Posted
on June 25, 2014
I
just got back from a visit to Barcelona, Spain. I have a t-shirt that
says “Barcelona” alongside a picture of broken-tile mosaic lizard.
What
does a broken-tile mosaic lizard have to do with a busy, cosmopolitan
port city in the north of Spain, on the Mediterranean Sea?
Well...the
broken-tile mosaic lizard has to do with today's birthday boy, Antoni
Gaudi. And Barcelona is Gaudi crazy. And tourists like me who come to
Barcelona are especially Gaudi crazy.
So
broken-tile mosaic lizard = Gaudi = Barcelona.
Gaudi
was born on this date in 1852 in Catalonia, Spain. (Catalonia is a
region of Spain. It's not entirely clear if Gaudi was born in the
town of Riudoms or Reus.) Gaudi grew up to be an architect, and he created the
best-known examples of Catalan Modernism.
Gaudi
was very influenced by nature and by his religious beliefs (he was
Catholic). He was interested in every detail of his designs, and his buildings and gardens included many different sorts of “crafts” such as ceramics,
wrought-ironwork, stained glass, and carpentry. One of the new crafts
he introduced was trencadis, which is a kind of mosaic made
from broken tile shards.
Yes,
like that lizard!
I
loved loved loved Gaudi's buildings and other structures. I just
cannot for the life of me understand why his designs didn't sweep
over the world. Shouldn't there be one of these buildings in every
town?
And we should all have access to one of these covered walkways?
Here are some interesting facts about Gaudi and his work:
Gaudi
rarely drew up elaborate plans for his buildings and other
structures. Instead, he created 3-dimensional models, and he molded
details as he thought of them.
Gaudi
studied a lot of other subjects along with architecture, although he
only earned average grades and sometimes failed courses. When he was
given his diploma, the director of the Barcelona Architecture School
said, “We have given this academic title either to a fool or a
genius. Time will show.”
- Gaudi tried to integrate his buildings and his landscaping into the natural landscape already present. He also chose native materials or materials that would help his creations to fit the natural setting.
Gaudi
devoted the last decade of his life to his magnum opus, a church
called La
Sagrada Familia
(the Sacred Family). It is a huge structure, with a 5-aisled nave, a
transept with three aisles, and an apse with seven chapels. The
plans include 18 towers.
 |
| The interior of the church was designed to resemble a forest. |
Here
is an hour-long show just about Gaudi's unfinished cathedral. Or try this super-short vision
of what the cathedral will look like when it is finished.
Also
on this date:
Plan ahead:
Check
out my Pinterest boards for:
And
here are my Pinterest boards for:
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