The Art Nouveau Lamp in Barcelona, Europe

Decorative arts, architecture and other forms of artistic expression lived an authentic ecclosion by the end of XIX and the first years of XX c. in Catalonia as part of a cultural and political movement known as Renaixença which was spurred by the new spirit of the wealthy local bourgeoisie and their quest for industrial expansion, the influence of Paris and other industrialized European countries as the new model to follow in opposition to the retrograde, stale Castilian yoke. The cultural side of this renaissance, this art nouveau and the way it manifested in Catalonia is called Modernisme. A lamp was just a lamp but all of sudden there was an urge for innovation and new trends, an outburst of creativity that said hey this is our art, it is Catalan, we borrowed some elements from the most modern and fashion countries in Europe and Asia, we improved it and lifted it to the category of divine, we are educated, passionate for art, powerful and basically we don't need your Royal Majesties anymore, in fact we never did. Of course this is history in a very personal and simplified way. Here is another modernist lamp.

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Detail of Casa Lleó Morera at Passeig de Gracia 35, Barcelona, Spain

This is a detail of the small turret on top of Casa Lleó-Morera at Passeig de Gràcia 35. The modernist house by Lluís Domènech i Montaner is part of the renown Illa de la Discordia (Block of Discord) called this way due to the clash of different styles between three famous houses in the block. The other two are Casa Amatller at Passeig de Gràcia 41 designed by Josep Puig i Cadafalch and Casa Batlló at Passeig de Gràcia 43 designed by Antoni Gaudí. The building is located on the corner of Consell de Cent and Passeig de Gracia and was originally constructed in 1864 and renovated in 1902. When you come to Barcelona it would be almost a crime not to visit this Manzana de la Discordia. For those that are less interested in art and more in going shopping, there's a Loewe shop in the ground floor.

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Casa Mila: A Whole Lotta Door

Caught in the spiderweb of art I fell I had to show you the door from within. Check the outside here. A whole lot of ironwork for a door, a huge smashing blow to all former architectural styles, the opening gates to the land of impossible things. Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to La Pedrera and the imagination of Antoni Gaudi.

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Art Nouveau Lamp at Casa Mila or La Pedrera

This impressive art nouveau lamp that reminds me of some ancient diver's helmet or the head of a dragonfly with a little more imagination, hangs from the ceiling in the hall of La Pedrera or Casa Mila, built by Gaudi between 1906 and 1910. Brothers Badia were the iron forgers so I assume they had to do with this lamp but so far I haven't been able to find out who designed such beauty. You can find a thumbnail of La Pedrera on my Google Map below.

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Barcelona Trees: Horse Chestnut or Conker Flowers

Aesculus hippocastanum or common horse chestnut can be seen in some parks of Barcelona so I thought you might like the image of its flowers. These I shot in Bellaterra in early spring. I suppose it must have yielded the characteristic spiny conkers by now. From the seeds of this tree a substance called saponin aescin is extracted and used for health purposes like treating varicose veins, edema, sprains. This constituent strengthens the blood vessels and prevents thrombosis. It has haemolytic properties and is recommended as an astringent and circulatory tonic. The extracts from horse chestnut are used to treat cellulitis. So you see, the beautiful tree and its flowers are not just an adornment. Talking about adornment. Did you know that the leaves of horse chestnut trees are a common pattern in art nouveau architecture? Well, follow this fantastic link and you'll find out more about the use of nature in the Art Nouveau decoration.

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Holy Water Font or Basin Made With Shell, Colonia Guell's Crypt, Barcelona, Spain

Stationary fonts like this are placed at the entrance to churches as you all know but I am sure you never saw a holy water font made with an enormous shell nor have you seen perhaps such wonderful ironwork pedicle. Nothing is common and ordinary when you enter Gaudi's crypt at Colonia Guell. The place has columns, altar, stain glass and pews as any other church but you have to be prepared to digest the degree of variation of the holy elements. A church was supposed to be on top of the crypt, as the latter was part of a bigger project which started in 1908. In 1917 one year after Gaudi's art patron and friend, Eusebi Guell, died, the work was finally stopped. As you can guess foundations are very solid. Columns are made of basaltic rock and different kinds of bricks. The ceiling is vaulted in the most traditional gothic style. Every arch, every pillar, was precisely calculated with small sacks full of pellets which were tied to the ceiling in Gaudi's workshop by means of small pieces of cloth and string making up what is known as a stereostatic model. The weight of every sack was proportional to the load every arch element had to hold. But everything here is hard to imagine without visiting Colonia Güell of course. By the way, there were some posts in Barcelona Photoblog some time ago that might help: Caprice Supreme of Architecture, Modernist Door and Mosaic, Futurist Windows and Stained Glass

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La Pedrera or Casa Mila, Barcelona, Spain

As you know this is Casa Milá aka La Pedrera by Antoni Gaudi. I can't say much but I recommend you visit previous posts about the art nouveau building at Passeig de Gracia. I have tried different angles of the house but this one taken at sunset looked fine enough. Nevertheless I have polarized the façade and added some dramatic sky just out of pure boredom. I think it is a building that works when it comes to tweaking reality. Here are some other shots from my archives: Casa Mila, Door Ironwork, La Pedrera in BW and La Pedrera a Barcelona Landmark.

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Modernist Yellow Building at Aribau 179, Barcelona

You don't always need emblematic houses to enjoy great architecture in Barcelona. Sometimes, here and there you find real beauties camouflaged as apartment or office buildings. Standing on Diagonal Avenue and looking down Aribau Street to the right, at Aribau 179 to be exact, you can admire this modest and yet so decorated façade that stands on the very corner illuminated by the last sun rays in this case and looking stately in a way if compared with other not so genuine neighbors.

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Art Nouveau Balcony at La Diputacio de Barcelona

Just in front of Coqueta, the Giraffe in yesterday's post you find La Diputació de Barcelona, featured in Barcelona Photoblog in the past. Today I just wanted to show you a detail of this wonderful modernist balcony and recommend you go over my description of this government building at Rambla Catalunya: La Diputació de Barcelona

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Barcelona Roofs: Diagonal Late Modernisme

This roof is rather eclectic, almost as sober as that of a common neoclassic style building but the daring design, the mixture of periods, the Oriental reminiscence in my opinion gives away the Art Nouveau touch that lies beneath. You can admire the architecture of the house if you walk along Diagonal Avenue more or less near Balmes or Enric Granados streets. I don't remember the exact address though.

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Casa Sayrach: The Last Modernist House in Barcelona

This is a detail of Casa Sayrach at Diagonal Avenue 423-425 next to Enric Granados street, one of the best representative houses of late Barcelona Modernisme. Influenced by Gaudi, Manuel Sayrach i Carreras built it in 1918 although the project was signed by Gabriel Borrell. It was restored recently and it is often ignored in traditional routes. The architect didn't have a vast curriculum but was wealthy enough to allow himself every whim. Casa Sayrach is considered to be the last manifestation of Modernisme and that makes it even more relevant. By the way, downstairs on the very corner there is a luxury restaurant called La Dama (the Lady) which is a must for gourmets. As today's detail only features the tower I will show another angle including the whole building tomorrow although it appeared in Barcelona Photoblog in the past: Casa Sayrach and here Modernisme in Black and White

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Casa Pérez Samanillo: The Equestrian Club or The Fish Tank?

Built in 1910 by Joan Josep Hervàs i Arizmendi, Casa Pérez Samanillo located at Diagonal Ave. 502-504 (or Balmes 169 bis, as it is at the intersection with this street) is the headquarters of the Equestrian Club (Círculo Ecuestre). Of Neo-Gothic style this elegant house features an impressive oval window through which you can see the dining room, if you are on a bus or similar of course. Due to its peculiar shape people call it the fish tank. Even though the Equestrian Club was founded on 26th November of 1856, it was not until 1950 that it was established in its current location. Remember to click on the image for a larger format and better experience.

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Casa Rocamora: Renaissance-Gothic-Inspired Art Nouveau

Casa Rocamora on the corner of Casp street and Passeig de Gracia very near Plaça Catalunya. One of the most beautiful representatives of Catalan Art Nouveau with a touch of Renaissance Gothic influence, it was built by Bonaventura and Joaquim Basegoda in 1914. Not the first time I include this house in Barcelona Photoblog but since the last picture was taken with an old camera which didn't favor the building too much I thought, why not giving it a second chance? Please check my original post: Catalan Modernisme: Casa Rocamora

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Modernist Balcony in Barcelona, Spain

This was a dull picture with blown up skies, askew and no size enough to properly crop, but yet it was a beautiful Catalan Art Nouveau (Modernisme) balcony I thought you might like to set eyes on. There are images I shoot so badly that it becomes really hard to use them afterwards. I tried to pretend a soft color, almost black and white with some grain but not on the stained glass windows. Both the balcony and the windows are a little emphasized with some light. I hope you appreciate the architecture in the end which is the main purpose of a wasted hour of image processing.

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Serpentine Bench Detail at Park Guell, Barcelona, Spain

A detail of a serpentine bench at Park Guell, Barcelona. Not the first time I show you these modernist benches by Gaudi. Using the trencadis technique he composed curious patterns that not only included color tiles but several other pieces that look like bottle bottoms to me. If you enlarge the picture you will be able to see what I mean. For those of you who have not visited the park I should say that the undulated benches encircle a big terrace with a view over Barcelona and the sea. More posts about serpentine benches in Barcelona Photoblog: Mosaic Work Called Trencadis by Gaudi, Mosaic Serpentine Benches Landmark of Barcelona and Trencadis Serpentine Bench at Park Guell.

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Modernist Balcony, Ali Bei Street, Barcelona

Catalan Art Nouveau also called Modernisme treasures real beauties when it comes to balconies. Take a look at this building for example at carrer Ali Bei with protruding windows covering part of the main balcony. A long time ago another building on the same block (about two doors away) was featured in Barcelona Photoblog: Art Nouveau Balcony

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Gaudi Animals on Nativity Façade, Sagrada Familia, Barcelona, Spain

Weird creatures contemplate tourists from above while they visit Sagrada Familia cathedral. Animal sculptures, so common in Gaudi's art nouveau buildings, accentuate the mysterious halo around the temple mixing up Paganism and Christianity with unusual harmony according to my humble and lay appreciation of course.

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Modernist Stained Glass Windows: Fundacio Dr. Robert, Barcelona

Inside Fundació Dr. Robert in Sant Pau Hospital, Barcelona you can see these beautiful stained glass windows around the cupola of the aula magna building.

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Casa de Convalescencia, Sant Pau Hospital, Barcelona

Casa de Convalescència, on the corner of San Quintin and Maria Claret streets, is part of Hospital de la Santa Creu i Sant Pau and was built by Pere Domènech i Roura, Lluís Domènech i Montaner's son. Meant to be a maintainance building it finally lodged the wards for terminal patients and a church. Back in 1969 it was granted to UAB (Universitat Autonoma de Barcelona). At present it is the headquarters of Fundació UAB, Fundació Doctor Robert and Josep Laporte library, UAB Idiomes Barcelona (language school), Institut de Ciències de l'Educació and Escola de Doctorat i de Formació Continuada. This representative of the last stages of Catalan Art Nouveau or modernisme is the perfect place for important events in the health field which in fact are held more than often in its high quality facilities. Today's picture was taken inside the Aula Magna, a place that is not open to general public. Tourists are only allowed in the entrance hall on the way to the hospital venues. I wanted to share this beauty with all of you, the amazing brick work of the dome and the light coming through the elaborate stained glass windows. To have a general idea check this gallery at Casa de Convalescencia's official site (Spanish). See also this link to all my posts featuring Sant Pau Hospital.

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Art With Exclamation Marks: Stained Glass at Sagrada Familia

In this picture I tried to isolate these three stained glass windows because of an unusual and reasonable resemblance with exclamations marks. Quality of the image is out of the question, that is, don't ask cause it is awful. I just wanted to highlight the punctuation marks and how they might be used as part of some publicity campaign or something to emphasize the work of Gaudi and his art, art with exclamation marks!!!

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