Gaudí: 1852-1926: Antoni Gaudí I Cornet, a Life Devoted to Architecture [B0313]

1988 French flap PB, 12x10-inches, 239-pages. Anyone who walks through Barcelona, Spain today will come across the architect Antoni Gaud at every turn. His works never cease to attract art lovers from all over the world. The artist created almost all of his works in the city: Residences for wealthy bourgeois, the Gell Park (now open to the public) and the famous church in honor of the Sagrada Familia (begun a century ago, still unfinished). Gaudi's life was full of contradictions. Although in his younger years he joined the Catalan nationalist movement, adopting an anti-clerical position, he devoted the last years of his life to the construction of a single church. While in his youth he was dazzled by high society life and liked to appear as a dandy, a truly Spartan spirit governed his existence in old age. Gaud remained a bachelor and devoted himself body and soul to his art, architecture. His buildings became famous as a refreshing oasis in the desert of functional architecture, as precious stones set in the grey blocks of buildings. He is considered the Dante of architecture. This book presents the personality and work of Gaudí in its entirety, all documented with abundant graphic material.

From Amazon/GoodReads reviews: "Recently returned from Barcelona and was overwhelmed with Gaudi's amazing buildings. I borrowed this book from the library and then decided I needed to add to my home library! Must go visit more of Barcelona and more of Gaudi's work."; "It'd be impossible for this mammoth-sized book to receive any rating below 5."; "A beautiful book to have if you want to visit Barcelona, ??or have recently returned, with great pictures of Gaudi's architecture. The Sagrada Familia has to be one of my favorite buildings in the world, for sheer ambition if nothing else (even if George Orwell did hate it)."