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Outdoor Arch

Outdoor Arch

Backlit Spires

Backlit Spires

Gothic Quarter

Gothic Quarter

Bimbo Breads

Bimbo Breads

I know I know, it’s a common brand. I still wanted to take this picture.

Atop the Hypostyle Hall

Atop the Hypostyle Hall

Here’s the top of the open-air market I wrote about a few pictures ago. Incidentally, a continuous concrete bench lines the perimeter — Gaudí was obsessed with making chairs that conformed to the human physiology… and these things are a testament to his skill at that. They’re incredibly comfortable! If only all benches were this comfortable.

Decorative Detail

Decorative Detail

This style of ceramic work was pioneered by Gaudí: ceramic pieces and glass bottles (trash) were gathered from the streets of early 1900’s Barcelona, then broken. The pieces were fit back together and set in to mortar, producing vivid colors and a unique decorative effect.

Barcelona Pictures

I jotted down some of my recollections of the art and architecture of Barcelona when I posted more European pictures today. You may find my pictures and captions of some of the incredible innovations of Antoni Gaudí to be interesting.

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Park Fountain

Park Fountain

Great story about this fountain: it isn’t electrically powered. I’ll explain.

Behind the fountain, set into a hill, is a large open-air hypostyle hall. The sheltered area formed by this hall, and the gravel roof atop it were meant to be used as a marketplace for Park Güell. Here’s the innovation: the gravel roof drains through the center of the columns of the hypostyle hall into a subterranean cistern. When this cistern overflows, the extra water gushes out and runs this fountain. Brilliant.

Antoni House

Antoni House

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Park Wall

Park Wall

Park Chapel

Park Chapel

Park Güell is almost surreal in how far ahead of its time it was — it was meant to be a luxury gated community sitting at the top of Barcelona. The plans for it, with its gatehouses, wall, community markets and spaces, and meticulously planned lots look exactly like modern suburbia on paper. Unfortunately, the park was a financial failure and one of the only houses that was actually built there was Gaudí’s own.

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Plaster Cut-Away

Plaster Cut-Away

A plaster cut-away of part of the interior of the cathedral.

Force Modeling

Force Modeling

Here’s a quick physics idea: compression forces can be modeled as tension forces. And that’s exactly what Gaudí did in order to get the angles of his fantastic arches correct.

Take a close look at what’s going on here — this is a photograph that has been turned upside down.

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Another Sketch

Another Sketch

Sagrada Workshop

Sagrada Workshop

Here’s one the most amazing parts of the whole tour: the cathedral is still under construction, so a small cadre of artists and craftsmen continue their work under the eyes of tourists. One critical component of Gaudí’s method was the use of plaster models — this workshop continues to produce those models so construction can continue.

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Prototype Head

Prototype Head

Sketch of Modern End

Sketch of Modern End

Sagrada Interior

Sagrada Interior

Trumpeters on the Old End

Trumpeters on the Old End

Modeled after the stone masons and their relatives who worked on the cathedral.

The Old End

The Old End

This is the older end of the cathedral, completed while Gaudí was still alive. The stonework simultaneously evokes the heavy Gothic style and yet the proportions and naturalistic bent of the decorations also pull in the Catalan Modernisme movement.

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