Antoni Gaudí

ANTONI GAUDÍ (Reus or Riudoms, Tarragona, 1852 - Barcelona, 1926).
"St. George and the dragon", ca. 1900.
Gilded stucco.
Edited by Esteve & Cia.
Measurements:

Ceiling panel in gilded stucco made by Antoni Gaudí in the workshops of Esteve & Cía. Gaudí integrated his architecture with multiple artistic disciplines, and for this he worked with the best craftsmen of the time in different fields: carpentry, ceramics, wrought iron, glasswork and, as in this case, decorative stucco. Esteve & Cía was one of the leading decorative and stucco companies of the time in Barcelona, collaborating with modernist architects in the production of wall coverings and sculptural ornamentation. The use of gilded stucco in interior decoration was common in Catalan modernist architecture, especially in residential and religious spaces, providing a sense of luxury and luminosity. Gaudí experimented with this technique in different projects, incorporating organic textures and undulating effects that gave a dynamic character to his designs. The soffit is dominated by a relief of St. George slaying the dragon. In this context, the figure was used as a symbol of Catalan identity. The golden surface of the soffit undulates with the characteristic deliquescences of Gaudí's modernism, evoking the fluid forms of nature that inspired the architect. It is possible that the soffit was part of the decoration of a private residence or institutional building. Similar elements are found in buildings such as Casa Batlló and Casa Milà.

The maximum representative of Catalan modernism, Gaudí is one of the most outstanding architects and decorators in European history. Already as a child he liked hiking, the direct contact with nature. Having stood out as a child for his drawings, he studied architecture at the Escuela de la Llotja and the Escuela Técnica Superior de Arquitectura de Barcelona, where he graduated in 1878. With his first major commission, the Casa Vicens, Gaudí began to acquire renown, and to attract increasingly larger commissions. In 1878 he exhibited at the Universal Exposition in Paris a showcase made for the Comella glove shop. This piece, with its modernist and functional design, impressed the industrialist Eusebi Güell, a key figure in Gaudí's artistic biography. In fact, Güell was, in addition to being Gaudí's great friend, his main patron, and commissioned some of his most outstanding works, such as the Park Güell. In 1883 he accepted the commission to continue the work on the Sagrada Familia; Gaudí totally modified the initial project, and this construction became his masterpiece, on which he worked until the day of his death. This project was followed by other important commissions, such as the episcopal palace of Astorga, the Batlló and Milá houses and the restoration of the cathedral of Palma de Mallorca. In 1910 the first exhibition dedicated to Gaudí was held at the Grand Palais in Paris. After his death, important retrospectives of the architect were held, including the one at the MOMA in New York, his first major international exhibition, which took place in 1957. Since the mid-twentieth century Gaudí's appreciation has been increasing, culminating with the proclamation of several of his works as World Heritage Sites by UNESCO in 1984 (Park Güell, Palacio Güell and Casa Milá), and 2005 (crypt and apse of the Sagrada Familia, the houses Vicens and Batlló and the crypt of the Colonia Güell). Gaudí's designs for furniture and decorative arts can currently be admired at the Musée d'Orsay in Paris, the MOMA in New York, the National Gallery of Art in Washington D.C. and the National Museum of Art of Catalonia, as well as in his House-Museum in Park Güell.