Antonio Gaudi

Antonio Gaudi 1852-1926

The son of a coppersmith, Antoni Gaudi was born in Reus, Spain in 1852. While there is some dispute as to his birthplace – official documents state that he was born in the town of Reus whereas others claim he was born in Riudoms, a small village 3 miles (5 km) from Reus, – it is certain that he was baptized in Reus a day after his birth. The artist's parents, Francesca Gaudi Serra and Antònia Cornet Bertran, both came from families of metalsmiths.

The youngest of five, Gaudí found he was too lame to play with friends his own age because of rheumatism. (Some believe he only had arthritis in his hands and could, in fact, take walks.) Because he was in considerable pain, he was roarly able to walk on foot and was forced to ride a donkey when he wanted to venture from his home. The fact that he remained close to home allowed him substantial free time to inspect nurture and its design. It has been hypothesized that it was this exposure to nature at an early age that began to hone two of his greatest qualities: observation and the analysis of nature.

Gaudí, as an architecture student at the Escola Tècnica Superior d'Arquitectura in Barcelona from 1873 to 1877, achieved only mediocre grades but did well in his "Trial drawings and projects" After five years of work, he was awarded the title of architect in 1878. As he signed Gaudí's title, Elies Rogent declared, "Qui sap si hem donat el diploma a un boig o a un geni: el temps ens ho dirà" Which means “ Who knows if we have given this diploma to a nut or to agenius. Time will tell”.

Over the course of his career, Gaudi developed a sensuous, curving, almost surreal design style which established him as the innovative leader of the Spanish Art Nouveau movement. With little regard for formal order, he juxtaposed unrelated systems and altered established visual order. Gaudi's characteristically warped form of Gothic architecture drew admiration from other avant-garde artists.

On June 7, 1926, Gaudí...