Reptilians distinctive features. Secrets of ancient civilizations

Barcelona is considered one of the most beautiful cities in the world. In many ways, Barcelona owes this fact to the architect Antonio Gaudi. His unusual, shocking and controversial creations attract tourists from all over the world to Barcelona. People break away from the pleasures of doing nothing, all inclusive and the nearest beach to walk the Rambla, climb Montjuïc, walk wide-eyed through Parc Güell, escape the heat in the Gothic Quarter of Barcelona's Old Town...and of course with their own eyes see the Sagrada Familia, the quaint houses of Mila and Batlo.

In this note, I want to talk about the difficult fate of the architect Antonio Gaudi, about his style and creations. There are now 14 architectural buildings of Gaudí in Barcelona. The houses that he built to order are not tourist attractions, but a place for people to live, simply residential buildings. To this day, people live in them, often organizing museums in some rooms. About the creations of Gaudí in Barcelona wrote here .

Who is Antonio Gaudi?

The name Gaudi is shrouded in a veil of mystery. Probably the first thing that makes it difficult to understand his work is the mystery inherent in all geniuses. He did not leave any notes and diaries, he had no close friends (except for Eusebe Güell). Everything we know about Gaudí is related to his work and creativity, and personal life covered in darkness.

Antonio Gaudi was born in the Catalan city of Reus, located about 40 kilometers from Barcelona. In the family of a blacksmith and a simple housewife, a child was born almost every year, but they all died in infancy. Little Antonio was also very ill, his mother was preparing for the worst. But everything worked out.

By the way, a magnificent modern center dedicated to the work of Antoni Gaudí has ​​been built in Reus, you can read about it here.

However, little Antonio suffered from rheumatic pain in his legs, so he spent most of his time at home. Gaudí's problem with his legs went away only during his student days, so he enjoyed walking around the city in every possible way.

Little Gaudi compensated for the inability to run and play in the yard with diligence in his studies. Until the age of 11, Gaudí studied at home. His illiterate mother taught her son to write and read, and his father taught him to draw, in which the young genius succeeded. However, the boy's mind was not satisfied with the knowledge that his parents gave, so Gaudi began to attend school. The teachers did not really like the boy for his obstinate character. He was not afraid to argue and express his point of view. For example, in response to the teacher's phrase that birds have wings so that they can fly, Gaudí stated that poultry also has wings, but just to run fast.

Another ailment that tormented the architect was the mysterious disease of too rapid aging. For example, the famous and one of the few portraits of Gaudí was made at the age of 26. Is it really hard to believe that this man is only 26?

At school, Antonio Gaudi became famous for his drawings, which were first published in the school magazine El Harlequin. After that, he was already entrusted with decorating the stage of the school theater. But the real passion of the talented boy was architecture.

After leaving school, at the age of 17, Gaudí left his native Reus for Barcelona. He got a job as a draftsman in the city's architectural office and enrolled in courses at the University of Barcelona, ​​which studied architecture. For 5 whole years, the architect comprehended the mysteries of science, diligently pored over books and drawings. In parallel, Gaudi entered the Provincial School of Architecture, where he was the best student.

The Gaudi family never had enough money, especially since Gaudi's younger sister was already growing up. The work of a draftsman did not bring the architect a large number money, he lived on the verge of poverty, so he avoided companies and parties in every possible way.

Gaudí's first victory as a professional came in 1870. He managed to win the tender of the old monastery in Poblet for the processing of the personal coat of arms of the abbot of the monastery. The coat of arms was Gaudí's first project. Besides, they paid well for it.

At the Gaudi Institute, he earned the fame of either a genius or a madman. He passed all subjects with 5, but he turned all conceptual questions into heated discussions with teachers, for which he grabbed deuces.

Sometimes Gaudí protested against the "template" canons in drawings. Once, while working on the architecture of the city cemetery, he drew a hearse in the center with all the details. When asked why, he said that he wanted to convey the atmosphere of the cemetery and add air to the drawing.

Looking ahead, it is worth recalling that Gaudi rarely made his further projects with drawings. He personally supervised the construction, but at the same time, each object struck unusual design and deep engineering thought and functionality. He could easily destroy an already almost completed building and start remodeling it on the go, without drawings and approvals from customers. He did not care at all about their opinion, because only he knows how it will be better.

Gaudi was a prominent representative of the modernist movement, using natural motifs in his interiors and facades. He always paid attention to detail, did everything so that people feel comfortable in the buildings he created.

During his student years, Gaudi completed several projects for Barcelona, ​​which remained on the drawings. These were the gates for the city cemetery, a hospital and a pier for ships.

Finally, Gaudi received the first public order and designed a lantern for Barcelona.

In 1878, Antonio Gaudí became the owner of a diploma in architecture. From that moment a new stage of his life began.

Antonio Gaudí - architect of Barcelona

Gaudí loved Barcelona very much. He dreamed of reviving the old Gothic forms of his beloved Barça. One of the idols of Gaudí was the architect Violey-le-Duc, who wrote a book about the Gothic cathedrals of France. Gaudí went to see him in Carcassonne to get an opinion on his own ideas.

I must say that Gaudi did not stop arguing with society, he claimed that he knew the truth. He refused to build according to the canons of architecture imposed on him, shouting: “Let someone else build then, not me!”.

By this time, he began to earn some money and strove to look more successful than he actually was.

And they believed him, although he often could not give an explanation for his ideas. His projects each time amazed customers with their absurdity, but after a while, people appreciated the comfort that Gaudi was able to create and the beauty that must first be seen.

A tourist who has arrived in Barcelona can say that he does not understand the genius of Gaudi, he does not like these gingerbread houses at all. So every fool can.

In order not to be such a tourist, it is worth understanding the main thing - everything that Gaudi built was needed for something. He was worried about engineering communications, problems of light and air in the premises. It is now that the architect-designer does not have to puzzle over how to make the ventilation in the rooms, and Gaudi had to come up with all this. He was looking for new forms. How to make arches more graceful and columns thinner? And so that all this stands for centuries.

Our reviews and more practical information about sights, shopping and leisure in Barcelona can be read here .

Antonion Gaudí and religion

For many years, Gaudí was a notorious skeptic. He did not visit temples, although he made projects for them. He just didn't believe in God. However, something made him turn into a deeply pious person. According to one version, he was pushed to God by the death of his mother at a fairly young age.

Acquaintance of Gaudi with Güell

Surely many have heard of the unusual Park Guell in Barcelona? So, this park is called in honor of a real person, the patron of the architect and the customer of this strange park.

According to one version, Güell found Gaudí at the Paris exhibition in 1878, where the architect presented his project for the working village of Mataro in the Spanish pavilion. The village remained only on paper, but Gaudi managed to excite the public, who was fond of the Art Nuovo style fashionable in Europe.

Another version tells that Gaudi, after receiving his diploma, grabbed any job in order to earn an extra penny. Once he had to deal with the design of a glove store, where Guell saw him. He asked to be introduced to the young man, asked a few questions and invited the architect to his home.

This acquaintance determined the further fate of Antonio Gaudi. Güell became a true friend and philanthropist who sincerely appreciated the work of Gaudí. He was able to earn enough money in the textile industry and understood that the best investment for money was real estate. With the exception of the Park Güell project, the patron has always been in the black. Therefore, he enjoyed looking at the sketches that Gaudí brought and successfully converted them into long-term projects.

Eusebio Güell became for the great master not only the most important customer and even patron, but also a good, faithful friend. From the day they met and for 35 years, until the very death of the patron, the architect designed and created great creations for the Guell family, which can still be seen in Barcelona. The great Gaudi created everything you need - from household utensils and household items, to chic mansions and recreation parks with a unique sophistication and imagination, characteristic only of the master himself.

Güell was a textile tycoon and one of the richest people in Catalonia and could afford to order and personify any dream, while Gaudi, at the same time, could express himself and create without prohibitions and borders, without thinking about expenses.

Güell himself was a very educated person, and, among other things, he and Gaudi were brought together by a love of art and general interest to the poet Verdaguer, who created the great masterpiece "Atlantis", which became the anthem of the past Catholic patriotism. Also, both great masters of their craft were truly patriots of their homeland and their common political views were reflected in some architectural buildings. One of these personifications of the inner spiritual world Gaudi and Güell is a palace in Barcelona, ​​which even now never ceases to delight visitors with its graceful and unique look.

Gaudi spoke of Guell as a gentleman and seigneur, with high manners and an unusually sensual person who does not brag about his condition, but manages it very wisely. The architect also greatly appreciated in his trustees the fact that he did not limit him in financial matters during the work, and he had the opportunity to calmly sculpt his works of architectural art from expensive materials - marble, precious stones and other expensive materials. Only Güell's secretary, Raymond Campamar, always treated his master's rash spending with a slight distrust, but these were only his personal fears.

For the Güell family, Gaudí completed many projects, including:

• Pavilions and mansions in Pedralbes, near Barcelona;
• Wine cellars in Garraf;
• Chapels and interesting crypts of Santa Coloma de Cervelho;
• The stunning beauty of Park Guell in Barcelona;
• The Guell estate ensemble, created in 84-87 of the 19th century, was one of the master's distinctive buildings;
• Also worth noting is the curvilinear bench of the Hall of a Hundred Columns;
• House Calvet;
• Monastery of St. Teresa;
• House-museum of the architect;
• And most importantly, and majestic creation - the life work of the great master - the Sagrada Familia Cathedral, which is a symbol of Barcelona.

Cathedral of the Sagrada Familia (Sagrada Familia)

The Sagrada Familia Church was the life work of the great architect Gaudí, to whom he devoted the rest of his days. The history of this building began in 1883, when, according to the idea of ​​the Barcelona authorities, the cathedral began to be built and designed by Francisco de Villara. De Villar conceived this church in neo-gothic style. True, he managed to build only one crypt under the apse, and then the project was transferred to Gaudi in 91 of the same 19th century.

Gaudi devoted 43 years of his life to the cathedral and created the building in his own style, unlike any of the directions invented by the great masters. Antonio Gaudi in the entire history of architecture is aloof from everyone, since he did not exist, and has no equal, even today, when the temple has not been completed to the end. No one has yet been found who could understand the idea of ​​the artist and his goal and complete the work of his life.

The Cathedral of the Holy Family was conceived by the architect as the embodiment of the New Testament in life and all the stucco of the facade was supposed to convey the life and deeds of Christ on Earth. Gaudí did not deviate from his principles here either and did not invent anything in advance, but brought his ideas to life as they arose during the work. To do this, he was constantly present at construction sites, and fully controlled the entire process.

In order to be closer to his offspring, Antonio moved into one of the rooms of the future Cathedral, and sometimes, his ideas went skewed with his own past ideas. After that, the builders had to break one and build something new, which Gaudí had just come up with. This is how the amazing Cathedral began to slowly grow and rise above all the houses of Barcelona, ​​​​which amazed all the inhabitants with its forms and architectural sculptures in those days and continues to amaze the views of visitors from all over the world today.

According to Gaudí's idea, the church was supposed to look like three facades with the same design, which should adorn the four curvilinear towers. As a result, there should be 12 towers, each of which symbolizes one of the apostles, and the facades were supposed to personify the life of Christ - "Nativity", "Passion of Christ" and "Resurrection".

But, sadly, even after so many years of construction, Gaudí managed to bring to life only part of his ideas, and he managed to present to the eyes of citizens only one "Christmas" facade - the eastern part of the Cathedral. As well as four of its towers, which, however, were completed after the death of the master in 1950. The remaining facades, stucco and towers remained in their unfinished state.

Death of a great master

From the 14th year of the 20th century, Gaudi began to devote himself entirely to the construction of the temple and began to withdraw more and more into his inner world and gradually turned into a hermit. He spent days in his workshop on the construction site and only occasionally went out of the gate in order to collect funds and donations for further work. The construction of the cathedral walls and the entire building became Gaudí's obsession and goal in his life.

On one of the usual days in 1926, when Antonio Gaudí headed to the nearest church for vespers, he was hit by a tram on the way. This was the last day in the life of the brilliant architect of Catalonia. In the old man lying on the road in worn-out clothes, none of the passers-by recognized the master Gaudi. He was mistaken for a homeless old man and sent to the Holy Cross and Paul Hospital for the Poor. The architect was unconscious for two days and died in a hospital bed at the age of 74.

Only after his death, Antonio Gaudi was recognized in the body of the deceased and buried with full honors in the crypt of the unfinished cathedral.

Modern masters have tried many times to finish Gaudi's handiwork, but no one has been able to repeat the artist's idea and bring it to life. Now the cathedral flaunts its formidable and awesome views in Barcelona and over the years has become its main building and the face of the city.

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Many tourists travel to Barcelona to admire the architectural masterpieces of Antoni Gaudí. But you don't have to fly to the Catalan capital. All his legacy...
The personality of Antonio Gaudi is enigmatic and mysterious. The second person who, in my opinion, has a similar aura is not even a real person, but a character in the novel by Francis Scott Fitzgerald The Great Gatsby. And with what ease the hero of the novel enchanted his audience with soirees, with the same ease Gaudí's works capture our heart, soul and memory.
What is his genius?
Perhaps the answer lies on the surface. He is around us. Gaudi deified nature and drew inspiration from it. He was the first to decide to transfer the laws of nature to architecture.
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Its church spiers top with sheaves of cereals and ears of corn, the arches of the windows are crowned with baskets of fruit, and bunches of grapes hang from the façades; drainpipes meander in the form of snakes and reptiles; chimneys are twisted with snails, and fence grates are forged in the form of palm leaves.
Everything ingenious is simple!

During his life, Antonio Gaudí created more than 20 architectural masterpieces, 10 of which are located directly in Barcelona.

I invite you to take a fascinating walk through the streets of Barcelona and get acquainted with the masterpieces of Gaudí's architecture, which have no analogues to this day.

And you can stay in Barcelona in these hotels:

1. House Vicens (Casa Vicens)

The House of Vicens was Gaudí's first significant work. It was built between 1883 and 1888 by order of the owner of the ceramic tile factory, Manuel Vicens Muntaner.

For the first time inspecting the site of a future construction site, Gaudi discovered a giant flowering palm tree surrounded by a carpet of yellow flowers - marigolds. All these motifs Gaudi later included in the design of the house: palm leaves found their place on the fence, and marigolds became the pattern of ceramic tiles.

Gaudí developed the design of the entire building, starting with the meticulous finishing of the exterior, and ending with the decorative solutions of the interior, up to the painting of the walls and stained-glass windows.

Since the house is a private property, it is closed to the public. However, one day a year, May 22, the owners of the house open its doors to guests.

2. Pavilions of the Guell estate (Pavellons Güell)

It was on this project that two great men met who for many years to come determined the image of Barcelona: the architect Antonio Gaudí and Count Eusebi Güell. By order of Güell, Antonio had to reconstruct the patron's summer country residence: remake the park and erect a gate with a fence, build new pavilions and design stables with an indoor arena. And in order to show a single idea for the entire project, the architect completed all the buildings in the same style, using the same construction material and a pattern resembling dragon scales.

It was during the construction of the Guell pavilions that Gaudi first used the trencadis technique - facing the surface with irregularly shaped pieces of ceramic or glass. Later, we will meet this technology in the design of benches in the Park Güell and many other works of the architect.

Unfortunately, today only the entrance group with a gate decorated with a dragon has survived from the building. As conceived by Gaudí, the dragon guarded the garden with golden apples, bestowing eternal youth and immortality.

When the gate was opened, the head and paws of the dragon moved, frightening and surprising guests and passers-by. Today, you can approach the Dragon without fear - it will remain motionless and freely let you into the estate.

3. Palau Güell

The next large-scale project created by Antonio Gaudi for Güell is a residential building, or rather, a palace. This magnificent Venetian "palazzo" is squeezed into a small space of 22 by 18 meters.

Fully evaluate appearance the entire Palace Güell is impossible from any point, because Carrer Nou de la Rambla is very densely built up. To surprise viewers who are at a great distance from the building, Gaudí designed unusual chimney towers.

Gaudi believed that one single architectural element cannot be a worthy decoration of the roof. Therefore, in the castle, the roof is designed according to the "scenographic" principle. Each chimney is made in the form of a whimsical turret, turning the roof into a magical garden. Gaudi uses this favorite technique in many of his future projects.

At the entrance, between the two forged gates of the palace, Gaudí placed the coat of arms of Catalonia, and engraved the initials of Euzebi Güell - "E" and "G" on the gates themselves.

4. College of the Order of Saint Teresa (Collegi de las Teresianes)

"Collegi de las Teresianes" - a school at the monastery of St. Teresa - also became one of the architectural masterpieces of Antoni Gaudí. The college building was built between 1888 and 1890 by order of Enric d'Usso, the priest who founded the Theresian Order.

Initially, the development of the plan was entrusted to the architect Juan B. Ponsom. He worked on the project for a whole year, and even managed to build the building up to the second floor, when the construction was entrusted to Gaudi. The young brilliant architect managed to make significant changes to the initial design and complete the construction in less than a year.

For Gaudi, this was an unusual project. First, he had to work in conditions limited budget, therefore, ordinary brick and imitation stone were used in the construction. And secondly, his fantasy was “framed”. All their architectural and decorative ideas Antonio first coordinated with the priest, and only after that he could bring them to life. Not surprisingly, most of the plans were rejected.

The architect nevertheless decorated the school as much as possible. To do this, he used numerous neat arches and decorative elements on the battlements of the building, which look like professors' hats.

5. House Calvet (Casa Calvet)
Another masterpiece of architect Antoni Gaudi in Barcelona at first glance seems ordinary and unremarkable, but it’s worth taking a closer look…

Gaudí's Calvet House was built by order of the widow of the late industrialist Pere Calvet, in accordance with all the criteria for a "profitable" house. Shops were located on the first floor, the hostess herself lived on the second floor, and the remaining levels were given to tenants.

It's a paradox, but the most "ordinary" creation of Antonio Gaudi immediately after construction, in 1900, was recognized as the best building in Barcelona. For many, this came as a surprise, since by this time Antonio had completed several projects that looked more refined and sophisticated. However, the authorities of the capital of Catalonia, it was this creation that seemed the most worthy.

In the design of the facade, Gaudi thought through every little thing. So, honeycombs suggested the shape of the peephole to the architect. When creating it, the genius dipped his fingers into the clay mass several times, and then filled the resulting shape with metal.

And the knockers on the front doors hit the image of the bed bug. Perhaps, according to the ancient Catalan custom, the killing of this insect brought good luck and prosperity to the house. Or maybe Antoni Gaudí just didn't like pests.

Today, the Kalvet house is still used for its intended purpose: the basement is reserved for warehouses, the first floor is occupied by an office, and residential apartments are located on the remaining floors.

6. Figueres House on Bellesguard Street, Barcelona (Casa Figueras)

At the beginning of the 15th century, King Marty the Humane built a magnificent palace on the slope of Mount Tibidabo, which he called Bellesguard - translated from Catalan "beautiful view". Five centuries later, in 1900, a completely different, more modest neo-Gothic palace by the architect Antonio Gaudi arose on the same site. Subsequently, he received the name of the House of Figueres.

The house turned out in a rather bizarre style. The structure seems to be directed upwards, although the structure itself is far from being high. Gaudi achieved a similar effect by using a sharp spire in the construction, as well as by deliberately overestimating each part of the house. The height of the basement was 3 meters, the first floor - 5 meters, mezzanine - 6 meters. The total height of the house reaches 33 meters and it looks completely completed in the vertical direction.

In the course of construction work, Gaudí displaced the medieval road somewhat and placed it on vaults with inclined columns. He also uses this technique in Park Güell.

Until 2013, the house of Figueres was closed to the public, but since the owners needed funds for reconstruction, they decided to open it to tourists.

Slowly, we are approaching the most interesting. These are the well-known and popular sights of Antoni Gaudi's hands in Barcelona, ​​and the first of them is Park Güell.

7. Park Guell. Garden City (Parc Güell)

Probably, each of us at least once saw Gaudi's gingerbread houses - one of the symbols of the capital of Catalonia, which is found on postcards, magnets and other souvenirs. You and I can find them at the entrance to Park Güell, or sometimes it is called "Gaudi Park".

Once upon a time, this popular park in Barcelona began its development as a commercial project. After a trip to England, Güell was impressed by the park areas and set about creating something similar in Barcelona. To do this, he purchased a large plot on a hill and asked Antoni Gaudí to take over the project. According to Güell's idea, the park was to become a residential community for the Catalan elite. But the inhabitants of the city did not support his efforts. As a result from residential buildings only 3 exhibition copies were built, in which the authors of the project themselves settled - Güell and Gaudi, as well as their lawyer friend. Later, the Barcelona City Council bought the property from the heirs of the patron and transformed it into a city park, and opened a municipal school and a museum in two houses. The lawyer's house still belongs to his family.

The architect did a great job. He designed all the necessary communication systems, planned the streets and squares, built viaducts, ramparts, entrance pavilions and a staircase that leads to the 100 Columns Hall. On the roof of the hall there is a large square, surrounded by a bright curved bench around the perimeter.

8. Casa Batlló

"House of Bones", "Dragon House", "Yawning House" are all names by which Casa Batllo in Barcelona is known.
This attraction is located in the very center of Barcelona, ​​and with all your desire you will not be able to pass by without noticing it. A humpbacked roof that looks like a dragon's spine, a mosaic facade that changes color depending on the lighting, balconies that resemble the faces of big-eyed flies or skulls - all this makes an indelible impression.

Antonio Gaudí received an order for the reconstruction of the house from a textile magnate who planned to completely demolish the old building. Keeping the original structure of the house, the architect designed two new facades. The main one overlooks Passeig de Gracia, the back one goes inside the quarter.

To improve the lighting and ventilation of the building, Gaudi combined the light shafts into a single courtyard. Here the architect created a special play of chiaroscuro: in order to achieve uniform lighting, Gaudí gradually changes the color ceramic cladding from white to blue and blue.

Part of the façade is covered by a mosaic of broken ceramic tiles that starts in golden hues, continues in orange, and ends in blue-green.

9. House Mila - Pedrera (Casa Milà)

Casa Mila is Antonio Gaudí's latest secular project. After its construction, the architect devoted himself entirely to the main masterpiece of his life - the Sagrada Familia Cathedral.
Initially, the people of Barcelona did not accept Gaudí's new creation. Mila's house was nicknamed "Pedrera" which means "stone quarry" for its uneven and ponderous appearance. Builders and owners of the house were even fined several times for non-compliance with generally accepted standards. But soon the passions subsided, they quickly got used to the house and began to treat it as another creation of a genius.

When building Pedrera, Antoni Gaudí used technology that was far ahead of its time. Instead of classic supporting and load-bearing walls, it was used steel frame irregular shape, fortified with arches and columns. Thanks to this, it was possible to give the facade of the house an unusual floating shape, and the layout of the apartments, at the request of the owner of the house, could change at any time. This technology is also very popular among modern builders who use it in the construction of monolithic-frame houses. But more than a century has passed!

But the architect's talent was fully revealed on the roof of Mila's house. Here Gaudí created a special, fairy world decorating chimneys and elevator shafts with unusual sculptures.

Despite its cultural value, Mila's house is still residential today. Only the exhibition hall with the works of Antonio Gaudi, an apartment reflecting the life of that time, and the roof of the building are open for inspection.

10. Sagrada Familia (Temple Expiatori de la Sagrada Família)

Sagrada Familia is the main masterpiece of Antonio Gaudi, the project of his whole life, to which he dedicated 43 years. The construction of the cathedral began in 1882 under the direction of the architect Francesco del Villara. But a year later, young Gaudi was appointed in his place. According to his idea, the height of the cathedral should be lower than the high mountain Barcelona is only one meter - 170 meters. With this, the architect wanted to show that what was created by human hands cannot be higher than what God created.

The expiatory temple of the Sagrada Familia, like many other creations of Gaudí, is designed in the spirit of the philosophy of unity with nature. The building should be crowned with 18 towers - this is a symbol of the apostles, evangelists and Jesus Christ.

The facades of the cathedral are already decorated with sculptures depicting not only biblical characters, but also animals, grapes and various symbols reflecting facts from the life of saints.

It is noteworthy that the animal figures were created by Gaudí himself. He put his "models" to sleep and created their exact sculptures.

The interior of the cathedral is also thought out to the smallest detail. Gaudi assumed that from the inside the cathedral would resemble a forest, with stars visible through the branches of trees. As a reflection of this idea, multifaceted columns appeared in the cathedral, supporting the high vaults of the temple.

Closer to the vaults, the columns change their shape and branch out like trees. The stars in this grandiose project were window openings located at different heights.

The death of Antonio Gaudi was as extraordinary as his whole life, as well as his work. On June 7, 1926, at the age of 73, he was hit by a tram. The architect lost consciousness, but the cabbies were in no hurry to take him to the hospital: he had neither money nor documents, and he looked extremely untidy. As a result, he ended up in a hospital for the poor.
Gaudí died on June 10, 1926 and was buried in his favorite place - in the Expiatory Church of the Sagrada Familia.

One of the greatest architects in the world and the most famous architect of Barcelona, ​​Gaudí, could have died at birth. The birth of his mother was very difficult, and the midwife immediately put an end to the boy. To save the soul of the newborn, he was immediately baptized. Subsequently, Gaudi claimed that the fact that he survived was a miracle. And he believed that he had been chosen for a special purpose.

Childhood

Antonio Gaudi was born on June 25, 1852 in the small town of Reus, located in Catalonia. His father was the hereditary blacksmith Francesc Gaudí y Sierra, and his mother, after whom the boy was named, was Antonia Cornet y Bertrand. The child received the surname, as was customary in Spain, from both parents - Gaudi i Cornet.
The father taught the child to understand the beauty of the things around him, instilled in Gaudi a love for architecture and fine arts. From his mother, he adopted faith in God and religiosity.
The boy grew up very sickly: he suffered from a severe form of arthritis, which caused severe pain from the simplest movements. He did not play outdoor games, rarely walked. It was difficult for him to walk, so he went for a walk on a donkey. But in mental development, he was significantly ahead of many other children. Antonio was observant, he liked to draw.
In 1863 he began his studies at a school at a Franciscan monastery. In addition to Greek, poetry, rhetoric, and Latin, he studied Christian doctrine, the history of religion, and other religious disciplines that influenced his way of thinking and writing. Despite his intelligence, Antonio did not do well at school, and only geometry came easily to him.
In the family, Gaudí experienced many tragedies: his brother died in 1876. Following him, his mother passed away. And 3 years later, the architect's sister passed away, leaving her daughter in his care.

Studies

In 1868 Antonio moved to Barcelona. To pay for his education, he had to sell his father's land. He became a student at the Higher School of Architecture only in 1874. Prior to this, Gaudi studied at the university at the Faculty of Exact Sciences, where he showed little diligence.
The architecture school gave more freedom for creativity and self-expression, and Gaudi soon became one of the best students. But his stubborn nature, the desire for protests often turned out to be low marks for him. The teachers decided that he was either a genius or crazy.
During his student years, the rheumatic pains in his legs finally disappeared, and in Gaudí he was able to walk normally. And it became one of his favorite things to do.
Antonio graduated in 1878. And in 1906 he suffered another grief - the death of his father. After 6 years, his niece followed him into the grave.

Carier start

From 1870 to 1882, Gaudí worked as a draftsman under the guidance of two architects, Francisco Villar and Emilio Sala. He studied crafts and participated in competitions without success.
Initially, he carried out applied orders. First official work architect Gaudí steel lampposts in the Plaza Reial.

These pillars were a chandelier of 6 horns mounted on a marble base. They are crowned with helmets of Mercury - a symbol of prosperity. This work was the first and last order of the city authorities, since the local municipality and Gaudí disagreed about his fee.
In 1877, the architect creates his first major creation - Fountain in Plaza Catalunya. And, since that time, he erects many unique buildings in the Art Nouveau style.

In 1883, Gaudí designed the first mansion. The rich manufacturer Manuel Vicens becomes his customer. The house needed not only to be built, but also to successfully fit into a small space. land plot, frame with a garden and at the same time create the illusion of space. The architect brilliantly coped with this task: turrets, bay windows, balconies give a simple quadrangular (cat. Casa Vicens) an amazing three-dimensionality.

In 1898 - 1900. being built (cat. Casa Calvet). Unlike other buildings of Gaudi, the house has a very traditional look, and its facades are symmetrical. The alternating convex and flat balconies, as well as bobbins and columns in the form of coils, give it its originality - a tribute to the professional affiliation of the owner, who owned the textile industry. For the construction of this building, the architect was awarded the Barcelona Municipal Prize in 1900.
Gaudi rarely considered the opinion of the customer. He was modest, but at the same time eccentric, embodied all his fantasies in his works.

He was lucky to be born at a time when the Spanish bourgeoisie got rich and decided to show their triumph to the whole world. The construction of a more elaborate house than the neighbor's was in a simple way prove your superiority. Therefore, architects with an original vision, and not always talented, were popular and had complete freedom of action.
In the same period, Gaudi erected buildings in the neo-Gothic style and in the spirit of a fortified fortress, such as the begun bishop's palace in the city of Astorga (cat. Palacio Episcopal de Astorga). The design of this building, located in Castile, was commissioned in 1887 by the Bishop of Grao i Vallespinos, a Catalan by birth. Gaudi began to build the palace in the form of a medieval fortress, with a moat, four towers and battlements. It was a very bold decision for the palace of the clergyman, but the bishop did not argue. The construction was interrupted by the sudden death of the customer in 1893, and dissatisfied with the excessive costs church council entrusted the completion of construction to another architect.

In addition to large-scale architectural work, Gaudí was engaged in interior design and development of furniture sketches.

Fame

All the sights of Barcelona and other cities created by Antonio Gaudi are magnificent, but the real popularity was brought to him by the works created after meeting Eusebio Güell. He was a textile magnate, the richest Catalan, with a creative flair and taste. And he became a friend and patron of the brilliant architect.
There are two versions of their friendship - one by one they met at the World Exhibition in Paris in 1878, where Gaudi presented the project of the village of Mataro. However, this version is hardly plausible, since the layouts of an unknown architect could not attract the attention of the public.
According to another version, Güell noticed Antonio when he was decorating a Barcelona glove store. After receiving a diploma, the young man needed money and took on any job. Decorating the window, Gaudi did it impressively: from gloves strung on wire, he created entire scenes of urban life: horses pulling carriages, walking people and cats beloved by all Catalans.
Fascinated by the work of the master, Güell watched his work for a long time, and then asked the owner of the store to introduce him to Gaudi. Having learned that the young man was an architect, he invited him to visit him, where he received him warmly and cordially. After that, Gaudí became a frequent visitor to Güell's house. He showed him new sketches of his buildings, and Eusebio always entrusted him with the construction of precisely those that became a real masterpiece.
Many works and houses belonging to the architect Gaudi will survive the centuries, but it was these that brought him fame and finally shaped his unique style.

Palace Guell (cat. Palao Guell).

This house, the construction of which journalists compared with the construction Tower of Babel, was built in 1885 - 1900. Güell did not limit the architect in funds for construction and interior design. Only the most luxurious materials were used in the interior decoration of this house: tortoiseshell, ivory, ebony and eucalyptus. And if in the interior the hall with a sky dome became the most interesting part, then in the exterior the roof with 18 chimneys in the form of bizarre turrets is most impressive.

Casa Mila (cat. Casa Mila)

The House of Mila or Casa Mila was created by Antonio Gaudi in 1906-1910. for the Mila family. At first, the people of Barcelona did not appreciate this building of a steep, curved shape, and nicknamed it La Pedrera - a quarry. The roof is also decorated with turrets that look like knights in fancy helmets, one of which is inlaid with fragments of green bottle glass.

Batllo House (cat. Casa Batllo)

Casa Batllo by Antonio Gaudí also known as Casa Batlló and house of bones, was rebuilt by Gaudi in 1904-1906. In the building, transformed by a genius, there are practically no straight lines. Its facade, obviously, depicts a dragon - the image of Evil. And the skulls and bones, guessed in the balconies and columns, are his victims. The turret with a cross - the sword of St. George, the patron saint of Catalonia - pierces the dragon's body, symbolizing the victory of the forces of Light over Darkness.

Park Guell (cat. Parc Guell)

Park Güell in Barcelona was created between 1900 and 1914 and was a combination of residential areas and gardens. From a commercial point of view, this project was a failure, because the Catalans did not want to live in the hills. But nowadays Park Güell is one of the brightest sights of Barcelona. The main entrance to the park is decorated with two pavilions that look like huge gingerbread houses, and on the upper terrace there is a giant bench in the shape of a sea serpent. This Park Gaudi chose to live in and owned one of the houses.

(cat. Temple Expiatori de la Sagrada Familia)

With the birth of Antonio Gaudí, the architecture of the whole world was enriched with many works, but the Sagrada Familia became the most outstanding. Gaudi began work on this cathedral in Barcelona in 1883, but did not have time to finish it. In this building, as in many others, the architect reflected what he saw in nature. A forest of columns with capitals in the form of branches, intertwining, create the vault of the building, and each tower and stained-glass window tell their own biblical story.
As conceived by Gaudi, the cathedral was supposed to have 3 facades depicting the life of Christ (Birth, Passion and Resurrection). It was also planned to install 12 turrets, symbolizing the apostles, 4 taller towers dedicated to the evangelists, the tower of the Virgin Mary and the highest - 170 m, which was intended for Christ. The God-fearing Catalan did not want the temple to be higher than the Montjuic hill (171 m), because the mountain is the creation of God, and the building is of man.

Gaudí's architecture was way ahead of its time. During the construction of the Temple, Antonio Gaudí based the columns, vaults and other details on complex three-dimensional forms, which can now be recreated only by the method computer simulation. And the architect developed them only with the help of his imagination and intuition.

It is curious that the temple is being built solely on anonymous donations from parishioners. When this structure is completed (it is assumed that this will happen by 2026), it will become the tallest church in the world.

Antonio Gaudi was extremely mad and stubborn. Perhaps that is why quite funny cases arose with him.
Despite the fact that Gaudi rarely had conflicts with male customers, disputes with their wives were not uncommon. The mistress of the Batlo house was upset with the way their housing was being built. She noticed that because of the oval shape of the room in the music room, it would not be possible to place her daughter's piano. Gaudi ignored the tactfully expressed remarks, and left everything unchanged. The angry woman spoke sharply to the architect, but he, not embarrassed, said: the piano does not fit, buy a violin.

Gaudí and his father were vegetarians and were adherents pure water and fresh air. At the same time, Antonio, as a true Christian, showed moderation in food. For dinner, he, a man of rather large build, ate only lettuce leaves, dipped in milk, and a handful of nuts.
Gaudi passionately loved Catalonia and dreamed of enriching its culture. One day, the police mistook the unkemptly dressed architect for a tramp and stopped him. They asked him some questions in Castilian, but he answered them in Catalan. At this time, there was a fight against "Catalan nationalism", and Gaudí was threatened with prison. Finally realizing that the architect was already well-known at that time, they wanted to hush up the matter, but he continued to talk carelessly in their native language. For which he spent 4 hours in the station.
Gaudí's construction costs were colossal. When the architect, in addition to the main bill, presented the Mila family with a bill for overtime work The couple refused to pay. The architect went to court, and the decision was made in his favor. The Mila family had to take out a mortgage on the house they built to pay the bill. Gaudi gave the money to one of the convents.
The architect is also credited with more scandalous things: it is believed that he made casts of stillborn children for the scene of beating babies, and in order to accurately repeat the contours of animals, he put them to sleep with chloroform before applying plaster.

Personal life

The great architect Gaudi spent his whole life alone. In his youth, he dressed very catchy and attracted the attention of women. However, when they learned about his profession, which at that time was considered akin to a craftsman, they lost interest in him. Women were worried about the well-being of the groom, and the work of an architect did not guarantee financial stability.
Antonio's first love was the beautiful Joseph Moreu, nicknamed Pepeta. In 1884, this wayward woman worked as a teacher at the school of the Mataro cooperative. Gaudi carried out an order for this enterprise and often visited Pepeta and her sister.
Pepeta gladly accepted the courtship of a young educated architect. Together they visited the Güell drawing room, where all the intellectuals of Barcelona gathered once a week. But at the same time, she kept the inexperienced gentleman at a distance. Finally, Antonio nevertheless proposed to her. And he was taken aback: Pepeta said that she was already engaged to a successful timber merchant.
More Gaudi did not propose to any girl. Years later, he fell in love again with one woman, a young American. But their relationship ended when she returned to the States.

Death

All his life, Gaudí loved to walk around Barcelona. But if in his youth he looked good and dressed elegantly, then in the middle of his life he stopped paying attention to his appearance and resembled a beggar.
On June 7, 1926, he left the house to take his usual walk to the church of Sant Felip Neri. At that time, he was already 73 years old, and the architect visited this church every day. While walking absentmindedly between the streets of Girona and Bailen, he was hit by a tram. Antonio lost consciousness.
The untidy appearance of the tramp led people astray. The cab drivers did not want to take him to the medical department, fearing that they would not receive money. In the end, the great architect was taken to a hospital for the poor, where he received the most primitive help. It was not until July 8 that he was recognized by the chaplain of the Sagrada Familia, but any treatment was already useless.
On June 10, 1926, the genius died. They buried him in the crypt of the temple, which he did not have time to complete.

Antonio Gaudi(June 25, 1852, Reus - June 10, 1926, Barcelona, ​​full name:Antonio Gaudi and Cornet), is an outstanding Spanish architect, a bright and original representative of organic architecture in European Art Nouveau. Antonio Gaudi developed new ideas about architecture, drawing inspiration from the forms of wildlife, developed original means of spatial geometry.

Gaudí created many architectural objects in Barcelona.

Few architects in the world have had such a significant impact on the look of their city or created something so iconic for their culture. Antonio Gaudí is the most famous architect in Spain. The work of Gaudi marked the highest flowering of Spanish Art Nouveau. A distinctive feature of Gaudi's style is that organic, natural forms (clouds, trees, rocks, animals) became the sources of his architectural fantasies. Gaudí's world of nature has become the main source of inspiration in solving both artistic and design problems, as well as constructive ones. Antonio Gaudi hated closed and geometrically correct spaces, and the walls drove him downright crazy; he avoided straight lines, believing that a straight line is a product of man, and a circle is a product of God. Gaudí declares war on the straight line and moves forever into the world of curved surfaces to form his own, unmistakably recognizable style.

Antonio Gaudi was born on June 25 1852 . in the city of Reus, near Barcelona, ​​in a family belonging to the family of hereditary masons. With 1868 . lived in Barcelona, ​​where in 1873-1878. studied at the Higher Technical School of Architecture. Gaudi studied various crafts (carpentry, metal forging, etc.) in the workshop of E. Punti.

In Europe at that time, an extraordinary flowering of the neo-Gothic style was observed, and the young Antonio Gaudi enthusiastically followed the ideas of neo-Gothic enthusiasts - the French architect and writer Viollet-le-Duc (the largest restorer of Gothic cathedrals in the 19th century, who restored Notre Dame Cathedral) and the English critic and art critic John Ruskin. The declaration proclaimed by them “Decorativeness is the beginning of architecture” fully corresponded to Gaudí’s own thoughts and ideas and, one might say, became the architect’s creative credo for many years.

But to an even greater extent, Gaudí experienced the impact of real local Gothic with its picturesque combination of European and Oriental, Moorish motifs.

In 1870-1882. carried out applied orders (sketches of fences, lanterns, etc.) in the studio of architects E. Sala and F Villar. First independent work Gaudí (fountain in Plaza Catalunya, 1877 .) revealed the bright quirkiness of the author's decorative fantasy.

In 1880-83. a building was built according to his project - Casa Vicens, where Gaudi used the polychrome effects of ceramic cladding, so characteristic of his mature things. The house, built for the owner of the ceramic factory M. Vicens - Casa Vicens (1878-80), looked like a fairy-tale palace. In accordance with the desire of the owner to see the “kingdom of ceramics” in his country residence, Gaudí covered the walls of the house with multi-colored iridescent majolica tiles, decorated the ceilings with hanging stucco “stalactites”, filled the courtyard with bizarre gazebos and lanterns. Garden buildings and a dwelling house made up a magnificent ensemble, in the forms of which the architect first tried his favorite techniques: an abundance of ceramic decoration; plasticity, fluidity of forms; bold combinations of different styles; contrasting combinations of light and dark, horizontals and verticals.

The House of Vicens is a dialogue with Arabic architecture. Asymmetric design of facades, broken roof line, geometric ornament, forged lattices on windows and balconies, bright colors due to ceramics - that's distinctive features Casa Vicens.

In 1887-1900. Antonio Gaudi carried out a number of projects outside of Barcelona (the episcopal palace in Astorga, 1887-1893; Casa Botines in Leon, 1891-1894; and others), giving his neo-Gothic stylizations an increasingly free character. Antonio Gaudi also acted as a restorer.

In 1883-1885, according to the project of Gaudi, El Capriccio (cat. Capricho de Gaudí) was created - a summer mansion on the Cantabrian coast in the town of Comillas near the city of Santander. In the constructive plan, the project uses a horizontal distribution of space, the living quarters are brought out by windows into the valley descending to the sea. The ground floor houses the kitchen and housekeeping services, while the ground floor houses spacious lounges, a smoking room, living quarters and several guest bedrooms with en-suite bathrooms. Through the gallery from any bedroom you can get into the heart of the building - a salon-living room with a two-level ceiling.

The outside of the building is lined with rows of bricks and ceramic tiles. main facade emphasized in the plinth by rustication painted in ocher and gray colors with a rough relief. The first floor is lined with wide rows of multi-colored bricks alternating with narrow strips of majolica tiles with relief casts of sunflower inflorescences.

AT 1883 . Gaudí Met a Textile TycoonEusebio Guell, who became for him not only the main customer and patron, but also his best friend. For 35 years, until the death of the patron, the architect designed everything necessary for life for his family: from household items to mansions and parks. This textile magnate, the richest man in Catalonia, not alien to aesthetic insights, could afford to order any dream, and Gaudi got what every creator dreams of: freedom of expression without regard to estimates.

Gaudí designs the pavilions of the estate in Pedralbes near Barcelona for the Guell family; wine cellars in Garrafa, chapels and crypts of Colonia Güell (Santa Coloma de Cervello); fantastic Park Güell (Barcelona).

In 1884-87. created the ensemble of the Güell estate near Barcelona. Cladding walls with mosaics of chipped ceramic tiles became a hallmark of Gaudí's buildings. The most famous buildings of Park Güell on manor lands (1900-14) - the so-called. The "Greek Temple" (room for the covered market), in which the architect erected a whole forest of 86 columns, and the "Endless Bench" several hundred meters long, wriggling like a snake.

In this park, Gaudi tried to embody ideas that exist in nature, but have never been implemented in architecture. The buildings seem to have grown out of the ground, all together they form a single whole, very organic, despite the variety of shapes and sizes.

The famous curvilinear bench of the Hall of a Hundred Columns and the house-museum of the architect himself, the convent of St. Teresa (Convento Teresiano) and the house of Calvet (La Casa Calvet ).

In 1891, the architect receives an order for the construction of a new cathedral in Barcelona - the Sagrada Familia (Temple of the "Holy Family"). The Sagrada Familia temple became the highest fruit of the master's imagination. Attaching special importance to this building as a monumental symbol of the national and social revival of Catalonia, Antogio Gaudí1910 . He focused entirely on it, placing his workshop here.

The style in which the cathedral is made is vaguely reminiscent of Gothic, but at the same time, it is something completely new, modern. The building of the Sagrada Familia Cathedral is designed for a choir of 1500 singers, a children's choir of 700 people and 5 organs. The temple was to become the center of the Catholic religion. From the very beginning, the construction of the temple was supported by Pope Leon XIII.

Work on the creation of the Sagrada Familia temple began in 1882 . under the direction of the architects Martorell (Juan Martorell) and De Villar (Francisco de P. Del Villar). AT 1891 . the construction was led by Antoni Gaudí. The architect retained the plan of his predecessor - a Latin cross with five longitudinal and three transverse naves, but made his own changes. In particular, he changed the shape of the capitals of the crypt columns, the height of the arches was increased to10 m , the stairs were moved by him to the wings instead of their intended frontal placement. He constantly refined the idea during construction.

As conceived by Gaudi, the Sagrada Familia (Sagrada Familia) was to become a symbolic building, a grandiose allegory of the Nativity of Christ, represented by three facades. Eastern is dedicated to Christmas; the western one - to the Passion of Christ, the southern, the most impressive, should become the facade of the Resurrection.

Portals and towers of the Sagrada Familia (Sagrada Familia) are equipped with abundant sculpture, reproducing, as it were, the whole living world, the dizzying complexity of profiles and detailing exceeds anything that was ever known to Gothic. This is a kind of Gothic Art Nouveau, which, however, is based on the plan of a purely medieval cathedral.

Despite the fact that Gaudi built the Sagrada Familia temple for thirty-five years, he managed to build and decorate only the Nativity facade, which is structurally the eastern part of the transept, and four towers above it. The western part of the apse, which makes up most of this majestic building, has not yet been completed.

More than seventy years after Gaudí's death, construction of the Sagrada Familia continues today. Spiers are gradually being erected (during the life of the architect, only one was completed), facades with figures of the apostles and evangelists, scenes of ascetic life and the atoning death of the Savior are being drawn up. The construction of the Sagrada Familia is expected to be completed by2030 .

One of Gaudí's most popular buildings, the Batlo House (1904-06), is the fruit of a bizarre fantasy of purely literary origin. It developed the plot - St. George kills the dragon. The first two floors are reminiscent of the bones and skeleton of a dragon, the texture of the wall is its skin, and the roof of a complex pattern is its backbone. A turret and several groups of chimneys of various complex shapes lined with ceramics are installed on the roof.

Casa Batlo is a lyrical creation, where the harmony of color and the plastic texture of the material are masterfully used. The architectural and sculptural décor seems to consist of living, frozen forms only for a moment. The symbolism of the living is completed in the design of the roof in the form of a dragon's back.

Among the masterpieces of modern architecture is the House of Mila (1906-10), one of the famous buildings of Art Nouveau, called "La Pedrera" (quarry), due to the strangeness of this structure. This is a six-storey tenement house located on a corner lot with two courtyards and six light wells.

The building, like apartments, has a complex curvilinear plan. Initially, Gaudí intended to give curvilinear outlines to all internal partitions, but subsequently abandoned this, giving them broken outlines that contrast with the wavy surface of the facade. Mila's house uses new Constructive decisions: there are no internal load-bearing walls, all floors are supported by columns and external walls, in which balconies play a constructive role.

This is one of the first attempts to create a new planning solution, later known as the "free plan". The roof rests on arcades. A terrace is installed on the roof of the house, rather, a detour of a complex composition, which allows you to admire the stone "menagerie" on the roof of the house, consisting of ventilation pipes, shafts, stairs, having a complex plastic solution of a biomorphic nature. In general, the decorative solution of the house reflects the theme of natural motifs (caves, the sea, the underwater world), which is characteristic of Art Nouveau architecture.

In the famous Casa Mila (house of the Mila family) in Barcelona (1906-10), Gaudí was way ahead of his time by creating a structure that embodied the ideas of flexible planning (the frame bears the entire load, and internal partitions may be distributed freely). Special curvilinear beams were made for the frame, creating a feeling of resiliently springy supports of massive walls. The wavy forms of the façade were complemented by bizarre balcony railings; on the roof, the architect placed a whole “sculpture garden”: chimneys and ventilation shafts were camouflaged with stone statues resembling fabulous giants. The inhabitants of Barcelona called the house "La Pedrera" ("The Quarry").

Antonio Gaudí died in Barcelona on June 7, 1926, hit by a tram near the Sagrada Familia. In an unconscious state, in shabby clothes, he was taken to the Holy Cross Hospital - a special shelter for the poor, from which he was no longer destined to leave, in order to continue to decorate the world with the genius of his craftsmanship. His remains lie in the crypt of the Sagrada Familia.

Antonio Gaudi, according to many art critics, became the "Leonardo da Vinci of the 20th century", embodying the qualities of not only a brilliant architect, artist, but also a brilliant inventor.

Park Guell

In July 2003, the Vatican begins the canonization of the Catalan architect Antonio Gaudi. The inhabitants of Barcelona swear that on the day he was buried, stones wept in the city, and the towers he built mournfully bowed their towers.

But words alone are not enough to interest the Vatican. So there is more to this story. Antonio Gaudí is said to have spoken to God: “My client is in no hurry…”

Who did Gaudi mean? How could he build without blueprints what modern science can't give a technical justification so far?

Crypt of Colonia Güell- one of the incomprehensible creations of Gaudí. How these vaults would hold up, only he understood.

Gaudí is mentioned in the Catalan chronicle as "The Great Sphinx of World Architecture". After him, only riddles remained, the answers to which mankind is still looking for:

short biography

Antonio Gaudi was born June 25, 1852 in a small Catalan town Reus. The midwife said that the boy would not survive - he was urgently baptized to save the baby's soul. Death miraculously receded.

The baby was given a terrible diagnosis - severe form of arthritis. Doctors determine the maximum life span of a boy - no more than 3 years ...

Life goes on

When Antonio was 5 years old, he and his mother went to Tarragona, to the Virgin Mary. There, the boy, unable to kneel due to severe pain, bowed his head and thanked the Virgin Mary for being alive to this day. He also vowed to find out why!

At the age of 6, Antonio admired the sea and marveled at the nature of the water:

“The shape of the waves never repeats, there is always a new detail. In one big wave there are hundreds of others, smaller ones. If people lived by the sea, they would not feel lonely: the streets and houses would merge into one element, but at the same time they would never become faceless and similar to each other.

During this period, the boy realized that nature is not monochromatic, there are no straight lines in it. Man invented them. It was on the seashore that Gaudi built his first house - from sand.

Antonio Gaudí never thought of his projects as separate buildings. He has always created special world Around them.

I am now an architect!

When the graduate of the Higher School of Architecture in Barcelona, ​​Antonio Gaudi, was awarded a diploma, the rector said: “I don’t know if we have a genius or a madman”.

Antonio replied to this: "Looks like I'm an architect now!"

From that moment on, his whole life will change. There will be no place in it for a family, a beloved woman, a close friend.

House of Manuel Vicens

Fabrikant Manuel Vicens was not embarrassed by the peculiar style of the young architect. He orders a project from Gaudi and the construction of his house. With this, Vicens immortalized his name in history - in Barcelona, ​​houses are named after their customers.

Looking around the construction site, Gaudí notices a huge palm tree surrounded by a yellow carpet. All these elements are present in the design of the house and its fence. In 2 years, Antonio will “grow up” in the yard of Don Vincens real palace.

The material that the architect used to decorate the house became very popular after that. Cool tiles look warm and lively in appearance. People were amazed at this creation, which perpetuated the name of Vicens.

The period of construction and decoration of the house of Vincennes: from 1883 to 1888.

Park Guell

Many compare Park Guell with Wonderland, which was told by Lewis Carroll in his "Alice ...". Antonio Gaudí inscribed space in the Park so skillfully that it is almost impossible to understand where nature ends and where architecture begins.

In parallel with Parc Güell, Gaudí is working on his famous creation - Temple of Redemption "Holy Family" ( Sagrada family) , the construction of which began in 1883 and continues to this day.

Lizard without a tail

Lizard without a tail- one of the famous creations of Gaudí, which is located in the Park Güell. Gaudi pumped water from underground springs through her veins. Many believe that even the spray in which this creature bathes is healing.

In order to finish the lizard as intended, Gaudi split the insanely expensive service of the customer. He harassed everyone, picking up the necessary pieces for his unique mosaic. When supplies of glass ran low, he sent workers to collect broken bottles on the streets of Barcelona.

The longest bench in the world

The longest bench in the world located in Park Güell. Its pattern of multi-colored ceramics only at first glance seems random. If you look at it longer, you can see the "mysterious signs" appearing.

Salvador Dali could spend hours on a bench in Park Güell. In the paintings of the artist there are patterns snatched from the world of Gaudí's architecture. The Great Dali bowed before the Great Gaudi, but in real life they were not allowed to meet.

Crypt

Crypt(1898-1916) performed by Gaudi still misleads modern architects - it does not have the usual supports for buildings and seems to be holding itself. Antonio discovered a new method of unsupported flooring using mesh and cement (see the video for more details).

The more fragile Gaudí's arches in Güell's crypt look, the more durable they are. The furniture for the crypt was also designed by the architect himself - these are amazing objects with curved lines and legs in the form of bones.

Architect inXIX century learned to revive objects and adapt them to people!

The period of construction of the palace, the pavilion of the estate, the park, the chapel and the crypt of Güell - 1883-1916.

Thanks to the richest customer - Güell, all the high society of Barcelona will know about Gaudi. A queue of customers is lining up for him.

House Calvet

Once an architect was ordered a house that bears the name Calvet. The place for construction was terrible - the neighboring houses stood almost right next to each other. Only with the help of a sophisticated layout could another building be squeezed in here.

It was a challenge for Antonio that he accepted. After the construction of the Calvet house, the city authorities will highly appreciate its elegance in general and individual semantic elements in particular. For this, Gaudi will receive an award - the first and last from the government of Barcelona.

All elements of the decoration of the house were not random and were worn deep meaning. Take at least a hammer on the doors of the house in the form of a cross. To knock on them, it was necessary to hit the “beetle with a cross” - a symbol of evil. That is, whoever wanted to enter had to first overcome sin (knock on the door).

The Calvet house was built in the period from 1898 to 1900.

Temple of the Atonement of the Holy Family

AT Sagrada Familia Gaudi at this moment is finishing the facade of one of the three towers - the Nativity. The architect at that time was 41 years old. The first donkeys, snails, and dogs appear on the temple. To make a mold of the animals, the architect puts them to sleep with chloroform, greases them, and casts them before they can wake up.

If in the Middle Ages architectural structures were fabulously fictional (they wore fictional characters on the facades), then in the time of Gaudi, nature itself became a fairy tale in architecture.

At the very peak of his architectural career, Antonio Gaudí is no longer interested in expensive projects. Rumors spread around Barcelona: “The architect really has a special customer, he is building the Sagrada Familia for him!”. The Temple of Redemption, which is destined to become a stone Bible.

This is what will happen if the construction is completed:

• The highest tower of the temple, 170 meters high, will personify Christ.
• The smaller tower is the Virgin Mary.
• The other 12 towers are the 12 apostles.
• 3 facades of the Sagrada Familia are 3 sacraments (Christmas, Passion and Glory). The cathedral will be crowned with a huge luminous cross.

Gaudi still has no drawings ... Somehow he dropped a phrase about this:

“All architecture is already in nature, just look around”

Mass on the holy mountain of Montserrat

At this moment, Antonio Gaudí frequents Mount Montserrat where it dissolves into the sounds of the mass. After her, he went out to the mountain and silently stood, plunging into "religious ecstasy." After one of these incidents, he even fell into a lethargic sleep.

It was after this that he announced that from now on he would work only on religious orders, and if he was offered a secular project, he would have to " ask permission to perform from the holy Madonna of Montserrat».

No other details could be obtained from the architect. Perhaps he received an answer to his old baby question: Why does he live so long?

Blueprints for Followers

Gaudi understood that he would not have time to finish the Temple of Atonement and for the first time he began to make drawings, projects so that his followers could complete this brilliant creation. Unfortunately, the drawings were destroyed by fire during the civil war.

Antonio managed to finish only one of the 3 facades of the cathedral - nativity facade. But by some miracle, the construction of the temple continues. It is built by representatives different countries, peoples and even different religions. Gaudi continues to dictate his will and turn architecture into an extension of nature.

The death of a genius

On June 7, 1926, an elderly man walked out of a church in Barcelona. He smiled and waved to the children who were playing, then wandered off towards the street. He no longer looked around and walked forward.

The tram driver did not have time to slow down ...

The pedestrian, carried away by his thoughts, did not even notice this: “... there are no trams and straight lines in nature ...” The downed old man was mistaken for a beggar and sent to the Santa Cruz hospital. The one where he made casts of dead children for the biblical panorama " Infanticide».

Friends found him there only the next day, when the injuries he received were already incompatible with life and even the best clinic could not help him.

Antonio Gaudi has died June 10, 1926. The next day, newspapers appeared under the headings “Genius is gone in Barcelona”, “Saint died in Barcelona”, “Even the stones mourn him”. Antonio Gaudí rests in the crypt of the Sagrada Familia.