Antoni Gaudí

A critical re-examination of the Catalan master.
Antoni Gaudí (1852-1928) was a builder by instinct and by practice, fanciful and baroque in his sensibility, in love with the bright colours and plastic forms of the Mediterranean tradition. Despite his considerable contributions, Gaudí was an isolated figure in the architecture of the modern era. Critics were slow to recognize the prophetic value of his work, owing to the difficulty in reconciling it with the development of the Modern Movement. Gaudí invented a new form of modernism that combined elements of art nouveau, Catalan nationalism, Gothic Revival and his own relentlessly original imagination. His eclectic experience was made possible by special historical circumstances such as the economic prosperity of Barcelona and the existence of highly skilled craftsmen in Catalonia. This volume covers Gaudí's work in systematic fashion, from the Güell Palace to the park of the same name, and finally to his unfinished masterpiece, the church of the Sagrada Familia. Author Juan José Lahuerta devotes an attentive critical re-examination of the architect's work through a thorough analysis of his designs and writings.