There is something all Gaudí souvenirs in Barcelona have in common and they all come to grasp the enormous charm of this unique style the architect printed to all his works. These small pieces, either they have more or less quality, aim to bring to our home or our loved ones the spirit of the genius of Gaudí . How to resume the famous Gaudí style?
Imagen: byebuybarcelona.com
Nature as a permanent element
If there is something constantly standing on the work of the great architect of Reus is the presence of natural elements, especially vegetables.Antoni Gaudí has been a nature lover since his origins. Its famous escapades and routes along the paths of Catalonia were the perfect place for him to find inspiration.
Not only are the natural elements used as decorative elements, but we can also remark the perfection of nature which he imitated in his architectural works. In fact, pillars and columns of the Sagrada Familia imitate the firmness and establishment of tree trunks, as we can see in the small interpretation centre located in the basilica itself.
The Inspiration of the sea
Nature in vegetative state was not the only point of inspiration for Gaudí. As a good Mediterranean inhabitant, the sea is also present in all his work: from the shells and starfish that we see in the tiles (the most famous design is that with seaweeds, shells and starfish with which he covered the floor of the Casa Batlló and we can enjoy today as a reproduction in the pavement of the Paseo de Gracia) to the sinuous forms representing the waves in works such as the passage to the hall of the Park Güell.
“Horror vacui”
The horror vacui art is the “fear of emptiness”, such as the fear of the absence of decoration. It emerged already in Egyptian times and modernist architects used this style in the facades of buildings in response to the much more sober and devoid of remarkable industrial architecture elements.
Gaudí, as adept to the modernism movement did not hesitate to apply the concept to each of their works and we can see facades completely finished off by iconography and decoration, where there is hardly no corners without any element and where complements (railings, doors, windows etc.) are as important as the structure.
The curve as a significant element
It is not a secret that the undulating facades are a constant in the Gaudí style: from the Casa Batlló and La Pedrera as exponents, to the Sagrada Familia and that hidden gem which is Bellesguard Tower; Gaudí’s work does not follow straight lines or smooth facades.
However what makes Gaudí style so significant is just that: it is a style. It doesn’t matter if it follows the modernist canons or another style already invented, the sum of all its elements creates unique works, hardly reproducible by other artists. And for that reason, having an ornament with the signature of Gaudi is having a unique and exclusive element.