Sunday 25 June 2006

Antoni Gaudi 1852-1926

born 25th June in Reus, near Tarragona, Spain into a family of coppersmiths; killed in a tram accident in Barcelona June 10, 1926; Catalan architect who worked almost entirely in Barcelona; 1873-77 studies architecture at the Escola Provincial d'Arquitectura in Barcelona; 1878 gets his first public assignment, designing street lamps for the city of Barcelona; 1878 inspired by the Barcelona World Fair, a showcase for Art Nouveau; 1887-93 builds the episcopal palace in Astorga; 1888-89 the Colegio Teresiano; 1891-92 the Casa de los Botines in León; 1898-1900 Casa Calvet in Barcelona; 1904-06 rebuilds the private house of Josep Batlló in Barcelona; 1906-10 the Casa Milà (La Pedrera) apartment building [picture]; 1909 the school of the Sagrada Familia; 1914 starts work on the Sagrada Família cathedral [pictures]; on his death, Rosario Segismón, wife of the patron who had Gaudi build La Pedrera, transformed the entire main floor into a series of conventional bedrooms, in the style of Louis XVI.
Quote: "Creation continues incessantly through the media of Man. But man does not create: he discovers. Those who look for the laws of Nature as a support for their new works collaborate with the Creator. Copiers do not collaborate. Because of this originality consists in the returning to the origin."