The Life, Works And Influences Of Antoni Gaudi Essay, Research Paper

Born Antoni Placid Guillem Gaudi Cornet, on the morning of Wednesday June the 25th, 1852, to parents Francesc Gaudi Serra and Antonia Cornet Bertram. He was the youngest of five and spent most of his childhood in Tarragona. Suffering from a rheumatic problem, the young Gaudi was often unable to play with his friends and on many occasions was forced to miss school. With all this extra time, Gaudi passed hour upon hour simply gazing at nature, particularly animals, plants and stones.

Although not academically gifted, he displayed a keen intellect and a tendency not to just accept things as they were but to challenge, when told that birds had wings with which to fly, he argued, claiming that the flightless chickens in his yard used the wings for running faster, already he showed an interest of form following function.

This he was further indoctrinated in this theory with the teachings of John Ruskin who had preached that ornament was the origin of architecture. Viollet-le-Duc´s book on medieval French architecture of the 11th-16th centuries, from which his fascination for gothic architecture was born. He learned, from the words of Le-Duc, that gothisism was a result of the quest to unite pointed arches and spires with the support of ribbed vaulting. This greatly frustrated Gaudi and re-enforced his views on form following function.

As Gaudi matured, he became increasingly aware of his Catalan heritage. He was extremely proud of his roots and was a prominent figure in the pursuit of obtaining official recognition for the independence of Catalonia. When questioned about his somewhat Nordic appearance he was said to have lost his temper on countless occasions. With a nationalist spirit, he wanted to promote the prominence of Catalan history and culture. He looked back to earlier Catalan architecture and building techniques and tried to incorporate these traits into his projects.

Having moved to Barcelona, he finished his education and attended many courses in architecture and construction. with all this learning, he developed an unparalleled knowledge of the structural aspect of architecture. With the intention of finding beauty in the utility of his buildings, he conceived and designed many new techniques. Examples of his architectural ingenuity are the parabolic arch and the off-set pillar. While supporting more weight than conventional pillars and arches, they were perhaps more aesthetically pleasing to the eye and opened up new areas of space between the supports.

He was obsessed in bidding farewell to the straight line, and almost as a rule did not include them in his work. Remembering what Ruskin had taught, Gaudi added minimal or no ornament to his designs. He relied on the emulation of nature in his buildings to convey decor and aesthetics

In finding a patron, Industrialist Eusebi Guell, he started realising some of his ambitions. He began working in the profession he loved and also, was somewhat of a high flyer in Barce society.

Under Guell, he designed some of the most staggering structures of the early, and perhaps entire, 20th century.

Achievements such as the Park Guell, La Casa Mila, La Casa Vicens, the crypt of the famous Colonia Guell and no doubt his most ambitious and most famous vision, La Sagrada Familia.

He devoted 43 years of his life to this work, but even this was not enough for the mighty feat of construction. On the 10th June 1926, Antoni Gaudi Cornet was run over just outside of his most famous creation.

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