Antoni Gaudi: Catalan Architect Essay

“Atonement” by Bret Lott is an essay based on a father struggling with his children. Bret clashes with his children all morning long about dishes and combing of the hair. The last straw was when Zeb didn’t put his shoes on for karate practice. Once Zeb got into the car Bret was anything but solicitous. Due to a morning full of chaos, Bret was easy to snap at Zeb for a tiny disagreement. After sitting in silence, Bret realized what he did was boorish. Before Zeb went in for karate practice, Bret apologized for yelling. Jacob chimed in from the backseat asking for Wendy’s. That day Bret learned what atonement meant. Bret Lott was able to reach out and relate to everyone including: children, parents, and society.

An influential figure in architecture of the twentieth century, Luis Barragán made his mark by inciting an architecture of modern simplification of form and imbuing it with the warmth and vibrance of his native Mexico. He is celebrated for his mastery of space and light and use of vivid colors and textural contrasts in his works. Aside from his architectural design, he is noted for his distinct approach to landscape design, which sought to accentuate natural surroundings and enhance the local foliage and terrain of Mexico. Though his formal education is in engineering, his ever growing fascination with architecture impelled his desire to develop his own take on modernism and led him to modernize Mexican architecture.

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

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

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,

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.

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

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 difference between the Middle Ages and the Renaissance is most visible through art and architecture, demonstrated specifically through an emphasis on religion or classical antiquity, and humanity. During the Middle Ages, art was more religious because it had a very religious influence from the church having such great power in the community. When the Renaissance started, art became more focused on ancient Greece. The Greek influence was because scholars were broadly studying the revival of classical antiquity. The architecture was affected in the same way because in the Middle Ages the style of the buildings was being influenced by religion. The style in the Renaissance was being more influenced by ancient Greece.

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

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:

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

The era known as the Baroque period includes the seventeenth and most of the eighteenth centuries in Europe. The Baroque style was a style in which the art and artists of the time focused upon details and intricate designs. Their art often appeals to the mind by way of the heart. During this time the portraits began to portray modern life, and artists turned their backs on classical tradition. Much of the art shows great energy and feeling, and a dramatic use of light, scale, and balance (Preble 302). Buildings were more elaborate and ornately decorated. These works of art created history and altered the progress of Western Civilization. Architecture such as the palace of Versailles, and artists like

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.

Antonio Gaudí is, under Santiago Calatrava’s point of view, an example of architectonical innovation just by mixing a singular talent with a solid technical formation. “Gaudí”, he says, “is a big artist by himself. His work can be understand in the context of catalan modernism, but he really is a big personality that emerges on the XXth century.”