Any country that can give birth, over a 52 year period, to Antoni Gaudi (1852-1926), Pablo Picasso (1881-1973) and Salvador Dali (1904-1989) has to have had something in the drinking water. Last year we toured Dali's castle in Pubol and the museum in Figueres. This year we went to see three of Gaudi's famous architectural masterpieces in Barcelona.
The first stop was Casa Batllo, which was just a couple of blocks from Place de Catalunya which is the "centre" of the city. This is a house that Gaudi did the remodeling design for a private business man (who could afford him). We had bought tickets in advance, (@22.50 Euro, so skipped the line up. It supposedly represents an underwater experience. They say there are no straight lines or square corners in the entire building. (The dog house I built two years ago can make the same claim). One had to admire the craftsmen who built it to spec. There are great pictures on the website (linked above) and also Google images. These are some I liked - woodwork!
Next stop was La Pedrera or Casa Mila. Tanya went through this one. I can only take so much before my brain starts melting into one of Dali's paintings. The 27 Euro I saved on entry fee we spent on lunch. Great pictures on the website and on Google images.
After lunch we hiked to the famous La Sagrada Familia Cathedral. It has been under construction for well over 130 years. Gaudi worked on it until he died in 1926 and others took over. These pictures are from the back of the cathedral. There are great pictures on the website and Google images. We arrived at 2:00 pm and were told we would get inside with the 5:00 tour group. So we figured out the Metro and went to the Cathedral of Barcelona instead (more on that another time).
It was a Best Day Ever for Tanya until 6:00 pm when we took the wrong train home,
The first stop was Casa Batllo, which was just a couple of blocks from Place de Catalunya which is the "centre" of the city. This is a house that Gaudi did the remodeling design for a private business man (who could afford him). We had bought tickets in advance, (@22.50 Euro, so skipped the line up. It supposedly represents an underwater experience. They say there are no straight lines or square corners in the entire building. (The dog house I built two years ago can make the same claim). One had to admire the craftsmen who built it to spec. There are great pictures on the website (linked above) and also Google images. These are some I liked - woodwork!
Next stop was La Pedrera or Casa Mila. Tanya went through this one. I can only take so much before my brain starts melting into one of Dali's paintings. The 27 Euro I saved on entry fee we spent on lunch. Great pictures on the website and on Google images.
After lunch we hiked to the famous La Sagrada Familia Cathedral. It has been under construction for well over 130 years. Gaudi worked on it until he died in 1926 and others took over. These pictures are from the back of the cathedral. There are great pictures on the website and Google images. We arrived at 2:00 pm and were told we would get inside with the 5:00 tour group. So we figured out the Metro and went to the Cathedral of Barcelona instead (more on that another time).
It was a Best Day Ever for Tanya until 6:00 pm when we took the wrong train home,
wow..such beauty
ReplyDeleteI studied Gaudi's work 'way back in the dark days of art/architectural history classes, but I've never seen a photo of that spiral stair in Casa Batlo before. Gaudi was a wack-job, but the craftsman who built that stair was a genius.
ReplyDeleteAmen, sister. Say what you will about Gaudi, those who built to his design were incredibly talented.
DeleteThere is actually structural logic that gives the forms (Gaudi regarded statically determinate structures as god-given, and these often turn out to be biomorphic), but it's much more fun to pretend it's all chaotic.
ReplyDeleteGaudi was brilliant (as were Picasso and Dali). I guess I should appreciate it more but I like realist art (NOT Soviet realist). I like western art and sculpture, if that explains me.
DeleteBut, see, architecture is not a realist art. Buildings don't "look like" anything else; buildings are things. In which case what makes one design more "realistic" than another?
DeleteNow I have to go back and think about things all over again. Thank you. My horizons just got bigger
DeleteBTW, thanks for your remarks over at my blog!
ReplyDelete