Antoni Gaudí

Description

"There is little question that Antoni Gaudi (1852-1926) was one of the finest and most innovative architects of his age, and his sensuous, curving, almost surreal buildings are among Barcelona's most popular tourist attractions. But this was not always the case; in 1982, when Ignasi de Sola-Morales first wrote this in-depth study of the architect's work, Gaudi was still misunderstood and underappreciated. This new edition of Antoni Gaudi, which features spectacular photographs taken by Rafael Vargas especially for this publication, revives the essay that was largely responsible for bringing critical acclaim to this visionary architect." "Gaudi designed a large body of works, including apartment houses, private residences, park complexes, and religious and secular institutions, most of which were erected in or around Barcelona. His crowning work, which occupied him from 1884 until the day of his death, was the bizarrely beautiful Church of the Sagrada Familia. With only the Portal of the Nativity actually completed, this monumental fragment is one of the architectural wonders of our age - a sculptural edifice that encapsulates Gaudi's creative theories." "Gaudi's organic structures - undulating tiled roofs, pinnacles and towers that rise like plants or tentacles, chimneys that take on phantasmagoric shapes and colors - are all illustrated here, accompanied by plans and drawings that provide a clear picture of Gaudi's structural innovations. Sola-Morales places the architect's work within the context of Catalan and wider European developments of the time, but he also describes the extremely personal mystical impetus that was at the core of Gaudi's invention."--Jacket.

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