The extraordinary works of Antoni Gaudi

Antoni Gaudí, to whom his teacher said, "I don't know if we graduate a genius or a fool, only time will tell", is an architectural genius who has built fascinating works that have survived to this day with his unique style and surrealist perspective. Gaudi dedicates his life to La Sagrada Familia, one of his most valued and most important structures, and gives exactly 43 years to this work. Inspired by nature in his work, the famous architect manages to build a magnificent church by blending different art movements. The famous architect, who says, "The tree in my side garden is an inspiration for me," always expresses that he is inspired by nature while creating his works. It is possible to see the limitlessness of his imagination in his works. Antoni Gaudí is undoubtedly one of the greatest architects in history and still continues to fascinate and make people think with his works.

 Antoni Gaudí was born on June 25, 1852 in Reus, Catalonia.

Antoni Gaudi was born in Reus, Catalonia, as the son of a coppersmith family. His architectural education, which he started in 1869, continued for eight years. He started working in different jobs in Barcelona, where he moved to continue his academic journey in this field. The talented architect Gaudi, who got lucky, met Eusebi Guell, one of the richest people of the time, during the early years of his architectural career, and they became close friends. With the financial assistance of Guell, Antoni Gaudi had the opportunity to make a rapid progress in his career.

Famous architect Gaudi, Spanish pioneer of the Art Nouveau movement

The famous architect, who listens to the voice coming from the heart of nature at every opportunity, expressed that everything can speak to us with the language of nature and reflected this understanding in his works; In addition, he benefited from mathematics, knowledge of physics and gravitational laws. Gaudi was influenced by some currents in this process and created a new trend. The New Art (Art Nouveau) movement originating in London is an art movement in which ornaments are used and plant motifs are blended. This trend, which includes folds, dates back to the 19th century. appeared towards the end. Gaudi was also heavily influenced by the English thinker John Ruskin, who expressed the art of ornamentation as the heart of architecture.

His first important work is the summer house Casa Vicens in Barcelona, ​​which he built for the Vicens family between 1883 and 1888.

Casa Vicens, one of the first works of the Art Nouveau movement, is a summer house built by Antoni Gaudi for the Vicens family. We can say that it has a special value as it is considered to be Gaudi's first masterpiece. This house, which was included in the UNESCO World Heritage List in 2005, can now be visited as a museum. Each room of the house, which is equipped with figures that Gaudi designed equivalent to three-dimensional perception, is fascinating and enjoyable. The dining room, which is dominated by nature-inspired figures, the living room with its dome and striking decorations, almost proves the uniqueness of Casa Vicens.

The work, which has existed in all its glory for more than a hundred years, had to be restored in order to survive for many more years. Following the completion of the restoration process, which lasted from 2015 to the end of 2017, Casa Vicens was converted into a museum and then opened to visitors. The work, which has been restored in every detail by being faithful to the original, has a special value as it is considered as Gaudi's first masterpiece.

His most famous work is the basilica of La Sagrada Familia, which is still under construction, to which he devoted his entire life.

The Sagrada Familia is arguably the most precious work of Antoni Gaudi. The famous architect started to build the work in 1883, stopped receiving other projects in 1908, and continued to work on this basilica uninterruptedly until his death in 1926. The towers he designed inside the church had a meaning. He designed a total of 18 towers, 12 for 12 apostles, 4 for the Gospel writer, 1 for the Virgin Mary and 1 for Jesus. The Sagrada Familia, one of the most prominent and important structures of the Art Nouveau movement, is still under construction. For this reason, it is called the never-ending basilica among the people.

After the death of Gaudi, the civil war broke out in Spain and the Second World War. World War II disrupted and stopped the construction of the famous basilica. In fact, the construction took so long that it is even said that the first parts had to be restored before it could be completed. For this reason, the Sagrada Familia went down in history as the first building to be restored before its construction was completed. La Sagrada Familia, which has been under construction for 137 years, is planned to be completed in 2026, the 100th anniversary of Gaudi's death.

He died on July 7, 1926, at the age of 74, before he could finish his project due to a traffic accident. Gaudi; He was buried in La Sagrada Familia, to which he devoted his life.

While Gaudi was a person who loved to eat delicious food, dress well, and went to theaters and concerts in his youth, he left all these habits one by one, as his architectural intelligence began to produce incredible works. Day by day, he distanced himself from social life, turned into a man whose religious beliefs were dominant, who ate less and did not care about his external views. So much so that when he was injured in a tram crash in the vicinity of the Sagrada Familia church, where he spent 43 years of his life and lived in recent years, and was taken to the hospital, no one around him knew him and thought he was a beggar. It took a long time to realize that the man lying on the ground was the famous architect Gaudi. When he died two days after the accident, the people of Barcelona flocked to his funeral.

There are other rumors about the death of the famous architect. One of them is that when Gaudi went backwards to look at his work while La Sagrada Familia was under construction, he could not notice the train behind him and died as a result of a train accident. Another rumor is that he lost consciousness after a traffic accident on his way to church, and people took him to the hospital, but he died due to severe injuries on his body.

8 of the works by Antoni Gaudi are on the UNESCO World Heritage List.

From the works of the famous architect Antoni Gaudi; Park Guell, Palau Guell and Casa Milà were included in the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1984, La Sagrada Familia's "Birth of Christ" and the underground tomb, Casa Vicens, Casa Battlo and Colonia Guell Tomb in 2005.

Park Guell

It is just one of the works designed by Antoni Gaudi for the Guell family. Eusebi Guell asked Gaudi to build a city with a garden with houses, parks and gardens, and this is how the idea of Park Guell emerged. Due to the economic difficulties experienced during World War I, only 2 houses were built, one of which is the famous architect Gaudi's own house. Antoni Gaudi left this park unfinished in 1914 and chose not to continue after that. Even this unfinished state of the park is dazzling. The garden park was included in the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1984 and continues to fascinate its visitors.