Gaudí was born in 1852 in the town of Reus, in the Spanish province of Tarragona. Although there is much dispute about whether Riudoms or Reus is Gaudí’s hometown, most of his biographers suggest that he was in fact born in Reus. He came from a family of coppersmiths. His parents were Francesc Gaudí i Serra and Antònia Cornet i Bertran. As a boy, his health was quite fragile. His rheumatism kept him from playing with the local children, so he often stayed indoors. Sometimes, he even had to be carried around on a donkey. Gaudí suffered from this condition his whole life and it kept coming back until his death. His doctor prescribed him a strict vegetarian diet and regular, but moderate exercise, including his typical walks to the church of Sant Felip Neri. As a young man, Gaudí liked taking long walks, which was considered quite unusual at the time.

Gaudí studied architecture at the Barcelona Higher School of Architecture from 1873 to 1877. Since he did not have much money, he worked as a drafter and sometimes even as a furniture designer. As he was very good at those jobs, two well-known Catalan architects, Josep Fontserè and Joan Martorell, hired him to help them with various projects.

He graduated in 1878 and got his first real job, to design a set of lampposts for the Barcelona city center. Gaudí’s first great work was the Casa Vicens, the home of Manuel Vicens, an owner of a brick and tile factory.

Antoni Gaudí devoted his whole life to his work and he never got married. He had Nordic features and blue eyes. As a young man, he wore expensive clothes, ate only in the best restaurants, and often visited theaters and opera houses around Barcelona. Many people considered him to be antisocial, unpleasant and arrogant. Gaudí himself acknowledged that he had a bad temper and that it was the only thing in his life that he could not manage to control. However, people closest to him used to say that he was a loyal friend, a great person to talk to and a very pleasant man. He advocated the independence of Catalonia, but never wanted to actively engage in politics.

The turning point of his life was when a display cabinet, which he designed for a glove factory, was chosen to be presented at the Paris World Exhibition. Gaudí did not receive many awards for his work in his lifetime. The only award he got was for the Casa Calvet. However, even though he was not publicly praised, there were always clients who appreciated his genius. After completing his first projects, different orders just kept piling up. What is interesting is that he was asked to design his greatest work before he even became famous. He was entrusted with one of the most ambitious architectural projects in Barcelona – the Basilica and Expiatory Church of the Holy Family, better known as Sagrada Família. Gaudí also designed furniture which corresponded to his own style.

One of the most important people in Gaudí’s life and career was Eusebi Güell. Güell became Gaudí’s main client and patron. Gaudí’s architectural imagination was devoted to the Sagrada Família cathedral, which he did not manage to complete before he died. Gaudí was aware of the importance of what he wanted to achieve with this building. He saw himself as a descendant of the great traditional architects who designed medieval cathedrals.

Unfortunately, he did not succeed in completing his greatest work because he tragically lost his life on June 10, 1926. During one of his evening walks, which he took every day after work, on his way to the church of Sant Felip Neri (where he went for his habitual prayer and confession), he was hit by a streetcar. He lost consciousness and fell on the street; since he was very modest and wore old, ripped clothes, as well as because he rarely appeared in public, nobody recognized him. Taxi drivers refused to drive the shabbily dressed old man to the hospital, and they were severely punished for this later. Passers-by finally took pity on the badly injured man and took care of him. The government announced that he should be buried in the crypt of the unfinished Sagrada Família. The Pope himself gave his consent. Gaudí was therefore buried inside of the building to which he devoted the last 43 years of his life. He spent his last twelve years working exclusively on this project.

Sagrada Família

Sagrada Família, a Roman Catholic church in Barcelona, is Gaudí’s greatest work and is visited by approximately 3.2 million tourists every year, making it the most popular site in Spain. While working on the church, Gaudí became deeply religious and devoted himself only to its construction, neglecting all his other works.

Gaudí’s idea was to construct eighteen towers within Sagrada Família, representing the Twelve Apostles, the Virgin Mary and the Four Evangelists, with the highest one representing Jesus Christ.

There were to be three facades: the Nativity Facade, the Glory Facade, and the Passion Facade.

A large part of the Nativity Facade, which is dedicated to the birth of Jesus, had been built during Gaudí’s lifetime. The facade is decorated with motifs representing the elements of life, as well as sculptures which are decorated with images from nature.

The Passion Facade is dedicated to the suffering of Jesus Christ, and the towers were completed in 1976 following the drawings and instructions left by Gaudí. He intended this facade to strike fear into the onlooker. He wanted to "break" arcs to further show the severity and brutality of Christ's sacrifice.

The largest and most striking of the facades will be the Glory Facade, the construction of which began in 2002. It is dedicated to the Celestial Glory of Jesus and represents the path to God. Aware that he may not live long enough to see this facade completed, Gaudí made a model which was unfortunately demolished in 1936.

Sagrada Família's construction progressed slowly, as it relied mostly on private donations. Its construction was soon interrupted by the Spanish Civil War. Construction was continued after Gaudí’s death in 1926, and the interior of the church was completed in 2010. The anticipated completion date is 2026, the centenary of Gaudí's death. Together with Gaudí’s other buildings, Sagrada Família is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Park Güell

Park Güell is another of Gaudí’s famous complexes, in which he spent the last 20 years of his life. The park was a part of a commercially unsuccessful residential area at first, but it was later turned into a city garden.

Wavy shapes, similar to lava and resembling trees, and shapes similar to Doric columns or stalactites are excessively decorated by mosaics of broken ceramic tiles, which is a special kind of technique used primarily in Catalan modernism, called trencadís. The park area is in tune with the natural terrain; steep slopes and cliffs were retained, and crooked paths, indents and caves were added to the natural scenery. Gaudí’s colorful mosaic salamander sculpture, popularly known as the dragon, graces the main entrance.

Even though it sounds unusual, the park is skillfully designed to bring peace and calm that one would expect from a park. The buildings, though very original and remarkable, seem relatively inconspicuous in comparison to other buildings designed by Gaudí. They all have fantastically shaped roofs with unusual pinnacles. The focal point of the park is the main terrace, surrounded by a long bench in the form of a sea serpent. Gaudí used a naked man, who sat in the clay, to design the bench. The curves of the serpent bench form a number of enclaves, creating a more social atmosphere.

Casa Milà

Casa Milà (also known as La Pedrera – meaning "the quarry") was constructed between 1906 and 1912 in the Catalan modernist style, and is located in the Barcelona city center. It was commissioned by the Milàs, a couple from Barcelona. It was to be built in Gaudí’s typical style, with few straight lines and surfaces, and with many curves and bends, resembling waves. The whole facade is made of stone, with the exception of the roof, which is covered in white ceramic tiles. There are staircase exits and chimneys on the roof, covered with broken pottery, resembling the heads of warriors wearing helmets.

The seaweed-shaped curved iron beams on the balconies are especially stunning. The house has five floors. Today, this house is owned by a bank, which has commissioned the conservation and restoration several times so far. Cultural manifestations, exhibitions and conferences are held there. Some of the floors have been turned into offices, but there are still old Catalan families living there. In 1984, La Pedrera was declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO.

Some of Gaudí’s other great buildings are Casa Calvet, Casa Batlló, Palau Güell, Colònia Güell, Güell Pavilions (Finca Güell) and Casa Vicens, the fountain in the Parc de la Ciutadella.

If you ever find yourself in Barcelona, do not miss the chance to enjoy the works of art of the famous Spanish architect Antoni Gaudí.