The life of
Antoni Gaudí
(1852–1926) was full of complexity and contradictions. As a young man he joined the
Catalonian nationalist
movement and was critical of the church; toward the end of his life he devoted himself completely to the construction of one single spectacular church,
La Sagrada Família
. In his youth, he courted a glamorous social life and the demeanor of a dandy. By the time of his death in a tram accident on the streets of Barcelona, his clothes were so shabby that passersby assumed he was a beggar.
Gaudí’s
incomparable architecture
channels much of this
multifaceted intricacy
. From the shimmering surface textures and skeletal forms of Casa Batlló to the Hispano-Arabic matrix of Casa Vicens, his work merged the influences of
Orientalism, natural forms, new materials, and religious faith
into a
unique Modernista aesthetic
. Today, his buildings enjoy global popularity and acclaim; his magnum opus, the Sagrada Família, is the
most-visited monument in Spain
and
seven of his works are UNESCO World Heritage Sites
.
Packed full of expert texts and hundreds of full-color illustrations, including
new photography
, this book presents Gaudí’s
complete oeuvre
. Like a
personal tour through Barcelona
, we explore his residential, religious, and public projects. We see how the “Dante of architecture” was a builder in the truest sense of the word, crafting extraordinary constructions out of minute and mesmerizing details,
transforming fantastical visions into realities on the city streets