Catalonia at the end of the 19th century |
Gaudí grew up during a time when Catalonia was rediscovering its glorious past. The period is named la renaixença in Catalan. The use of the word renaissance alludes to the fact that the people of Catalonia wanted to get back to the greatness of the Catalan middle ages - a time where Catalonia was an independent superpower in the Mediterranean.
This came at a time when Catalonia experienced an economic prosperity, which primarily was due to the growing industrialization of Catalonia. The economic and cultural climate created frames that were the perfect conditions for a renewal within the arts, and architecture that goes under the name of modernism. The greatness of the middle ages and the gothic architecture were the most important influences for the architects and artists at the end of the 19th century.
A wide movement
Gaudí quickly became one of the most important architects of the period - but he was far from being the only men he was far from being alone. The Catalan modernism was a wide movement that influenced a great quantity of artists, architects and artisans. Among the most important persons were Lluís Domènech i Montaner (1850-1923), Josep Puig i Cadafalch (1867-1956), Josep Vilaseca i Casanovas (1848-1910) og Enric Sagnier (1858-1931) – besides Antoni Gaudí (1852-1926).
The meeting with Eusebi Güell
During the summer of 1878 Gaudí met the very rich industrialist Eusebi Güell i Bacigalupi. The two men had in common that they were Catalan nationalists and interested in art. Eusebi Güell had created his fortune thanks to the growth within the textile industry, and during his journeys to England he had leant about the newest trends of art and had enlarged his knowledge about socialism and social residence construction.
Earlier this year, Güell had visited the Universal Exposition in Paris and among other things he had seen a 3 meter high display cabinet made of crystal – created by Gaudí. Güell was impressed and the two men met. Eusebi Güell was then 31 years old while Gaudí was 26. They were both to live many more years and the meeting between them meant to start a collaboration and friendship that were to last for many years. The collaboration between Gaudí and Güell gave Barcelona some of its most charismatic architectonic works. |
