Antonio Gaudí and Art Nouveau

Select one of the architects/designers whom we have discussed to the decline of the Art Nouveau period. How did Semper, VLD or Ruskin influence the individual  design or style that they developed? Please select images to illustrate your blog and strengthen the argument that you put forth. Images are in addition to the 2 pages of text. Please submit your blog writing again as hard copy. Discuss their objective to develop a national style?

Antonio Gaudi (25 June 1852–10 June 1926) was a Spanish Catalan architect who designed many famous structures in Barcelona. At this time, business clients who were well acquainted with the arts and crafts movement in the United Kingdom supported the artistic activity in Barcelona.  Barcelona also had a very close relationship with France, which brought foreign movements such as impressionism and Art Nouveau. This contributed to the intellectual modernist society and unique style that Gaudi developed. Like Ruskin (8 February 1819 – 20 January 1900) and Viollet le Duc (27 January 1814 – 17 September 1879), Gaudi appreciated the Gothic style, and used it as a precedent for his works. He adhered to the neo-gothic movement and followed the ideas of Viollet le Duc by studying the architecture of the past in order to develop his own style. He also valued nature and religion as a means of inspiration. He believed that those who looked for the laws of nature were collaborating with their creator. He admired the craft of a building (like Ruskin), but also collaborated with structural engineers and metalworkers to make his ideas a reality. He introduced new techniques in the treatment of materials.

 Art Nouveau is the movement that influence Gaudi the most, pushing him to experiment with new materials and new shapes and helped him give up imitating historical styles and find his own. Gaudi became an established leader of the Spanish Art Nouveau movement by developing a curving and sensuous style. Instead of using formal order, he juxtaposed unrelated systems and warped Gothic elements to create visual order. His structures are known for their plasticity and detail, as well as the linear form through the stonework.

 Early on, Gaudi looked towards the oriental arts for inspiration. This can be seen in the ornamentation of the roofs and trim in works like the Capricho (fig. 1) and the Casa Vicens (his first major work; fig. 2). Gaudi also observed the spatial organization of Islamic art: the feeling of sequence and partitions of open spaces. Then Gaudi strayed towards Modernisme, which was seen as a return to the past as a response to the industrial forms imposed by the Industrial Revolutions technological advances. Gaudi used these ideas to bring more Gothic forms into the Catalan style. In this way, Gaudi is like Semper. As he establishes a Catalan style by combining Gothic forms and his ideals while integrating the European modernizing movement.

Fig. 1

 http://raquelbg77.blogspot.com

Fig. 2

http://blogs.ihes.com/spanish/?p=351

Gaudi strived to create his own architectural language. I admire him for building upon the ideas of others to create his own style rather than just conforming to a category. He studied geometric forms in nature like in trees and the human skeleton. He believed that these forms are both functional and aesthetic, and incorporated them into the structure of his architecture. For example, in La Sagrada Familia (Originally intended to be a gothic structure, but changed  to Art Nouveau when Gaudi took over as architect. And is still under construction today even after his death.), he used a set of tree-like columns (fig. 3) divided into various branches to support a structure of intertwined vaults and eliminated the need for buttresses. He also used the catenary curve, which was commonly used in the construction of suspension bridges at that time. Catenary arches in works like the Casa Milá and the Sagrada Familia (fig. 4) add an element of strength. He achieved a rational and logical solution as well as a new architectural style that was original, simple, practical, and aesthetic by getting inspiration from objects in nature. I believe there is a parallel here with the ideals of Viollet le Duc. Where Viollet le Duc says to study what is beautiful in architecture of the past and apply it rationally to your work, Gaudi studies nature and applies its aspects to his structures rationally. 

 Fig. 3

 Fig. 4

The selection and use of materials was another one of Gaudi’s defining ideals. He worked with raw materials to create both form and texture. Instead of using a Ruskin approach to materials, where they are used like they were in the past, Gaudi takes a more Viollet le Duc stance and uses them in a new, rational way that was appropriate for the time period. He experimented with materials such as stone, ceramics and tiles, wrought iron, glass and bricks. For example, the snaked bench in Park Guëll (fig. 5) is composed of broken tiles, because of technical and financial reasons. Square tiles would not match such a wavy shape and would have cost too much.  Another example is the use of stone in Casa Batlló (fig. 6) is used to create his own style with waving lines and details that give the façade more plasticity. 

 Fig. 5

Fig. 6

http://s-archetype.blogspot.com/2009/02/casa-batllo-gaudi.html

Antonio Gaudi is one of the first architects that really inspired me. In fact, I could attribute my choice of major to some of his work in Barcelona. To me, the level of detail and ornamentation in the forms he uses are beyond words. You can really see where he pulls his inspiration from, and maybe it seems a bit too literal. But for that time period, the way he used materials and represented his ideals through logic and structure was and still is very innovative. I appreciate the way he collaborated with engineers, artists and landscape designers to create spaces with elements that work together to create a greater whole. Also, I admire the way he uses color. Today, many architects are given the stereotype that they know nothing about color. The aspect of color in our designs is sometimes overlooked or passed out for someone else to think about, which I would like to disagree with. However, Gaudi embraces color and uses it as an important asset to his designs.

Antonio Gaudi:bibliography. (n.d.).Famous Architects. Retrieved February 3, 2013, from architect.architecture.sk/antonio-gaudi-architect/antonio-gaudi-architect.php

Gaudi Designer :: Home ::. (n.d.).Gaudidesigner : Accueil. Retrieved February 5, 2013, from http://www.gaudidesigner.com/uk/index.h