Detail of Façade with statues
Temple Expiatori de la Sagrada Famila
Antoni Gaudí
1884-1926 and still under construction
Barcelona, Spain
Other views of La Sagrada Famila
Photograph 1999 and text by George P. Landow [You may use this image without prior permission for any scholarly or educational purpose as long as you (1) credit the photographer and (2) link your document to this URL.]
A view from one of the open porches that provide views of the building; the one good thing about walking down rather than taking the lift.First, note the way Gaudí emphasizes the angular, massiveness of his classicizing statues, which have such solid volumes and, second, the way he contrasts the statues, which are traversed by incised lines, with the curving elements in the facade and windows — again Gaudí's version of gothic. He works hard to make his architecture seem like vegetation, organic and flowing, and he works equally hard to make his human beings stand apart from the natural/unnatural world of his architecture.
Note, too, the raised, colored texts he placed upon supports that hold the twisted pillars, something Gaudí repeats on the main towers themselves. Beneath the level of the statues Gaudí's characteristic intepretations of gothic continue, as he includes the usual windows to which he's added what look like roses — a new version of a rose window, I assume, and a challenge to Chartres.
Bibliography
Greenhalgh, Paul, ed. Art Nouveau, 1890-1914. New York: Harry N. Abrams, 2000.
Last modified 19 September 2008