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Biography of Antoni Gaudí

Antoni Gaudí i Cornet (1852-1926) is the genius behind La Pedrera - Casa Milà and one of the world’s most renowned architects. His unique, unclassifiable style, along with his innovative spirit, led him to design some of Barcelona’s most emblematic buildings. Gaudí’s work, original in its approach, transcended his time and the different architectural styles of the period.

“My ideas are indisputably logical; the only thing that makes me doubt them is that they have not been applied before.” - Antoni Gaudí

Gaudí’s life was marked by an attentive observation of nature, always seeking rationality in forms, in order to extract all its potential and usefulness in construction. His work, set in the context of the rise of Modernisme in Catalonia at the end of the 19th century, is a testimony to his creative genius.

His life

1852

Mas de la Calderera, Riudoms

Birth, childhood and youth

On Friday 25 June 1852, at half past nine in the morning, Antoni Gaudí i Cornet was born, the son of Antonia Cornet de Reus and Francisco Gaudí Serra, a coppersmith from Riudoms. The following day, he was baptised in the priory church of Saint Peter. Reus was the town of his mother’s family, where they lived and had their copper workshop.

Gaudí, the youngest of the family, had five siblings, two of whom, Maria and Francesc, died before the age of five. Gaudí attended primary and secondary school in Reus.

Due to ill health, Gaudí spent periods of time at the family home in Riudoms, where direct contact with nature was key for the future architect. Gaudí’s mother is attributed with introducing him to the joy of the flowers, leaves, insects and birds around Mas de la Calderera to distract him from his troubles.

Mas de la Calderera, a country house located in Riudoms, eight kilometres from Reus, was the family’s second home and where young Gaudí spent part of his childhood and youth. The family called it the maset: one hectare of land with a small one-storey house without a chimney.

1852

1869

Project for a monumental fountain for Plaça Catalunya.

Barcelona, 1877 © Gaudí Chair Archive. ETSAB. UPC 

Barcelona, 1876 © Gaudí Chair Archive. ETSAB. UPC 

Barcelona, 1877 © Gaudí Chair Archive. ETSAB. UPC 

From student to architect

At the age of seventeen, he moved to Barcelona to finish his education. In September 1873, he enrolled in the School of Architecture. Gaudí’s academic record allows us to follow the progress of his studies, which was somewhat irregular although he excelled in drawing, mathematics and projects, which he passed with brilliant marks. He was a dedicated student, in his own way.

Gaudí combined his studies with collaborations with prestigious architects who saw great potential in him.

At the age of 26, Gaudí took his final exam, and on 15 March 1878 he was finally awarded a degree in architecture. The expression famously attributed to the school’s director, Elies Rogent, speaking with the teaching staff: “I do not know if we have awarded this degree to a madman or to a genius; only time will tell.”

1869

1878

First professional card

First portrait of Gaudí at the age of 26.© Municipal Institute of Reus Culture

Journal of the Catalanist Association of Scientific Excursions.

Young dandy and architect

Gaudí’s vocation for architectural work was strong and passionate. Gaudí could now receive commissions and sign as an architect, designing his first card as a professional “Antº Gaudí, architect. Office: Barcelona-Call-11-3”.

Although Gaudí never forgot his modest origins, in his early years as an architect he got carried away by the prosperity he was gradually achieving. Gaudí was of medium height, blue-eyed, with a beard and long hair, fashionable at the time and neatly groomed. He was a regular in restaurants, smoked cigars and was well-dressed, in a morning coat and top hat.

Gaudí did not marry, although it is not clear whether this was of his own free will or because he was unlucky when he made proposals, as in the case of the young Pepita Moreu, to whom he supposedly proposed. Two other disappointments in love made him desist from further amorous experiences

At this time, Eusebi Güell y Bacigalupi was key. In addition to becoming Gaudí’s great patron, the two were linked by a great and deep friendship. Their relationship was the most intense he had with a client.

He became a member of the Associació Catalanista d’Excursions Científiques, where he befriended poet and priest Jacint Verdaguer. The historical-artistic encounters/excursions took him to Catalonia, Mallorca and some towns in the south of France.

And he soon received his first major commissions.

1878

1883

Gaudí showing the works of the Sagrada Família, 1911 © National Archive of Catalonia. Brangulí Collection.

Gaudí receiving communion, 1916 © Barcelona Photographic Archive. Frederic Ballell, photographer.

Gaudí’s bedroom in the Sagrada Família, c.1924

Gaudí. Barcelona Cathedral, 1924 © National Archive of Catalonia. Brangulí Collection.

Years of maturity

The mature Gaudí was an austere man, with an almost spartan life, protective of his privacy, devoted to his family, his few friends and above all to his work. Those who knew Gaudí emphasise his strong personality, which can be summed up in a clear intelligence, fine sensitivity and deep passion for work. His collaborators called him Anton or Mr Gaudí. Gaudí made no secret of his impetuous character, which, as he himself said, he had tried to control all his life.

In 1906, Gaudí bought a house in Park Güell and moved in with his father and niece. His father died that same year. At the beginning of 1912 his niece, Rosa Egea Gaudí, died. From then on, instead of remaining alone in the house at Park Güell, he preferred to stay in the Sagrada Família workshop, where he spent the last years of his life.

In 1910, Gaudí suffered from severe anaemia due to overwork and spent some time in Vic. A year later, ill with Maltese fever, he moved to Puigcerdà. During his stay, Gaudí became ill and wrote his will on 9 June 1911.

Gaudí’s circle of friends included poet Joan Maragall, Bishop Grau, Jesuit Ignacio Casanovas, lawyer Martí Trias and doctor Pere Santaló.

Gaudí’s fame had been consolidating, crossing frontiers. In the spring of 1910, an exhibition of Gaudí’s work was organised at the Salon de la Société des Beaux-Arts in Paris.

1883

1924

Gaudí arrested

An episode in Gaudí’s life that shows his strong character and deep civic and religious convictions is his arrest in 1924. On 11 September 1924 the Spiritual League of Our Lady of Montserrat, of which Gaudí was a member, organised a mass in the church of Saints Justus and Pastor, very close to the city’s Town Hall.

The church was open and Gaudí wanted to enter, but the police would not let him in because during the dictatorship of Miguel Primo de Rivera all acts of national vindication were forbidden. Gaudí was arrested for confronting the police. He considered that they had no authority to ban him from worshipping, which for Gaudí was only the bishop’s, or addressing them in Catalan.

He was detained for four hours and had to pay a fine to get out. As he had no money with him, he sent a note to the parish priest of the church of La Mercè to help him pay the fine. The parish priest quickly came forward with 75 pesetas: 50 to pay Gaudí’s fine and the other 25 to pay that of a prisoner, a travelling salesman, who was with him and on whom Gaudí took pity.

1924

1926

Magazine "Mundo gráfico" (Madrid), 16/6/1926

Magazine "Gaseta de les Arts", 01/07/1926

The death of Gaudí

On the afternoon of Monday 7 June 1926, Gaudí went to the oratory of Sant Felip Neri. Near Plaça de Tetuán, absorbed in his thoughts, he was run over by a tram. He was knocked out and taken to Hospital de la Santa Creu. No one recognised him, he was humbly dressed and had no documents, only a book of the Gospels in his pocket. Gaudí survived for three days. He was visited by friends and collaborators and died on 10 June at the age of 73.

On 12 June, a huge funeral procession accompanied his coffin to the Sagrada Família, where he was buried in the crypt. Gaudí’s death had a great impact on Barcelona society and dozens of articles were published in newspapers and magazines. His funeral was attended by a huge crowd, highlighting the dichotomy between artist-genius and popular figure.

In the Gaceta de las Artes of 1 July 1926, Joaquim Folch i Torres devotes an effusive six-page article to the architect with the title “El duelo común” (Our common mourning). “When Gaudí died, we witnessed the paradox of a great collective mourning, of a ‘common’ mourning for the passing to a better life of the great artist who has almost always worked against ‘common sense’. The phenomenon of Gaudí’s popularity is extremely curious, and at the same time the fact of a real collective grief, as sincere and profound as that of the Catalans at the death of an architect, is unique. It would be hard to find a similar case in contemporary history and it would not abound in the history of past ages, and even less so with the precedent that almost nobody liked the work of this architect.”

1926

Antoni Gaudí’s works

Architecture of La Pedrera

Modernisme

Biography of Antoni Gaudí

His life

Visit La Pedrera, one of Gaudí’s finest works

Antoni Gaudí’s works

Architecture of La Pedrera