Antoni Gaudi: Catalan Architect Essay

Great insights went into the intricate composition of Francisco Goya’s painting The Third of May 1808, his painting utilizes the principles of art and design which displays all six principles: unity and variety; emphasis; balance; rhythm and movement; perspective; and proportion and scale. All six principles could also be identified and critically analyzed within his painting The Third of May 1808 which ultimately resulted in a whole cohesive composition.

The sketches were of buildings that were eventually built in and around Rome. The Renaissance revival of Classical Rome was as important in architecture as it was in literature. During the Renaissance, architects trained as humanists helped raise the status of their profession from skilled laborer to artist. They hoped to create structures that would appeal to both emotion and reason The other sketch that I found in the capsule from the Age of Baroque of building were abstract and slightly deformed. The most notable characteristics are the use of movement, such as a curving wall or a fountain with jets of water forever changing shape (Encyclopedia of Art History,

Donato Bramante was best known for his architecture and his painting.This is what made him such an influential artist. Donato’s architectural skills far surpassed his

Although it does resemble Gothic architecture, it does so in a unique way that is characteristic of the architect Antoni Gaudi (The Sagrada Familia). However, Gaudi’s masterpiece does not follow the definition of Gothic style architecture. “This new architecture, based on the precision of geometry, can be effectively adapted to the new graphic and building technologies. As a consequence, the quality of the works in the Sagrada Familia increases clearly as the construction processes technology is improved. This project is therefore advanced for its time and is also very suitable to the technologies of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries” (Aguado et al., 94). Gaudi believes that the inside of La Sagrada Familia should be left strictly for worship and the outside should tell the story of the Catholic faith. The story that Gaudi wishes to portray can be told by the towers, the east entrance, and the west entrance, which all resemble different aspects of the life of Jesus Christ. This is uncharacteristic of Gothic style cathedrals and basilicas because there are usually small chapels inside the church that explain the stories that relate to Catholicism. Gaudi also has a unique style of architecture that uses geometry to create pillars, columns, arches, as well as allow more light to enter his Gothic style building that had never been seen before. His unique take on the Gothic style was

Luis Barragán was born on March 9th, 1902 in Guadalajara in Jalisco, Mexico. Son of wealthy, conservative parents, Barragán was raised on an estate owned by the family in the southern state of Jalisco. His parent’s would afford him opportunities that would soon shape his future as an influential Architect. At the age of 17, Barragán enrolled in the Escuela Libre de Ingenieros (Free School of Engineers) in Guadalajara and began his education as an Engineer. Throughout his education, Barragán worked for various builders and, after a few years, for his brother Juan José—who was an engineer. During this time, Barragán’s fascinated with Architecture began to blossom. In 1923, at the age of 21, Luis Barragán received his degree in engineering and continued his

Ghilberti wrote his own book The Commentary, about his art, career, and what interested him, much of his history comes from this book along with Vasari’s book on the artists of his time. Ghilberti made the claim of being “the” designer of his time and that he influenced many other painters. Ghilberti was trained

In Florence, Italy, a young prodigy began his work that would become an icon of Renaissance art and inspire the world through new ideas within and outside of art. Leonardo da Vinci Unlike many artists who left the world with only their masterpieces, Leonardo, a ADHD man who could never seem to finish a project, left behind numerous incomplete works of art. That is why an aspect of Leonardo da Vinci’s life that I have found fascinating are his sketchbooks. When viewing these various sketchbooks, one can learn about how he creates his art, his diverse interests, and his ideas.

Leonardo Da Vinci (1452-1519), Florentine artist of the Renaissance (the period of Western European history stretching from the early 14th century to the mid to late 16th century), a painter, sculptor, architect, engineer, and scientist. His deep love for nature, knowledge, research and experience, was the central reason of both his artistic and scientific accomplishments. " Though I have no power to quote from authors as they do I shall rely on a bigger and more worthy thing-on experience."{The Notebooks of Leonardo Da Vinci pg.2} His originality in the field of painting influenced the course of Italian art for more than a century after his death, and his scientific studies--particularly in the fields of anatomy, optics, and

In 1884, Catalan architect Antoni Gaudí began work on La Sagrada Família (the Expiratory Church of the Holy Family,) a Catholic cathedral in Barcelona, Spain. What began as a modest Gothic Revival design by fellow architect Francisco de Paula del Villar transformed, under Gaudi’s direction, into a massive monument to Catholicism, Catalonia, and the city of Barcelona. Neither of the Gothic tradition nor Catalan Modernisme, La Sagrada Familia is known for its striking individuality at the turn of the twentieth century. as well as its enormous scale and plethora of motifs. While many people abhore the intense decoration and towering height, (people have obviously also thought it worthwhile because the building is still under meticulous construction to this very day and completion is anticipated in 2020, marking 140 years of construction.) Gaudi did not mind that the construction would last beyond his death because, when given the extent of his efforts, La Sagrada Familia became a vessel through which Gaudi could finally build to fruition the architectural conceptions he had been developing with previous projects. Throughout his career , Gaudi strove to imbue his architecture with a sense of life, and he was able to do this through geometry. [1] Meticulous calculations allowed Gaudi to translate this inspiration into architectural experiences. La Sagrada Familia was [Gaudi’s opportunity to literally build an illustration of the intimate connection he felt between nature and

In his early life, Michelangelo was born in a family of bankers, unfortunately not successful ones. Thus the Michelangelo family moved every so often and after a few months of Michelangelo’s birth, they moves to Florence where he was raised in most of his childhood. Unfortunately, their streak of bad luck continues since his mother became ill and weak to a point at the age of six, Michael lost his mother. As he was growing up, Michelangelo was put in a school of grammar although his presences were more into art and preferred to copy paintings I church and even be in the company of painters. At that time, Florence was the greatest city of the arts in Italy and also in architecture itself. As he was growing up, his interest in Architecture grew. The Architect Brunelleschi at that time was studying the old roman

Gaudi studied the natural form as a basis for his architectural detail and further considered this as the spiritual basis of and for his designs. Gaudi wrote:

One of the greatest artists in the history of art, Francisco Jose de Goya y Lucientes had his own and very peculiar life story that affected the way in which he viewed society in the different stages of his life. He became the pioneer of many new artistic tendencies that came about in the 19th century and his work extended over a period of 60 years in which he was both very acclaimed, and badly criticized. Francisco Goya, artist whose different paintings, drawings, and engravings reflected contemporary historical upheavals, influenced many important painters in the centuries that have followed.

Filippo Brunelleschi was one of the most important architects during the early renaissance period. He is considered one of the founding fathers of the renaissance period. His most famous work was the largest dome ever constructed that sits atop the Cathedral in Florence, Italy. In italian it is known as The Cattedrale di Santa Maria del Fiore, and it is the main church of Florence, Italy. The first stone was placed for the Cathedral on September 8, 1296, almost 80 years before Filippo Brunelleschi was born. The contract to build the great dome began in 1418, and it was completed in 1434. On March 25, 1436, the Florentine Cathedral was consecrated by Pope Eugene IV. A large fresco was painted over 130 years after by Giorgio Vasari and Federico Zuccari.

Filippo was the first Renaissance architect, his most famous work was The Cattedrale di Santa Maria del Fiore and the discovery of perspective. Filippo Brunelleschi is known as the originator of the Renaissance architectural style. Brunelleschi was a problem solver, he was an apprentice to a goldsmith, he was a sculptor, architecture, archeologist, and an inventor. Only a few men have left a legacy as monumental as Filippo Brunelleschi, solving complex problems of engineering and statics was another of Brunelleschi's wide-ranging abilities, he solves one of the greatest architectural puzzles and invented his way to success.

That’s what makes Antonio Gaudí an innovator of the time. That’s what makes him different from his contemporanean and the rest of architects, that he sees architecture as a game of imagination and creation, while the others stack to the classical idea of architecture, to the lineal shapes and the perfection of the simple. His radical conception of architecture still fascinates us nowadays, and we still admire his whole work.