Antonio Gaudi

"We can fully appreciate the worlds of a visual artist only when we understand the context in which they were created."

Discuss this statement with reference to the historical works of the visual artist Antonio Gaudi."

It has been said that, the work of Antonio Gaudi has transcended time, styles, and the period in which it was created. His achievements grew from his great ability to observe nature as it stands and incorporate the natural lines that are found in our organic world. Gaudi was a passionate observer, learning directly from what he saw in the sky, clouds, water, rocks, plants, animals and mountains. I agree with this statement so in order to understand his complex creations we must take into account the time of the works and the life that Gaudi lived.

Gaudi was born at the peak of Spanish disruption, the 19th century. Many wars broke out just before and after his 74 year lifetime, as well as the three Carlist wars that took place whilst he was alive. He arrived in Barcelona at seventeen and stayed there for the majority of his life thereafter. It was 1889 and the Catalan Modernist style was just beginning to become widespread during his first few years in the city. Catalan Modernism had very distinctive characteristics of multi-coloured mosaics, tiles decorated with motifs and relief patterns (usually designed by the architect), stunning stained glass, elegant lamps and candle holders made of delicate metal and glass, and large masculine stone sculptures that were painted white which then became part of the architects structure. This style had great impact on Guadi and many of his creations incorporated these traits. In finding out his history and background, we can then appreciate just how magnificently innovative his creations are.

Gaudi was surrounded by the history of Barcelona. Its stories told by the streets of the city, the Gothic Quarter is definitely one of the most grand and exciting parts of Barcelona, and it seems that this is the part of the city that Gaudi also took a liking to. His designs fell under influence of this style as he adapted some qualities of the Gothic style into his created works. He blended the movements known as Art Nouveau and Gothic. Gaudi himself considered architecture to be a living sculpture and he sought to create what he named the "Mediterranean Gothic." Taking the classic elements of Greek architecture, the characteristics of Gothic cathedrals, and the decorative nature motives of the Romantic Movement, he worked to adapt architecture to the Mediterranean climate. The development of his architectural style is very important as we can see where his inspiration came from. We are then able to understand how these visual arts were created.

Gaudi at the time of his peak as a well-known artist became fascinated by the tight link between shape and structure. For instance, the tree-columns of House Calvet or Crypte GuÐ"«ll. The highly resistant shell structures and the use of parabolic arch is a result of consistent research in structures with models. He used trial and error to see ways of creating objects that were not only captivating but also were very functional. Guadi thought that one could achieve beauty through seeking functionality. The breathtaking construction on the Sagrada Familia was done with Guadi's dictum in mind, "beauty can be found through functionality". The structure of the church is based on leaning columns whose upper parts