Biography
Gaudi y Cornet initially completed an apprenticeship as a blacksmith. In 1872 he began studying at the Escola Superior d'Arquitectura in Barcelona. While still studying, he and another Catalan architect designed the fountain system in the Parc de la Ciutadella in Barcelona. The building project was carried out between 1877 and 1882. In 1878 Gaudi completed his training with a diploma. He then traveled to Catalonia and other regions. He came across the French architect and cultural historian Eugenie Emmanuel Viollet-le-Duc and his works, which greatly influenced him. The Casa Vicens project in Barcelona is also one of Gaudi's early works, which was completed between 1878 and 1880, as is the house El Capricho in Comillas, northern Spain, which employed the architect from 1883 to 1885. In this house project, Gaudi documented his masterful use of iron as a building material, for which his training as a blacksmith was a brilliant prerequisite.
In 1882, the collaboration began with Count Eusebi Güell as his client, who also became his greatest patron. Gaudi realized several buildings for him on his Les Corts estate near Barcelona, such as stables and the entrance gate. In 1883, Gaudi began work on the monumental Sagrada Familia cathedral in Barcelona, which would occupy him for the rest of his life. He worked on it for a total of 43 years. The work is still unfinished to this day. Gaudi planned a gallery for 1,500 singers, 700 children and five organs for the gigantic church. In 1885, design work began on the Palau Güell in the old town of Barcelona, his second commission for his patron Eusebi Güell. A building with a dome, glazing and stairs was built on an area of 18 by twelve meters, which had a voluminous external appearance. The work on this was completed in 1889. During this time, the Spanish architect was planning his next project, the pavilion of the shipping company Compañia Trandatlántica for the maritime exhibition in Cadiz. The following year he planned a pavilion for the world exhibition in Barcelona for the same client.
In 1887 he was busy rebuilding the burnt down bishop's palace in León. The work was never finished due to the death of the client, Juan Grau, Bishop of Astorga, in 1890. In 1894 the sacred building Convento Teresiano was completed. The result was a building that expressed the neo-Gothic style with its clear lines. Gaudi had to forego his usual design habit of ornamentation and detailing for cost reasons. His work was determined by the guiding principles of a Gothic style adapted to the Mediterranean region and traditional Catholicism in architecture. The light and climate of his country played a primary role, which he incorporated into his designs. Between 1898 and 1904, Gaudi was busy planning and realizing the Casa Calvet in Barcelona. To do this, he implemented one of his most traditional plans. The city awarded the measure an official price. It remained the only award from Barcelona, although Gaudi realized his most important works there.
In 1898, Gaudi planned apartments for Count Güell for the employees of his factory in Santa Coloma de Cervelló. Among other things, there was also a chapel where he carried out design experiments that were used elsewhere, for example in the Sagrada Familia cathedral. The plan remained a fragment, as did Park Güell, which was intended to be a garden city. The project consisted of an ensemble of gardens and architectural forms that were supposed to be in harmonious balance with one another. Gaudi was versatile. He planned apartments, townhouses, schools, churches and garden landscapes. In 1905 Gaudi started his final design. He designed the Casa Milá as a residential building. But this planned work was not completed either. In 1911 the architect fell ill.
Antoni Gaudi died on June 10, 1926 as a result of a tram accident.
