Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
MODERNISME - WHO'S WHO AND WHAT'S WHAT
Modernisme
-theCatalanoffshootofArtNouveau-wastheexpressionofarenewedup-
surge in Catalan nationalism. Catalunya's economic recovery in the early nineteenth cen-
tury provided the initial impetus, and the subsequent cultural renaissance - the Renaixença
- led to fresh stirrings of a new
Catalan awareness and identity
.
Three architects in partic-
ularcametoprominence inBarcelona and,indoingso,introducedabuildingstylethathas
given the city a look like no other.
ANTONI GAUDÍ I CORNET
Born in Reus, near Tarragona, to a family of artisans, the work of
Antoni Gaudí i
Cornet
(1852-1926) was never strictly
modernista
in style, but the imaginative impetus
he provided was incalculable. Fantasy, spiritual symbolism and Catalan pride are evident
in every building he designed, while his architectural influences were Moorish and Gothic,
embellished with elements from the natural world. These themes are visible in projects as
diverse as his extraordinary suburban industrial estate, Colònia Güell, and his masterpiece
cathedral, the Sagrada Família. Yet Gaudí rarely wrote a word about the theory of his art,
preferring to leave it to the buildings to provoke a reaction- no one stands mute in front of
an Antoni Gaudí masterpiece.
Key buildings and works
:
LLUÍS DOMÈNECH I MONTANER
With Gaudí in a class of his own, it was
Lluís Domènech i Montaner
(1850-1923)
who was perhaps the greatest pure
modernista
architect. Drawing on the rich Catalan
RomanesqueandGothictraditions,hisworkcombinedtraditionalcraftmethodswithmod-
ern technological experiments - with spectacularly innovative results.
Key buildings and works
:
JOSEP PUIG I CADAFALCH
Like that of other
modernista
architects, the work of
JosepPuigiCadafalch
(1867-1957)
contains a wildly inventive use of ceramic tiles, ironwork, stained glass and stone carving.
His first commission, the
Casa Martí
, housed the famous
Els
Quatre Gats
tavern for the
city'savant-garde artists andhangers-on,whileinuptownmansionsbuiltforthenewlyen-