The architecture of Barcelona is modern in the company of Catalan Gothic. Masterpieces of Catalan Art Nouveau in Barcelona: every Sagrada Familia should see them
Eixample (Eixample) is a quarter to the north of the old one, with wide perpendicular streets and beautiful buildings of the modern era. The main attractions, in addition to elegant buildings, are absolutely fantastic houses and his world-famous masterpiece - famous.
Eixample route
Behind Placa de Catalunya the district begins Eixample(l'Eixample), the ideal, geometrically correct layout of which is strikingly different from.
In the middle of the XIX century. it became obvious to the city authorities that in the old districts there was a catastrophic lack of space for everyone who wanted to live and work there.
It was decided to build new residential quarters on the site of the small villages surrounding Barcelona (their names are preserved in the names of the streets; for example, it was built on the site of the village of Gracia; the plan for the expansion of the City was developed by architect I. Cerd-i-Sunera, but the Catalan word itself “l'Eixample” and means “expansion.” Cerda's plan was not fully implemented: for example, there are no patios provided for in each quarter.
Try to find some time for a leisurely walk around; even the ordinary houses of this area attract with their details - lattices on the balconies, ornaments on the walls, lanterns, door handles, etc. Pay attention to the unusual and very successful layout of the intersections: the corner houses have beveled corners, so the space of the square is significantly increased.
1 Passeig de Gracia
Eixample main thoroughfare - PAsseigdeGrAciA(Passech de Gracia), which rises from Place de Catalunya to Avinguda Diagonal.
The boulevard makes an unusually solid impression - most of the structures appeared on it at the beginning of the 20th century, and even beautiful curved benches with metal lanterns have survived to this day. Pay special attention to house Pascual y Ponce(Passeig de Gràcia, 2-4, apx. E. Sagnier, 1890); Pokamar's house(Passeig de Gràcia, 6-8, apx. Bassegoda, 1918) and a house Marfa(Passeig de Gràcia, 66, apx. M. Comas y Tos, 1905).
2. Manzana de la Discordia
The most famous quarter of the boulevard, located 10 min. walking on the odd side of Plaza de Catalunya is called Manzana de la Discordia(Manzana de la Discordia, exact translation from Spanish "apple of discord") or "quarter of disharmony". Here are the masterpieces of the modern era, included in all architectural encyclopedias. These buildings were ordered by the richest people in Barcelona, since since the 1910s. Passeig de Gràcia has become one of the most prestigious. The name of the quarter arose at the beginning of the 20th century, when several buildings were built next to each other, embodying the opposite directions of architectural modernity: Morera's house, Amatler's house and Batllo's house.
3. House of Leo Morera
House of Leo Morera(Passeig de Gràcia, 35) on the corner with Carrer del Consell de Cent built in 1902-1906. apx. L. Domenech-and-Montaner. Its facade is decorated with ornaments, sculptural images, carved columns. The interior design of the house is no less amazing, but it is closed to the public; you can only look into the road on the first floor.
4. House Amatlier
Neo-Gothic, pseudo-Flemish House Amatlier(Passeig de Gràcia, 41, 1900) was built by another famous Catalan architect-modernist D. Puig i Cadafalch, a younger contemporary of Domenech i Montaner and, he not only built houses, but was also a famous statesman, Mayor of Barcelona and President the first (after 1714) independent Catalan government. The house he built imitated the Flemish palaces; its walls from the foundation to the roof are covered with various decorations.
Pay attention to the intricate lanterns on the balcony, the carvings on the bay window and the sculptural groups near the doors depicting St. George with a dragon, a gypsy with a dancing bear, animals, etc. You can only see the interior of the Amatler house, now owned by the Institute of Spanish Art, together with a tour (Mon-Sat 10.00-19.00, Sun 10.00-14.00).
5. Gaudi's house - Batllo y Casa Novas
In one of the apartments there is a kind of museum of life of the modern era; note that there are no straight lines here! You can also climb to the fantastic roof, where the giant multi-colored ledges of the chimneys resemble medieval knights. It was on this roof that the shooting of the famous film by M. Antonioni “Profession: reporter” took place.
The house was built on the site of the temple of the Virgin Mary of the 11th century, and therefore its entire appearance is permeated with religious motives. The building was to be crowned by a colossal figure of the Madonna (12 m) with angels - the entire building of Mila's house would then be perceived as her grandiose pedestal. However, the Madonna was never installed because of the anti-church riots of the Tragic Week of 1909, when the crowd smashed and burned churches and monasteries. Religious symbols are present in all the buildings of Gaudí; The “silent wave of the blue mountain” (as the English art critic D. Ruskin called the house of Mila) was supposed to capture the “soul of Catalonia2 and resemble the monastery of Montserrat. However, it should be remembered that Gaudi intended to somewhat soften the impression of the harsh power of this house - the residents had to decorate their balconies with creeping and hanging flowers, cacti, palm trees, thereby complementing the architecture and sculpture of a living pa vegetative. The most important role in the construction of the Mila house was played by Gaudi's permanent assistant J. Jujol, who designed the wrought-iron grilles of the building's balconies.
- Opening hours: Mon - Sat 9 - 18:30 and 21 - 23
- Ticket: €20.50, students €16.50, with audio guide €27, afternoon and evening €39.50
8. Baro de Cuadros Palace
Another interesting structure of the modern era is located in the neighboring quarter, on Carrer del Rosello, 279 - this Palace of Baro de Cuadros(Palau del Baro de Quadros, apx. D. Puig i Cadafalch, 1904). Not far from it (Avinguda Diagonal, 420) stands another building of this architect - Casa de les Punches(Casa de les Punxes). Second name - Casa Terppades("house with peaks", or "house with needles"). The house got its name because of the six sharp towers at the corners, crowned with peaked spiers.
9. Sagrada Familia
Passeig de Gracia and the streets adjacent to it are built up with residential buildings of the Art Nouveau era; but it is impossible to bypass the largest religious construction of that time - the famous temple Sagrada Familia(Sagrada Familia, Sagrada Familia). You can walk to it along Avebguida Diagonal and then along Carrer de Provenca, or you can get there by (Sagrada Familia metro station) or by tourist bus.
This temple is the main symbol of Barcelona; seeing him, the Bishop of Barcelona called the architect Gaudi "Dante of our time."
Entrance - only the cathedral - 15 €, the cathedral, towers and audio guide - 26 €.
10. Park Guell
The perfect end to the "Barcelona Modern Day" will be a walk along (Parc Guell, in winter 9.00-18.00, in summer 9.00-21.00, metro Lesseps, from October 2013 - entrance - paid: € 7 online and € 8 at the box office), created according to the project of A. .
In the summer of 1899, Eusebio Güell bought a farm on the western outskirts of Barcelona, on the slope of Mount Pilada (Bald Mountain). Having bought neighboring plots of land, Güell decided to implement an extraordinary social experiment. He dreamed of creating a private park with an area of about 15 hectares, dividing it into several dozen plots and renting out the buildings built on them to rich people who wanted a comfortable, beautiful and peaceful life. The park was planned to be surrounded by a high wall. Gaudi was supposed to be the author of almost 60 buildings, and he was going to build them in a truly Catalan spirit.
Almost all buildings in the Gaudi park were decorated with bright mosaics made of small ceramic fragments. Gaudí invented this method himself and called it “trenkardis”. According to one legend, the architect collected fragments on the streets of Barcelona and garbage cans; according to another - to achieve the desired color effect, he broke precious services. Having risen from the bench to the right, you can go to Gaudí House Museum(Casa-Museu de Gaudi), where the architect lived from 1906 to 1926 with his niece. Being engaged in the organization of the park space, Gaudi tried to preserve everything created by nature as much as possible - therefore, in the park you can admire real caves, unusual thin columns resembling trees, and fantastic flowers.
CATALAN MODERNISM - (Spanish "modernismo catalan") - a national-romantic trend in the art of Spain during the Modern period of the late XIX - early XX centuries. The ideas of this movement were formed in a circle of Spanish Pre-Raphaelites, which was headed by the painter, art theorist, collector and philanthropist Pablo Mila i Fontanals (1810 -1883). In 1851-1856. Mila i Fontanals was a professor at the School of Fine Arts in Barcelona. The study and restoration of the monuments of medieval Catalonia was carried out by the architect Lluis Domenech i Montaner (1850 -1923). Archaeologist, writer, researcher of architecture José Puig y Cadafalch (1867 -1956) participated in the Arts and Crafts movement, which originated in England, in the workshops of W. Morris, built buildings in Barcelona in neo gothic style with Art Nouveau elements. But most of all, the movement of "Catalan modernism" is associated with the name of the science fiction architect Antonio Gaudi (1852-1926). The customer and patron of this unusual artist was Mila i Fontanals. Gaudí was called the "genius of the Modern". He is from Catalonia and worked in Barcelona. Gaudi managed to create such an incredible, phantasmagoric style that he had to come up with a special name for it: Catalan modernism. The artist worked during the Art Nouveau period, in France the style of this time was called Art Nouveau ("New Art"), in Germany - Jugendstil. A man of his era, Gaudí was inspired by the traditions of his native Catalan Gothic, national styles of Mudéjar, Isabellino, Plateresque and Churrigueresco. Gaudi worked without design engineers, intuitively, like a medieval master, improvising on a construction site. In addition to preparatory drawings and sculptural models in 1/10 natural size, Gaudi drew directly on the board, during construction - what he wants to do, and his assistants had to make a lot of effort to translate these fantasies into material. The works of Gaudí can only partly be called architecture - they were not built, but “arised”, grew organically, like natural formations. The design imperceptibly transformed into a sculptural image, which could immediately turn into a mosaic on a voluminous surface, become color plastic, painting, inlay, so that later it could again develop into a kind of organo-constructive form. Such an architecture is otherwise referred to as "organic". The work of Gaudi can be attributed to this trend, but also only in part. Its organic architecture is populated with bizarre creatures, human and animal figures, dotted with flowers and trees made of stone, with walls of multicolored concrete writhing like snakes, and roofs with ridges like a sleeping Catalan dragon. Architectural historian M. Ragon called Gaudí "an obsessed poet of stone." In some of Gaudí's buildings there is not a single right angle, which is unusual for architecture, but typical of Art Nouveau. In many buildings, characteristic elements of the Gothic are used: shamrocks, quadrifolia, cruciferous, Gothic capitals, phials and cruciferous. In the Park Güell in Barcelona (1900-1914), created by the architect, a Doric colonnade suddenly appears, and in the Palace of Catalan Music - a strange combination of Moorish style with Chinese. An important role in these fantastic works was given to color and texture, for which cladding with a broken ceramic shard, a mosaic of multi-colored glass was used. In the House of Batlo (1905 -1907) A. Gaudí invented tops made of glass balls filled with colored sand, and multi-colored glass bells ringing in the wind. The Catalan master used in his constructions unusual, but strict, from a mathematical point of view, forms: parabolas, helicoids, hyperboloids, star-shaped polygons to connect columns and vaults. Moreover, he emphasized that these forms are constantly found in nature. Stylistically, the world of Gaudí is eclectic, sometimes on the verge of kitsch, even in those cases when this brilliant master erects a Christian temple - the Sagrada Familia Cathedral (Spanish: Sagrada Familia - “Holy Family”) in Barcelona (begun in 1883). “Everything in his work screams complete indifference to style… He has no taste at all: at least to the modern eye, the barbarism of the master’s stylistic collages in all his works seem blatant… One glance at the facades of the Sagrada Familia is enough to notice: with a formal compliance with the everything reeks of heresy. In this architecture... there is more carnival mystery, a hymn to nature... There is more magic here than religion, and the archaic epic prevailed over Christian dogma... Gaudi is not organic, but organic architecture, not an imitation of what was created by nature, but an imitation of its creative power. Another artist’s statement echoes this assessment: “Spain is a country of the worst taste in the world,” S. Dali said defiantly, as always, but aptly, “with the general dominance of kitsch, it supplies its highest samples. Spain is able to give birth to such geniuses as Gaudi, as Picasso.” Classical Spanish art combines religious fanaticism, mystical expression and naturalism of form. Such is the work of the great Spanish painters El Greco, F. Zurbaran, D. Velasquez, F. Goya. The phantasmagoric creations of the classics are related to the “kitsch naturalism” of mass-produced church market items of the 19th-20th centuries. The creations of A. Gaudi in line with the Spanish tradition resemble nightmarish visions, but the architect himself was sincere, naive and religious. A sincere religious impulse is felt in the main work of his life - the Sagrada Familia Cathedral.
My acquaintance with Catalan modernism began for me with the cafe "Els Quatre Gats" ...
But first, about the term itself. Walking around Barcelona with a friend and now and then hearing the word “modernism” from her in connection with the famous Gaudi, I wondered to myself: “Why modernism? After all, this is the most modern thing, and modernism is completely different. ” However, the misunderstanding was soon cleared up: the Afisha guidebook, which I leafed through at night, told me that this is exactly what - "Catalan modernism" - the local version of modernism is called. Like Art Nouveau in France, Jugendstil in Germany, etc.
So, finishing the walk through the Gothic Quarter, which I will talk about in a separate article, we, “tired by the sun” and hungry, wandered into Moncio alley (Carrer de Montsió, 3), where, in the words of the same guide, “in 1896, the young Puig- i-Cadafalk squeezed his first profitable house into a narrow corner.
A year after the completion of construction, the artist Ramon Casas opened the Els Quatre Gats cafe in the house, where all the Barcelona bohemia registered, including the very young Picasso: menu design was his first order, and his first exhibition was held here.
What would you like to talk about first - about the house or about the cafe? Perhaps I'll start with a cafe - in fact, I already started with it, and then it will be about the house, or rather, its author, and about other architects.
I will not rewrite the guidebook, but what I would like to introduce to the future (and maybe already held) visitor to Barcelona is the book by the Australian Robert Hughes “Barcelona. City `s history". (I must say that I immediately won over my friend’s husband, a true Catalan, by saying that I was reading this book - he immediately showed me the same one in Catalan.) True, in the Russian translation of the book Puig i Cadafalch is called Puig -i Cadafalch, and Casas Casas - I think this is not so important: I dare to assume that the translator took the Spanish, and not the Catalan version of the reading.
“Modernism in Barcelona began to gain momentum and became very popular by 1896,” writes Hughes. – Casas and Rusiñol [the two main painters of the time] ... with [friend] Romeu rented the lower floor in a neo-Gothic house just built by Puig y Cadafalch, Casa Martí. There they decided to arrange a cerveseria, that is, a pub. They named her... "Four Cats." Over time, Four Cats has taken on a nostalgic aura. It was one of the most famous gatherings of fin de siècle intellectuals in Europe... The bar played a significant role in Barcelona's artistic life for the next six years. This was not due to the cuisine, which was very average and often very poor (“not a kitchen, but an exhibition of painted plates”), but thanks to the clientele.”
I want to take a step back right now. We, of course, not only looked around the house and cafe, but also tried some snacks. They didn't seem average at all. However, the menu was simple.
Special Catalan bread, grated with fresh tomato juice and olive oil - experts say that the oil is best smeared with a finger (isn't the idea of painting pictures with your finger from here?) They put jamon, cheese, anything in general - we put anchovies, having a snack olives and capers. Black cuttlefish croquettes. For dessert - "crema catalana", very reminiscent of the most delicate creme brulee. And finally, sangria, sweet and refreshing.
But back to the history of the cafe. “The name of the bar in Catalan is a set expression meaning “just a few people”. These "four cats" were Romeu, Casas, Utrillo [husband of Suzanne Valadon and stepfather of Maurice Utrillo, who took his surname] and Rusiñol.
The establishment, Rusiñol wrote, served as "an inn for desperate... northern Europe, an Andalusian patio for those who prefer the south ... a place where the diseases of our age were cured.
Casas, Rusinol, Utrillo and their friends created their own club and, in the tradition of French artistic taverns, put an eccentric and strange person in charge of it. It was Per Romeu, tall, lanky and clumsy, a failed artist ... He became the subject of numerous caricatures and posters and one of the iconic figures of Catalan modernism ... He studied painting, but then dropped out and went to Paris, where he became close to the Catalan group at the Moulin de la Galette , and in their favorite cabaret he arranged a shadow theater - ombres xineses (Chinese shadows). Sports were his other passion. He rode a bicycle. He had a sports car, one of the first in Barcelona. And this brought him closer to Casas, who was the owner of the very first car. Already after the "Four Cats" ceased to exist, Romeu ended his life as the owner of the garage. He swam in the sea every day, even in winter, a habit that his bohemian friends considered foolish. He rowed, fenced, sailed, took long walks in the Pyrenees. All this looked very American, that is, quite in the spirit of modernity ...
So they settled in Casa Marti. Casas paid the lion's share of the cost of interior decoration, including huge chandeliers
(he made a sketch of Rusiñol sitting on one of them) ...
He also added his own drawing of himself and Romeu pedaling a two-seater bicycle.
Casas is in the front seat, his face is obscured by a hat, a cigar in his mouthpiece is in his mouth, he is leaning over and pedaling with all his might. Romeu from behind feels much more free and at ease. In the upper right corner, Casas wrote an awkward rhyme - "On such a bicycle, / without bending down, you will not ride."
Casas's painting has become a hallmark of the cafe in a portable and in the literally: at the entrance you can take business cards with this image.
And the original hangs in National Museum Catalan art, on the hill of Montjuic. Here it is taken from the bus window,
Here is a photo from the brochure.
The museum has many other paintings by Casas, as well as Rusiñol and other modernists.
Maria Fortun reminded me of Munkacsy, Anglada Camera - both Renoir and Mucha, Nunel - "Blue Dancers" by Degas, Mir - "Blue Rose". Very interesting and sculpture - Limon, Blay. “The young artists of the Four Cats were the heirs of the French illustrators Daumier, Toulouse-Lautrec, Steinlein,” writes Hughes. On my own behalf, I will say that just as the Russian painting exhibited in the Tretyakov Gallery becomes a pleasant discovery for our wards of foreign tourists, so the Catalan fine art presented in the National Museum can become an unexpected joy for us.
“There was an endless party at the Four Cats ... Exhibitions, shadow theater performances, ... puppet shows ... New composers such as Enric Granados and Isaac Albeniz gave solo concerts. And the "cats" themselves sometimes gave lectures and began to publish a magazine of the same name ... "
Today, a pleasant atmosphere reigns in the cafe, and the interiors still amaze with exquisite beauty, and not only in the halls where they eat and drink,
but also in places that are commonly called "conveniences."
Now about the architect. The name Antonio Gaudi is on everyone's lips, but there are two more names - Josep Puig i Cadafalch and Luis Doumenech y Muntane: all three are pillars of modernism. “After Gaudí and Domenech, the third most important Catalan architect of this period was Josep Puig y Cadafalch,” writes Hughes. “Puig was younger than the rest – he was born in 1867… His feverish imagination tirelessly developed new ideas and projects.”
Here again I want to make a digression: Catalonia has given the world not so many great names, but all these are people with an incredible, violent, sometimes insane imagination: Miro, Dali, Gaudi ... The architects and artists I discovered again fit into this series.
“Puig has always been a traditionalist. Being a deeply Catalan architect in spirit, he was skeptical about the postulate of international modernism that the past should be overcome and left behind... Puig was genuinely excited and touched by the gothic... Most of all, Puig loved the high gothic lace, the pointed buildings of the 15th century, their tragic abysses, almost schematic supports …
Puig perceived Barcelona as "the north of the south". Here Spain became Europe. Here she once crossed the Pyrenees to the territory of France. This city had long-standing trade ties with Flanders ... Here they honored German culture and ideas. Here they perceived not only the music of Wagner, but also the Teutonic understanding of fate, and the German craving for the development of industry. In matters of fashion, Barcelona has always been Anglophile. And yet every time one is surprised when one sees what Puig's love for northern Europe has grown into."
Unfortunately, I was not able to photograph Casa Terrades: we passed it by car; but it is definitely worth walking or driving to it - it is located at Diagonal, 416-420. This house is also called Casa de les Punches, and is translated as "house of dots" or "house with thorns." In fact, we are talking more about needles: the towers end with needle-shaped spiers. “Somewhere between the Flemish town hall and the medieval castle of Ludwig the Mad,” Hughes characterizes this house. “The building has four round towers, each ending in a spire in the shape of a sorceress's hat, and on the main tower is a very exquisite and unusual lantern. On the roof are fleurons and pediments piercing the sky. The plain brick walls are transformed into High Gothic tribunes and miradors, embellished with elaborate and detailed stone carvings, mostly vegetal motifs, embossed as much as possible in relief to be clearly visible.”
I’ll add on my own that the house is also multi-colored, and I’ll turn to Hughes again:
The most famous of the "northern" buildings of Puig - both because of the location and because of the appearance - the house at Passeig de Gracia, 41, built by order of the chocolate magnate and philanthropist Amatler ...
This is a Catalan Gothic palace, built according to the same plan - a flat wall facing the street, and a large central courtyard from which a staircase rises to a large central living room on the second floor, like in buildings of the 15th century ...
There is also a significant difference: the splendor of the finishes and the facade made in a completely different style. At two-thirds of its height, the façade wall is decorated using the sgraffito technique. It is more Italian than Catalan finishing technology, giving the surface the richness of damask fabric. But then the pediment begins: luxurious, stepped, as if from the Flemish Renaissance, a pediment straight from Bruges, but tiled, blue, cream and pink, “riveted” with a grid of garnet-red glossy flowers. Such polychromy would hardly have been allowed in his house by any sober-minded burgher of the northern Renaissance. The shine and shimmer of the tiles in the morning light is amazing.”
What can be added here? First, in connection with Puig y Cadafalch's favorite technique, which he also used in other buildings, I recalled a funny incident from family history: my future mother recently met my future father. When showing mom some architectural masterpiece, dad used the term "sgraffito". Mom had not heard this learned word before and thought that dad was saying: “This is from graphite.” “Wow,” she was almost disappointed. “He looks so cultured, but he doesn’t know how to speak Russian.”
Secondly, I must say that today in Casa Amalla (as the house is called in Catalan) there is a chocolate shop and a cafe, where thick sweet chocolate, no worse than in Pushkin Cafe, flows in an inexhaustible stream from the faucet into a large tank. Is it necessary to clarify that we tasted this divine drink? And then, having drawn water pouring from another faucet completely free of charge, they smoked and admired the facade, sitting in front of the house on a figured stone bench, which is part of the lantern by Gaudí. Such bizarre lanterns line the entire Gracia Boulevard.
By the way, about Gaudi. You may have already noticed in the photo of the house that it stands right next to Gaudí's masterpiece Casa Batlló.
But I intend to dedicate a separate story to Gaudi. In the meantime, I'll tell you about the third major architect of modernism - Dumeneque y Muntane: good, and his house is in the neighborhood.
“In 1898, [Amalier's] house stood alone; soon Domenech built his own Casa Lleo Morera to his left, and Gaudi turned the building to his right into Casa Batllo, thus forming the most representative ensemble of modernist buildings in Barcelona. Since then, the apparent "rivalry" between these three iconic buildings has led to the fact that this part of the Passeig de Gracia began to be called ... "the quarter of discord."
Or "the apple of discord", as I heard from my friend.
Casa Lleo Morera (Passeich de Gracia, 35) Hughes calls "the most decorative of Domenech's buildings in Barcelona." Unfortunately, in the middle of the 20th century, it underwent irreparable changes, especially in the interior decoration.
And one of the early works of the architect is a cafe-restaurant in Ciutadella Park, erected for the 1888 World Exhibition.
“The battlements and shields give it a medieval look. But the building was built of ordinary brick and industrial iron. It is the gap between the Middle Ages and modernism - and the first is part of the second - that makes the cafe-restaurant a kind of milestone early period modernism ... Domenech was occupied with the origins of architecture. To achieve originality, it is necessary to use "original", "original" materials. Here is material whose expressive possibilities have not been studied. Brick is, or at least should be, the molecule of Catalan architecture. A brick building does not just stand on the land of the motherland; it is literally made from this earth. Domenech used an expression that his young colleague Puig y Cadafalch warmly embraced: clar i catala brick – clean and Catalan... Of course, Domenech y Montaner also used other stylish materials. It is worth mentioning the stunning effect of ceramic, glazed "crowns" crowning each battlement of the wall, and especially ceramic coats of arms - blue on white ... Coats of arms are also a demonstration of one of the most important decorative resources of modernism in general and Domenech's work in particular: the use of natural motifs and their stylization ... Domenech always used floral ornament as if in opposition to the aggressive "rationality" of the architectural frame. This approach culminates in the profusion of ceramic and mosaic roses that weave around the latticework of the Palau de la Música Catalana.”
Alas, we did not manage to photograph and even examine Domenech's main masterpiece - the Sant Pau Hospital, recognized as the largest project of modernism. We also passed it by car, but were left under a strong impression. But the "masterpiece of a smaller size" - the Palace of Catalan Music "- walked around from all sides.
These ticket offices used to sell tickets.
Now the cash desks are modern, and the whole building has been modernized in places.
But inside, an amazing foyer has been preserved - here are the same roses.
And in the foyer - a cafe,
where you can refuel with tapas - a variety of snacks.
Strange as it may seem, we did not do this, but examined the luxurious staircase leading to the auditorium.
The hall itself can be judged by a tiny picture in the concert program.
Almost all the masterpieces of modernism are located in the Eixample district, rebuilt at the end of the 19th century outside the demolished city wall. There is even the so-called "Golden Square", where about one hundred and fifty monuments of this style are concentrated. Here are some more beautiful houses on the Passeig de Gracia.
But there are unusual houses in the Old Town: and on the Rambla,
In 1870 he entered the Barcelona School of Architecture, in 1878 he received a diploma and opened his own architectural studio.
In 1957, Le Corbusier calls Gaudí "the designer of the 20th century." A contemporary criticism emphasizes his amazing ability to combine the talents of a builder, sculptor, artist and architect. Gaudí worked for 48 years. The main part of his projects was made for Barcelona and implemented in it. Its architecture is far from generally accepted. He considered perfection to be egg. Don Antonio led a modest life: he ate mostly salad and cheap fruit mixed with milk. He always wore the same suit. Passers-by on the streets mistook him for a beggar and gave alms. He lived in his own world, renouncing everything worldly. “To avoid disappointment, one should not succumb to illusions,” he justified himself, arguing that each person should have a homeland, and a family should have its own home.
“Renting a house is like immigrating,” Gaudí urged others, having had no family or home all his life. He spent his whole life in Catalonia, leaving it only once in 1887 for a short time.
His seemingly insane projects were financed by the wealthy cotton industrialist Don Eusebio Güell.
Thanks to Antoni Gaudí, Barcelona is unlike any other city in the world.
On June 7, 1926, the first tram was launched in Barcelona. On the same day, an unknown beggar old man fell under him. He died in a homeless shelter and was to be buried in a common grave. Quite by accident, an elderly woman recognized him. It was Antonio Gaudí, a brilliant architect, a great modernist, the most famous and most beloved citizen of Barcelona, who created its appearance and its symbol. A man whose life is mysticism and mystery.
KING OF IRON
Several personalities have made Barcelona what it is, starting with Hannibal and Emperor Augustus.
But one person, almost our contemporary, finally determined the look of the city, its style. His name was Antonio Gaudi.
He was called differently: the king of iron, the king of architecture, the king of modernity. He created his Art Nouveau kingdom, and the best part of it is in Barcelona.
Gaudí was born into a family of craftsmen. His father, his grandfather, his grandfather's father and his great-grandfather's grandfather were boilermakers. And they made boilers of any complexity without any drawings. Therefore, the desire to forge something from Gaudí is hereditary. He also built all his life without drawings, so no one could finish building his projects. Throughout his life, Gaudí was a very religious and mystical person. He prayed a lot, did not follow his appearance and always wanted to build churches. But fate played with this man and his creations.
KING OF ARCHITECTURE
On the street Nou de la Rambla is the Palace Güell. Don Eusebio Güell, count, industrialist and very wealthy man, was a constant customer and patron of Gaudí. For which he became famous throughout the ages. On Carolinas Street, where the 30-year-old Gaudi built something gingerbread, Moorish-tower, painted and chess, with berries, leaves, cones and cells - Casa Vincens. And in our opinion - the house of Manuel Vincens y Montaner. It happened in 1883, when in European architecture the Art Nouveau style was just hatching, and in Spain it was not even planned. That is why Gaudi is considered the father of Art Nouveau, Art Nouveau in architecture.
Gaudí's next masterpiece is called Pavilions Güell. These are the remains of Count Güell's former estate, which includes a highly intricate, brick-and-scale stable and a wrought-iron gate with extravagant dragons. Now this place is called "Pedralbes Palace".
KING OF MODERN
Gaudi was very lucky. And not only with customers and patrons, but also with the place and time. He appeared in Barcelona when Catalonia gained independence, and the city was rapidly changing. In 1860, the people of Barcelona destroyed the city wall, then broke down the gloomy fortress of Ciutadella, and in its place they arranged a beautiful park with fountains and museums. Gaudi also did not stand aside: while still a student, he, together with his teacher, built a grandiose building in the park called "Cascade" - a cross between a waterfall and a triumphal arch.
Behind the broken city wall arose new district, nicknamed Eixample, that is, Extension. The most daring architectural projects, the most unusual ideas could be embodied here. The quarter in which the architects practiced wit was called the Quarter of Discord. His houses - one more intricate than the other - have become an anthology of Art Nouveau. Gaudi's first contribution to the style of the new quarter is Casa Calvet (Casa is a house, and Calvet is another family of manufacturers, this time textile). In the same Quarter of Discords, on Gràcia Avenue, Gaudí gave free rein to his fantasy to the fullest. Casa Batlo is a complete modernist style. Casa Mila is Gaudí's next masterpiece and is popularly called La Pedrera. It is located on the same Avenue Gràcia. The house is like a concrete wave sweeping the sidewalk, like a wild rock that grows in the middle of the street. Gaudí said that Pedrera's fantastic shapes "resonate with the contours of the mountains surrounding Barcelona, which are visible from the roof of this house." From the inside, the house is much more impressive, especially the patio and the attic, where the Gaudí museum is located.
A stone rose is carved under the very roof, next to it are the words of a prayer.
La Pedrera is one of the most famous houses in the world. Part of it is occupied by a Catalan bank, part is residential apartments. It still belongs to the Mila family, for whom it was once built. Once a year, all family members come to Barcelona to take pictures near their home.
Park Guell- the most cheerful work of Gaudí.
The count bought a huge plot of land to build on it the city of the future, the garden city. However, the city did not work out: only two land plots were sold for development. But the park turned out great. Gaudi managed to build overpasses for cars and pedestrian paths hidden in fancy galleries, a square hovering over the park, ornate stairs and gingerbread houses at the entrance. In the middle of everything rises the Hall of the Hundred Columns, which was to become a market. Everything in the park flows, everything twists and turns - paths, bridges, and benches decorated with ceramic mosaics.
There are only two houses in the park, and one of them became the last refuge of Gaudí. He lived in a small garden pavilion, occupying one of its rooms, modest to the point of minimalism. However, Gaudi never paid attention to his home and to himself. He went about in clothes that came to hand, not changing them for years - the housekeeper only watched her cleanliness. The house served only as an overnight stay for him, he spent the rest of the time at construction sites. Now the Gaudí Museum is open in the garden house. There are collected many beautiful things created by him for different interiors.
TEMPLE OF REDIMATION
Gaudi considered the temple to be his most important brainchild. Sagrada Familia, the expiatory temple of the Holy Family, began to be built in 1882 as an ordinary cathedral.
But then Gaudi appeared, took charge of the work and began to build something unprecedented and unheard of with 170-meter towers, fantastic shapes, spiral staircases, sculptures growing out of the walls, with mosaics - no longer from fragments of tiles, but from Venetian glass. A block of stone from Montserrat, sacred to the Catalans, is immured into the Gate of Hope. When the crypt was completed, Gaudi hurried. He almost moved from Park Güell to Sagrada, lived in a tiny closet at the construction site, looked like a ragamuffin, ate only when one of the students put bread directly into his hands. Gaudi was obsessed, he wanted to finish the cathedral as soon as possible, because new ideas were already piled up in his head.
He was 74 years old.
At this time, Barcelona lived its normal life. In the city, which had grown greatly during the Expansion, a tram was launched. The first bright red carriage ran on rails on June 7, 1926. On the same day, an unknown beggar old man fell under him. He was taken to the new Hospital of the Holy Cross, a beautiful Art Nouveau complex built by Gaudí's archrival Domènech y Montaner, not far from the Sagrada Familia, which was under construction. The old man died without regaining consciousness in a hospital for the poor. Like all vagabonds, he was to be buried in a common grave in a few days. No one worried when Gaudí didn't show up at the construction site: Lately he didn't feel well. The housekeeper did not suspect anything: he often stayed overnight in the temple. Only three days later they began to look for him, but they only managed to save him from a common grave.
Art Nouveau architecture is a common trend in much of Catalonia and specifically in Barcelona. Today, there are about a hundred Art Nouveau buildings in the city that you want to admire and photograph.
Introducing 10 most beautiful buildings in Barcelona which should not go unnoticed by the inquisitive tourist.
Palace of Catalan Music
This is one of the most famous works Spanish architect Luis Domenech y Montaner. It began to be built in 1905, and it was supposed to be the new home for the Catalan choir. This is truly a building of astonishing beauty. The observer involuntarily stops his gaze on the numerous details worked out, admiring the meticulous work of the masters who erected this work of art of Catalan modernism. In addition, it is the only concert hall in Europe with natural light.
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Casa Batlló
Without a doubt, this is one of the most photographed tourist sites in Barcelona. The construction of this residential building took place between 1904 and 1906. The house has an original living facade that combines color overflows, interesting textured balconies and a scaly roof. This is the work of the legendary Antoni Gaudí, who realized the project for the textile magnate Josep Batllo y Casanovas.
thepetitewanderess.com 
getyourguide.com Hospital complex Sant Pau (Hospital de Sant Pau)
The building has recently been restored, but this miracle of Art Nouveau has not lost its individuality and dazzling beauty, despite the fact that there were such fears. The building of St. Paul's Hospital recalls the architecture of oriental palaces, which are characterized by luxury of forms and rich gold decoration. This is another work by Domenech y Montaner. Together with the House of Catalan Music, Sant Pau Hospital is inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List.
barcelona-home.com 
eumusic.coop House of Lleó i Morera (Casa Lleó i Morera)
Another masterpiece of Catalan Art Nouveau by Domenech y Montaner, into which he turned an ordinary house Casa Rocamora, owned by the Morera family of manufacturers for about 40 years. The building was built in 1864, and in 1902 Francesca Morera commissioned the architect to reconstruct it. She died in 1904, and in 1906 her son Albert Lleo y Morera had to take over the job. To perpetuate the memory of this family in the building, the architect wove images of lions (Lleó) and mulberry trees (Morera) into the ornament of the building.
© Bjorn Grotting/photoshelter.com 
promptguides.com House Cumalat (Casa Comalat)
This building is not very famous compared to the ones mentioned above, but its architectural merit is undeniable. This is the work of the architect Salvador Valeri i Pupurulla, who was able to combine two facades in different styles in one building at once. One facade is made in a luxurious style with borrowings from rococo, the other is less pompous, but it attracts the eye with pretty balconies and beautiful stucco.
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House Fuster (Casa Fuster)
This magnificent building was built in 1908 and designed by Luis Dominique y Montaner. It looks extraordinarily majestic thanks to high-quality marble. One hundred years ago it was one of the most expensive houses in the city, and today the building is occupied by a hotel - Hotel Casa Fuster.
hotelsescenter.es 
hearteningjourneys.wordpress.com House Mila (Casa Milà)
Another striking architectural landmark of Barcelona, which attracts numerous tourists with cameras like a magnet. This is the work of Antonio Gaudi, the building was built from 1906 to 1910. In 1984, it was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List, becoming one of the first buildings of the 20th century to receive this honor. The originality of the facade of Mila's house is that it is completely made of stone and does not have a single straight line.
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© Claudia Leverentz House Granel (Casa Granell)
An interesting Art Nouveau building (1902-1904) designed by Geroni Ferran Granel y Manresa. The architecture of this building is attractive with a combination of elements: stone and metal, various shades of the facade and window shutters, textured moldings, tiles, mosaics and forging.
lameva.barcelona.cat House Roviralta (Casa Roviralta)
The snow-white walls of the Roviralta house attract the eyes of all passers-by, and it’s great luck to catch it on a sunny day, when the contrast of white and brown is fully revealed. This building is called the "white monk" because this house used to be the property of a community of Dominican monks. It was later acquired by the Catalan businessman Teodor Roviralta. From 1903 to 1913, the architect Joan Rubio y Belver worked on the restoration of the building, who almost completely transformed it.
Rubio retained the original structure and layout of the house to make it an Art Nouveau villa, adding verandas, galleries, and a chapel. The window and door frames are made of brick and ceramic, creating a stark contrast to the whitewashed walls. During the sundial, a Latin inscription appears on one of the walls, reminiscent of the passage of time.
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