The Outstanding Architect Antoni Gaudí

The architect Antoni Gaudí was more than just an architect; he was an artist who left behind evidence of his genius. His style is completely unique.

There is a reason why so many of his works appear on the UNESCO World Heritage List.

Gaudí had three passions: nature, art and religion. He had taken virtually no private life because he devoted himself entirely to his work and these subjects.

His architectural works were popular already during his lifetime, but people began to appreciate his work even more after his death. Today he is known as one of the most important architects ever.

There are also many who study his work.

The architect Antoni Gaudí – a silent child

One of the most remarkable things about Antoni Gaudí’s life was that he was born into a family of craftsmen.

The five generations before him had manufactured copper products. His father and grandparents made barrels for wine production in Tarragona.

Gaudí often mentioned that he got his inspiration during his childhood when he became accustomed to seeing the world as three-dimensional. For him, you could shape all materials and large objects.

He therefore later applied this unique concept to his design.

No one knows if Antoni Gaudí was born in Reus or Riudoms. He himself said that he came from different places throughout his life.

We know, however, that he was born on June 25, 1852, and that his health was so fragile that his parents chose to baptize him in the Catholic Church the next day because they thought he was going to die.

Antoni was often ill as a child. This made him introverted and to someone who observed nature. His architectural design always imitated organic things he found in nature.

He preferred curves that resembled the real world instead of straight lines. This made him have a special style.

A different architect

After his family moved to Barcelona, ​​Antoni Gaudí started at the School of Architecture in 1874. In the same year, he developed his first design and immersed himself in architectural works in different cultures.

In 1876 his mother and brother died. She was 57 and his brother only 25. The latter had recently graduated as a doctor. This double tragedy was a severe blow to Gaudí.

He had to work part-time as a draftsman to be able to complete his education. Three years later, his last sister Rosa died, leaving a daughter whom Gaudí took care of.

That same year he met Eusebio Guell, who later became a very good friend of his. Antoni thus became more popular.

Misfortune and happiness

Antoni Gaudí loved only one woman throughout his life. Her name was Pepeta Moreu.

She worked with embroidery and wrote to him to tell him that the banner for Cooperativa Obrera Mataronense was too difficult to make. It was love at first sight.

After that, he started eating at Pepeta’s house every Sunday. He mostly took Rosa, his niece, with him. When he proposed to Pepeta, she said no.

Antoni Gaudí was not exactly a supermodel. In fact, he was the exact opposite. Some say that Pepeta said no because she could not marry a man who “had a mustache full of strings”.

In 1883 he began constructing his masterpiece Basílica de la Sagrada Família in Barcelona. He became more and more mysterious and religious and devoted more time to his works than ever before.

Gaudí attended Catholic Masses several times a day and fasted immensely, which came to endanger his health.

He also had to endure the death of both his father and his niece. Even his good friend Eusebio Guell passed away.

Antoni Gaudí himself was hit by a picture in 1926. Because he looked like a homeless person, the authorities took him to a hospital in a shelter. He died three days later and Barcelona still mourns him today.