Antoni Gaudí i Cornet (25 June 1852 - 10 June 1926) was a Spanish Catalan architect from Reus and the best known practitioner of Catalan Modernism. Gaudí's works reflect an individualized and distinctive style. Most are located in Barcelona, including his magnum opus, the Sagrada Família. Gaudi is one of the most fascinating figures in modern architecture, and he holds a special place within the Modernisme and Catalan Renaixensa movements that coalesced at the turn of the century. Drawings were essential to Gaudi's creative process, which involved numerous preparatory studies leading to a final design. This publication catalogues the complete body of drawings that are known--some were lost, known through photographs, and others rediscovered as late as July 1979--drawings that through various turns of fate survived the wanton destruction of hundreds of Gaudi drawings during the political upheaval of 1936 in Catalonia. The drawings range from his student days in the Barcelona School of Architecture to some of his final projects. There are four broad categories of drawings: matter-of-fact outline drawings of administrative purpose, consisting of land surveys and layouts, and submissions to meet building ordinance requirements; presentation drawings to clients; working drawings, including graphic statics studies; sketches consisting of preparatory studies for specific structures, sketches of subjects other than architecture, and inspirational notations.
|
