is surprising is that the construction entirely rests on columns. There is not one single load-bearing wall in the building.
The ornamental wrought-iron balconies are exceptional. To a large extent, the house consists of columns, open spaces, and large windows – as well as two fabulous interconnected courtyards with wide ramps down to the garage. Casa Milà excelled in being among the first residential buildings in Barcelona with underground parking!
Wrought-iron balconies dominate the façade of Casa Milà Gaudí | Photo: Rebeca Pita / Pixabay
Gaudí could see the geometric forms in nature and used this in his works. He applied curved lines, hyperbolic paraboloids, hyperboloids, helicoids, conoids, and parabolic and catenary arches, both inside and outside – all reflecting forms found in nature. Inside he designed decorative elements everywhere, shaping doors, handles and knobs accordingly.
At the same time, he played with the light and gave his constructions a fascinating sculptural and ornamental look with the use of ceramic bricks.
La Sagrada Família in Barcelona | Photo: Walkers SK / Pixabay
In 1883, Gaudí initiated the work in Barcelona that, over time, caught the most attention: La Sagrada Família. This construction is his most significant work and an absolute masterpiece! Despite large donations, there was insufficient funding to complete it after he died in 1926.
In the initial phase, Gaudí was naturally appointed as the architect of the basilica because of his religious background and motives, as well as his ambitious ideas about the nature of the construction.
As a complete construction (completion in 1926!), the basilica has 18 towers – one for each of the 12 apostles, each evangelist, and the Virgin Mary and Jesus.
The church has three façades: the Nativity Façade, the Passion Façade and the Glory Façade | Photo: Jose Bolanos / Pixabay
Repeatedly, Gaudí used nature as inspiration for his works. He used, for instance, a snail’s shell as inspiration to use helicoids in his constructions and the cobweb as inspiration to use chain models. He used advanced upside-down structural models of suspended strings and sandbags to obtain the right design for catenary arches. That helped him visualise the archways of his planned constructions.
La Sagrada Família in Barcelona is the work where he has used the largest number of natural forms. His ambition was that the basilica would resemble a heavenly forest, where the columns would be the trees in the Garden of Eden. That is why he shaped the columns using the geometric forms found in the forest.
Gaudí’s impressive basilica La Sagrada Família is still under construction | Photo: Monica Volpin / Pixabay
The church vaults are hyperbolic paraboloids, symbolising the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. As a whole, all elements inside the church create a unified expression of an organism.
Eusebi Güell was a wealthy Spanish industrialist who met Gaudí in 1878 in Paris. They shared the same interests, ideas and ideologies about Modernism and became friends. Güell became Gaudí’s patron and gave him a high degree of freedom to develop his remarkable projects. Several of Gaudí’s works were named after Eusebi Güell, for example, Palau Güell with the two characteristic catenary arches in Nou de La Rambla and Park Güell. Güell stood financially and conceptually behind these wondrous constructions.
The snaking mosaic bench is one of the iconic features in Park Güell | Photo: Michelle Maria / Pixabay
Park Güell, from 1922, has, like La Sagrada Família, been a non-complete (14-year) project. Güell hired Gaudí to design the park, although the architect Josep Maria Jujol contributed to the design of the fantastic snaking mosaic bench. It was intended to be a marketplace – and the park itself a residential area for the wealthy Barcelonians with 60 residences. This number was finally reduced to only two – since the houses did not gain enough popularity. Gaudí ended up buying the pink house for himself.
Also, in Park Güell, Gaudí used the dragon symbolism. At the entrance, a colourful dragon in form of a mosaic salamander guards the stunning park. The park is full of natural elements. Moreover, the location of Park Güell in natural surroundings gives the park its natural effect. Tree-like columns based on a helicoid form contribute to the natural look.
Park Güell features intriguing natural-looking architectural arcades based on geometric forms | Photo: Logga Wiggler / Pixabay
Today, this is the park in Barcelona where people come for people-watching. Both locals and visitors like to chill out here in the strikingly vivid and imaginative Modernist surroundings, enjoying the works of one of last century’s greatest architects. Everything here is ingeniously designed, following Gaudí’s original ideas and ideologies.
Read next: The Dalí Museum in Figueres
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La Sagrada Família, Casa Milà or Casa Batlló – Gaudí in Barcelona
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La Sagrada Família, Casa Milà & Batlló – Gaudí in Barcelona:
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La Sagrada Família, Gaudí Casa Milà & Batlló – Gaudí in Barcelona