Antoni Gaudi’s Barcelona: The Catalan Genius
By Karen Beishuizen
My obsession with Gaudi started with my first visit to Barcelona in 2008. I was blown away by the architecture and beauty of the buildings and parks. I started to dig into Gaudi’s life: I got a map and took Barcelona by foot, photographing everything he designed. Even sneaking into a schoolyard but was send away by security shouting “No photographia!” His life and work are a must for every architectural lover to know and to see.
Antoni Gaudi was born on 25 June 1852 in Reus, Catalonia, Spain. He studied architecture at the Llotja School and the Barcelona Higher School of Architecture, graduating in 1878. When handing him his degree the director of the school said: “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 lampposts you see at Placa Reial in Barcelona were one of Gaudi’s first projects: They are still there in all their glory. Then came his first important commission which he built between 1883 and 1885: Casa Vicens. It was his Orientalist period where he constructed buildings with an oriental flavour inspired by the art of the Middle and Far East.
It is now an Unesco World Heritage Site and Museum: They have a great website with information. El Capricho was another commission by Gaudi in 1883: A summer villa for a wealthy client. It is now a museum: Check out the website. It is great.
In 1883 he was asked to build a church in Barcelona to be called Basilica i Temple Expiatori de la Sagrada Familia (Basilica and Expiatory Church of the Holy Family). His design called for eighteen spires, representing in ascending order of height the Twelve Apostles, the Virgin Mary, the Four Evangelists and, tallest of all, Jesus Christ. As of 2021 nine spires have been built: four apostles at the Nativity façade and four apostles at the Passion façade and the Virgin Mary spire.
The Nativity Façade and the Crypt of the Sagrada Família are now part of The Unesco World Heritage Site: Find the website HERE Gaudi only designed three buildings outside Catalonia, and this is one of them: Episcopal Palace in Astorga, built between 1889 and 1913. It is called Gaudi’s Palace now and a museum which has a wonderful website. In 1886 construction started for The Palau Guell, a mansion Gaudi designed for industrial tycoon Eusebi Guell. It was completed in 1888.
It is now an Unesco World Heritage Site and Museum with a great website. The Teresian College in Barcelona was built between 1888 and 1889. It is in private ownership and not open for public. I was chased away, when I sneaked into the schoolyard, with the words “No Photographia!” After finishing The Episcopal Palace in Astorga, Antoni Gaudi was asked to build a residential house with a warehouse in Leon: In 1892 Casa Botines was completed. Now a museum with a great website.
In 1882 Gaudi was asked by Eusebi Guell to build Bodegas Guell in Garraf, Sitges (Barcelona). A complex of buildings and a winery. It opened in 1897 and there is currently a restaurant in the winery. Casa Calvet is another great example of a residential/commercial building designed by Gaudi between 1898 and 1900. Not open for public it is located at Carrer de Casp 48. Bellesguard or Casa Figueras used to be a castle where the King of Aragon lived in the early 15th century. When he died in 1410 without a heir, his widow inherited the estate.
When she died, it was passed from hand to hand until Jaume Figueres bought it in 1900. He commissioned Gaudi to make it look like a castle again as all that was left were a few walls and a patio. Construction lasted 9 years but the result is now a beautiful manor open for pubic. Parc Guell is a Masterpiece by Gaudi: A park with gardens and little houses that look like candy. Eusebi Guell and Antoni Gaudi had the plan of building a housing development of high-quality homes but at the end only 2 houses were built.
Neither one was designed by Gaudi (He did design the park). It was intended to be a showhouse, but Gaudi moved his family into there after buying it. He lived there from 1906 until 1926 when he died. Since 1963 The Gaudi House Museum is housed in Parc Guell which is now an Unesco World Heritage Site: Browse through their great website. One of his best well-known Masterpieces is Casa Batllo: A building located on the Passeig de Gracia, in the center of Barcelona. Constructed between 1904 and 1906 it forms part of a row of houses known as Illa de la Discordia (Block of Discord).
The exterior looks like something a drunk would have designed with irregular windows, everything going left right and center and only a few straight lines. The façade is decorated with mosaic made of broken ceramic tiles. In 2005 it became an Unesco World Heritage Site. It is open for public: The website does an amazing virtual tour. Another of his most beloved Masterpieces is Casa Mila or La Pedrera: Across the street from Casa Batllo, this crazy looking building with waves from left to right was built between 1906 and 1912. Casa Mila are two buildings constructed around two courtyards. It has nine floors: basement, ground floor, mezzanine, main floor, four upper floors and an attic. In 1984 it became an Unesco World Heritage Site and it is open for public: You can do a virtual tour through their great website.
When I first saw the fountain in Parc de la Ciutadella I started to cry: It is so unbelievably beautiful and stunning! It is designed by Josep Fontsere and his young pupil Antoni Gaudi in 1881. On 7 June 1926 Antoni Gaudi was struck by a streetcar. People thought he was a homeless person as he was dressed very shabby and didn’t give him immediate medical care. In the hospital he was recognized, the next day, by the Priest of La Sagrada Familia church but it was too late. Gaudi’s condition was so severe by then he couldn’t be helped anymore. He died on 10 June 1926 at age 73. There was a large crowd at his funeral, and he was laid to rest in the crypt of his unfinished Masterpiece La Sagrada Familia. La Sagrada Familia is still not finished, as we all know, but they hope to have it completed on 10 June 2026: It will be 100 years since the passing of Antoni Gaudi.
What better way to honor this Catalan Genius than by opening the Church he devoted all his time to make it the biggest and the most beautiful in the world?
I know I will be there to watch the Grand Opening of Antoni Gaudi’s Masterpiece.