Above are pictures I took of La Pedrera also called Casa Mila.
I was exposed to Antoni Gaudi in a college course but clearly did not study the architect in depth. If I had I would have known what was in store for me when I visited Barcelona. I studied art history in college so I was highly anticipating the Picasso Museum, he has always been a favorite artist of mine. I was also looking forward to seeing the Sagrada Familia but had no idea the impact Gaudi's architecture would have on me. I was unaware that seven of his structures are listed as World Heritage Sites by UNESCO.
Casa Bottlo
It was so difficult to photograph the entire building due to the crowds of people and without standing in the street, which was not an option at this time of day. I have added a few images from the Tourist Guide Barcelona so you can see the details and scale better.
The same can be said for Sagrada Familia, the pictures we did take just did not do justice.
After Sagrada Familia we went to the Palau de la Musica Catalana which was the perfect segue. Designed by architect, Lluis Domenech i Montaner between the years of 1905 and 1908. This concert venue hosts 300 events a year and is listed as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO.
The interior and exterior was adorned with ceramic tile similar to Gaudi's architectural decoration. Montaner was determined to design a building that would allow as much natural light as possible in to the building. One way he achieved this was the bannisters he used throughout on the staircases and balconies. Montaner used a heavy spiral rod as the support and surrounded it with a glass column.
The architect designed a stained glass window for the ceiling to allow in light. The design was to imitate the actual sun and sunlight.
There were nine muses on each side of the stage, each representing different places all over the world.
The ceiling is covered with shiny ceramic tile, including the florets.
Our guide told us the reason the chandeliers were hung at an angle was to give the impression that the flowers on the chandelier were growing toward the sun in the stained glass window in the ceiling.
Here are a few more details from the Palau.
The Barcelona Cathedral speaks for itself.
We were able to go to the top and get some great detail shots.
This one above is my absolute favorite!!!!
We next visited a monastery that had some great doors and old hardware.
The Picasso Museum was wonderful, I didn't take photos of the outside because it was not really remarkable and inside the museum, there were no photos allowed.
The collection was extensive and there were pieces I had never seen before. What was most interesting about the collection is that it contained a lot of his academic work including, "Science and Charity".
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| Image from artpedia.tumblr.com |
I had no idea how many studies he did leading up to the final painting or I just might not remember from my college studies, its been a while.
The Museu Nacional D'Arte De Catalunya was our last major site visit. The museum hosts the largest collection of romanesque mural painting.
And then there were more doors and hardware along with the ubiquitous coats of arms and religious iconography.
I am going to share the rest of my images in blogs by city as well. Stay tuned.
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