A trip into the madness of a genius
Gaudi in Barcelona
Gaudi is certified mad. Fact.
Because nobody could possibly do what he did without drink or drugs inside him. His outrageous designs are hallucinogenic, disparate, the elements often unconnected, and made with a vision which had nothing to do with his age and background. I guess, that's the reason genius has necessarily to be a synonym for mad.
He's done several buildings, and the shock value of each just keeps on increasing. He faced a lot of opprobrium in his life, but there were also those who recognized that his iconoclasm would give their sponsored buildings to stand out. What, of course, resulted was immediate notoriety but also an enduring legacy, with an entire city becoming defined by him.
Barcelona belongs to Gaudi. It would be half the city without the cityscape being dotted with his standout buildings. Casa Batlló, Park Güell, La Pedrera. And his final masterpiece, which is still a work-in-progress - Sagrada Familia.
Antoni Gaudí, was a luminary of Catalan architecture, and he wove a tapestry of dreams and visions that still dance upon the vibrant streets of Barcelona. Born on June 25, 1852, in a small town called Reus, Gaudí’s genius as an architect was ignited by his profound love for nature, as time adn again he infused organic forms into his creations. Each stone and curve of his masterpieces seem to murmur stories, with Sagrada Família as his magnum opus, forever under construction, but even in its present state, embodying devotion, aspiration and endeavor.
His oeuvre, tinged with colors reminiscent of a Mediterranean landscape, encompass both the enchanting Casa Batlló, and the whimsical Park Güell, where mosaics bloom like wildflowers. Gaudí's unparalleled imagination transcended conventional boundaries, drawing inspiration from Gothic and Baroque styles, yet blooming into a genre uniquely his own—stylized, organic, and transcendental.
Tragically, his life met a sudden end in 1926, when a streetcar struck him, leaving behind this abiding legacy. Today, Gaudí stands not merely as an architect but as a poet of stone, his creations immortalized as whispers of spirituality, literally inviting all of us to pause, gaze, and reflect on the beauty of the world.
We saw two of his buildings intimately - Casa Batllo and Sagrada Familia. And were blown to bits.
Casa Batllo is an acid trip in the feeling it generates. Appropriately, they have a show called Gaudi's Dreams rendered as a journey into moving images set to music by The Chemical Brothers. The building itself is a proclamation of joy, a canvas of marine inspiration, a dream world that evokes both nature and fantasy. Consequently, he created a house full of symbols, fantastic imagery, a kind of a canvas that explains a virtually indecipherable story, to be completed by each individual with their own imagination.
My video of the visit -
And then - Sagrada Familia.
This is an experience. One could call it one’s man genius, or his obsession. But to conceive, design and execute something as audacious as this requires sheer abnormality!!! Gaudi spent 12 years on this - and the structure is still work-in-progress. He broke all rules of aesthetics, sound, light, and representations. Jesus on the cross is defiant, he is not bloodied. The spires are topped with what looks like ice cream cones, and the jaggedness of the facade is symbolic of life itself. But what enters the viewer's soul unerringly is the feeling of complete transcendence.
When you sit on the benches in front of the soaring altar, and the sun sets, and light comes streaming in through the stained glass windows high up on the walls, it seems one is sitting inside a poem.
After clicking to one’s heart’s content, the only thing to do is to keep on sitting, drenched in the red, orange and auburn of departures, and weep. At the despair of life, at what brought us here, at how it will take us back nearer to ourselves - and how, in spite of everything, there is nothing but beauty in life.
My video of the visit -
Go to Barcelona for its incredible vibracy, stay on for Gaudi, to discover - and rediscover - the entirety of his iconic work. Bring the glow back.
Have you read these essays on architecture -
I wrote on the mind-boggling work of Zaha Hadid and on Abin, the Howard Roark of our Times.
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