Modernism in Barcelona (Essay Sample)

Modernism in Barcelona
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Industrial Revolution in Barcelona
Towards the last years of the 19th century, Barcelona was looking towards Europe. It was expanding and transforming, implementing the changes compelled by the Industrial Revolution and changing towards a modern society. In relation to culture, many activities in music, art, literature and art were also being practiced. It was a period of great action, and a clear cultural revolution was happening. This was particularly noticeable in the renewal of Catalan ethics in the association known as the Renaixença (Smith 2007,p.2). The new scenario which was being practiced in Barcelona, which was growing to be one of the European capitals with the highest potential, was because of the organization of the First International Exhibition that happened in Spain in 1888.
Motivated by this great event, Barcelona witnessed a significant push in relations to the construction of structures and other urban developments, subsequently boosting its economic growth. Additionally, contributing to this rapid growth, to a very big extent, were los indianos – Spaniards who had initially settled in Latin America and were going home to Spain after the Spanish and American war that resulted to “disaster of ‘98” and the loss of the last colonies. They reached, bringing their riches with them, blanketed in an air of modernism and keen to bring about changes. They spent heavily in culture, and their heritage can still be witnessed today in politics, literatures, music, not least, architecture (Monclús 2012, p.1)
Barcelona was thriving at a different way to the other parts of Spain, and this was obvious in the economic affluence which grew out of the successive rise of the bourgeoisie. Passeig de Gràcia, road which connected Ciutat Vella and the old town of Gràcia, currently a district of Barcelona was a very fashionable and significant avenue of the 20th century. The residents of Barcelona liked to walk along Passeig de Gràcia, which had all of the luxurious shops, and it became an appropriate region on which the status of rich paper could fit. The middle class from the Catalans, and in particular the richest entrepreneurs, wanted to reside there, and that is precisely what, Josep Batlló, the textile industrialist did. Additionally, he chose the most prominent architect called Antoni Gaudí.
During the early years of the 20th century, Spain witnessed the era known Modernism, which also resulted greatly to the revolution of Barcelona. Modernism was a cultural crusade which affected on all manifestations of thinking and art; however it was in architecture that extended its true pinnacle. This crusade was very well established in Catalonia, with other representatives in the area of architecture as Puig i Cadafalch, Domènech i Montaner, and Antoni Gaudi (Smith 2007,p.2).
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Methods Used in Designing the City Layout
The city is characterized by long straight streets, a firm grid pattern traversed by wide streets, and octagonal town blocks rectangular blocks that have the corners cutoff, which are characteristic for Barcelona. This was an idealistic, original design by Spanish urban planner known as Ildefons Cerda who reflected on traffic and transport along with proper lighting from sun and ventilation in coming up with his distinguishing octagonal blocks.
Cerdà’s main aim was to overcome societal problems by application of quadrangular blocks of an average size, with firm building controls to ensure that they were erected up on only two sides, to a restricted height, creating a shady square or garden between them. This recreational space with open edges to the blocks was to assure the houses the maximum amount of sun, light and ventilation. The right-angled corners permitted the streets to widen at every connection making for greater brightness, and fluid traffic in all directions. Cerdà considered steam trams and it was its long revolving radius that the angle of the sides of the buildings. Trams were not installed, and the city engineers inappropriately ignored many of his other institution (Craven 2006, p.10).
Barcelona is the city center of Catalonia and it was obviously the focus of the Modernism society, and it was here that Catalan politicians, poets, artists and intellectuals who struggled to lift the then conventional, rural and traditional Catalan culture to suit the advanced natures of Europe's leading states. Modernisme's main people were Lluis Domenech i Montaner was born in the year 1850, Domenech i Montaner was a great politician and also the founder of the Barcelona School of Architecture where he trained Gaudi, two years his youngsters. Most people think that Gaudi was the father of modernism (Gómez-Serrano et al. 2009, p.2).
All of the Barcelona's pre-eminent architects like Domenech I Montaner, Gaudi and Puig i Cadalfach, needed to construct a unique style that would both reveal the Catalan feeling, and give Barcelona an artistic unique in Spain and the entire world. This great people managed and achieved with extraordinary triumph, and even currently, Barcelona owes a lot of its popularity to way it looks which these great men performed a great job. Following fundamentally the same values as Art Nouveau worldwide, Modernista architecture can be considered by the application of the curve over the straight line, organic and vegetal figures and motifs, an abundant richness of ornamentation, lively colors, a contempt of symmetry and a wide use of symbolism (Rian & Sassone 2014, p. 3).
In Catalonia exactly, you will see effects from traditional Catalan village life and Catalan tradition, as well as Arabic designs and decorations. The overall result is a style of design which is very vibrant, very human, very colorful and often ridiculously over-the-top when it comes to particulars and decoration. Some people find Barcelona's architecture too cheap, too flashy, but whatsoever else it is, it absolutely isn't boring, and all such symbols, decorations and mind-boggling figures certainly love a camera lens. It's easy to understand their apparently cemented popularity.
Antoni Gaudi’s background
Antoni Placid Guillem Gaudi I Cornet was born in Catalonia, Spain in June 25, 1852, in a family that originated from Catalan farmers, merchants, boiler makers, weavers and coppersmiths. Gaudi started craft tradition at an early age after getting the influence from the family especially at the period his father was in the workshop. Gaudi was very proud of this heritage and once stated that he had the quality of spatial anxiety because he was the son of coppersmiths who gave him preparation. Gaudi's ancestors originated from a cross-Pyrenean culture that was attached to the Mediterranean Sea and were adapted to copying influences from diverse cultures, though somehow keeping their own Catalan character (Monclús 2012, p.1).
Gaudi origin was a totally religious background and received a comprehensive Catholic religious teachings generated from the extension of medieval Guilds. It included mandatory prayer to the Virgin, Christian doctrine, religious history and religious morals. In 1874, when he was 22, Gaudi moved to Barcelona with his elder brother known as Francesc. It was in Barcelona that he started his preparation to study as an architect at the Escuela Técnica Superior de Arquitectura also known as Upper Technical School of Architecture. While in school he studied Spanish architecture that comprised many cultural traditions such as Greek, Phoenician, Celtic, Roman, Visigothic, Celtic, Jewish,Arab and Berber (Gonzalez-Drigo et al. 2013).
These different languages would have been entirely absorbed into the thinking of modern design so that there was no preconception against the adoption of Islamic symbols and motifs. Any person could imagine how significant this multi-faceted traditional heritage of Spain would have been for the expansion of Gaudi's own attitude to architecture. He also appeared to share the concerns and ideals that were found in the dynamic and intellectual environments during his early years as of his career, and would have been inclined by the most renowned intellectuals of the era. The famous intellectuals were, Pugin, Viollet-le-Duc and Ruskin.
It seems that Ruskin's aesthetic and moral dilemma was one thing that Gaudi also experienced as a young trained architect, and he switched his support of socialist morals and different privileged contacts with the aristocracy and upper middle classes throughout his time (Monclús 2012, p.1).Bourgeoisie noticed Gaudi and realized that he was talented and helped him to realize his dream to become a great architecture. However it is evident that he was not unconcerned to the social life during his era and its flaws. Other colleagues working towards such ideals were Elies Rogent (1821-1897), who designed Barcelona's University building and was thought by the German Rundbogenstil.
Another great architecture was known as Joan Martorell (1833-1906) and is behind the design of the Neo-gothic brick and glazed-tiled church found in Saint Francesc de Sales (1885). Josep Vilaseca also worked together with Lluis Domènech i Montaner (1850-1923) to design the Batlo tomb (1885). Lluis Domènech i Montaner was the the brain behind the Catalan Modernist movement, also referred to as the 'Renaixenca' (or Rebirth), which supported art, literatures and theatre in the Catalan language. He was also responsible for the design of the Palau de la Musica Catalana which signifies the working together of the Catalan sentiment and global culture. It also shows a specific link to Gaudi's Colonia Guell, Park Guell and Casa Vicens , though its elegant ornamentation, statues and interesting ceramic mosaics, all of which seem to indicate a deep association with Catalan nature and nationalism that were ...