For the Love of Gaudi

Jacob’s question, “should we take trains today or buses?” replayed in my mind during our walk to the metro station on our way to La Sagrada Familia in Barcelona, Spain. The girls of course chose trains because they love going underground, putting their tickets in the ticket-taker and pushing the button to open the doors of the metro trains. I went along with the decision but wondered if a bus wouldn’t be the better choice to allow us to see more of the city on the way. However, when we surfaced at our station the “wows!” from my husband and children met my ears before La Sagrada Familia met my eyes. Once it did, a “wow!” escaped my lips as well. From across the street, the cathedral looked so close it seemed I could reach out and touch the spires that towered high above our heads. I would have missed this reveal had we taken a bus. This was just the beginning of the reveals that were in store for us that day.

Surprisingly to me, Mackenzie requested that we have a guided tour through the Cathedral. She must have developed a liking for guides when we were toured through the Catacombs in Lima. Mackenzie was like a magnet to the tour guide’s side often leaving us in the very back of the 15+person tour. When asked about it, she said she wanted to be the first to see what was next. Of course Jacob and I agreed to her request for the La Sagrada Familia excursion despite the added expense and I am so glad we did. Our tour guide, Bernat, was a wonderfully enthusiastic, well-informed guide who engaged the girls often during the tour. He looked at them with his bright eyes to ask them questions that they could understand and answer. This approach kept them engaged for the full hour-long tour and had Mackenzie chasing after him asking great questions like “if Gaudi’s plans were all burned during the (Spanish Civil) war, how is this building here?”.

Entering the Cathedral for the first time is an experience I wish I could have over and over again. Losing my ability to breathe and speak, I gazed up at the columns towering above our heads painted by the afternoon light that was shining in through the multicolored stained glass. The whole atrium was lit up like a rainbow. The ceiling sparkled like stars. In fact, we learned, Gaudi’s intention was to allow Mother Earth to paint the inside of the cathedral each day with her sunlight as it bursts through the stained glass. Gaudi’s art was inspired by nature. He paid homage to the colors of the earth as a way to depict the symbols from the bible. His plans directed builders to install one side of the cathedral with red and orange stain glass, a symbol of the passion and blood of Christ, and the other blue and green to symbolize the Holy Family. The colors evoke a sense of water, air, earth, and fire. According to Bernat, 3:00pm, our chosen time, is the best time of day to get the full effect of the sunlight in January.

Because his plans were burned during the war, they had to be reconstructed using the scale models he built.  Many did not believe his engineering and math would work but standing under the enormous domes his genius is clear.  Starting with the roots in the ground, the columns in the cathedral are like huge trees shooting up through the atrium and branching out to form the ceiling.  I am in awe of Gaudi’s ability to observe the geometric designs and engineering constructed by nature and his ability to transform that knowledge into his design.  It is heart breaking that Gaudi was only able to see a small portion of the church built before he died. He never saw his vision literally come to light; the stained glass was only added five years ago.  The goal for completion of the entire cathedral is 2026, 100 years after Gaudi died.

Gaudi left his mark all over the city in the form of ironwork, furniture and art. Another of his famous additions to the city of Barcelona is Park Güell. Mr. Güell was a wealthy entrepreneur who became good friends with Gaudi and commissioned him to design the park, his family home and other buildings on the property. The buildings, bridges and landscape in the park for me are reminiscent of something out of a fairytale; specifically Hansel and Gretel come to mind. In the “monumental zone” section of the park, the section requiring tickets, brightly colored mosaic ceramic tiles cover many of the roofs and walls. It seems to me that Gaudi loved movement; loved to make his structures seem like they are undulating like the ocean or a flag in the breeze. Stark white columns contrast the colors of the mosaic tile. Outside of the monumental zone the fanciful, magical energy continues using the landscape and natural stone.  The bridges and columns scattered around the park look like the process of wind and water formed them. Again, Gaudi created movement with the columns as they twist up to the ceiling and create a spiral at the top. A mosaic of shades of brown stone are meticulously placed making the surface look like the scales of a dragon. I could spend hours and hours at this park. Really, one needs a full day to explore the massive expanse with secret little walkways and stairs scattered throughout.

I’m not sure if it is the nature of the culture and people of Catalonia, specifically Barcelona, or if Gaudi’s influence seeped into the people over time, but it seems that the residents of Barcelona are drawn to creating light, whimsical, storybook art that is caught in time. We were lucky to be in Barcelona for the holidays because we got to participate in the many activities in Plaça Catalunya. The girls made brightly colored origami birds, wrote their wishes to Santa on them and hung them on trees constructed of wood and twigs. We watched a silly show with clockwork characters, couldn’t understand a word as they were speaking Catalan, but the spirit was fun and engaging. We took from that show inside jokes that make us giggle even today.

I could write and write about the gems of Barcelona and Gaudi’s art. His work is so detailed and because he was a deeply devout catholic, some of the details had very significant religious meaning to him.   However, I feel I must hold some of it back. I wouldn’t want to take away the experience of surprise and wonder as you explore the city and lose your breath when your own “wows” slip out of your gaping mouth.