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

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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

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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

V74 • naturalism

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

naturalism • 93Y

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.

Sagrada Familia • BARCELONA • 1883-1926

V126 • definitive style

right & Opposite: The Sagrada

Familia church, Gaudí’s most

ambitious work, has come to

define the skyline of

Barcelona.

9 780789 2 02208

5 35 0 0

IS BN 0-7892-0220-4 U . S . $35.00