Antonio Gaudi: to a Dancing God
Clip 2: Gaudí the perfectionist
3 min 0 sec (
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Taken from the documentary Antonio Gaudi: to a Dancing God (1974)
Original title classification not known – this clip chosen to be PG
Availability of the complete title
Curator’s clip description
Spanish architect Antonio Gaudí oversaw the whole of his artistic work – building design, construction and interior furnishings. Examples of Gaudí‘s buildings and interiors are shown, including some great pieces of his lesser known furnishings and furniture. The narrator describes how Gaudí fitted into the art movements of his day – modernism and art nouveau.
Teachers’ notes
provided by The Le@rning Federation
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This clip shows some of the work of Spanish architect Antonio Gaudí. Moving and still images from his work on Casa dels Ossos highlight examples of his interior and exterior design. The narration emphasises his highly individual style and describes the other architectural schools prevalent at the time. The clip is accompanied by lute and guitar music.
Educational value points
- The clip highlights architecture by Antonio Gaudí, recognised internationally for his highly individual and detailed architecture. Gaudí was born in 1852 at Reus near Barcelona in Catalonia, Spain and died in 1926. The basilica Sagrada Familia (cathedral of the Holy Family) in Barcelona is the most famous and significant of his works. Taking more than 100 years to build, it is not expected to be completed until 2020.
- The clip features the building Casa Batlló, which became emblematic of Gaudí‘s style. The building had originally been constructed in 1877 and Gaudí was commissioned by the original owner, after whom it is named, to remodel the facade, restore the interior and design new furniture. Gaudí covered the exterior wall with decorative stones, glass and ceramic discs. The roof is a series of ceramic pieces that resemble scales on the back of a dragon. The facade features a continual structure, a constructional innovation characteristic of Gaudí‘s style, in which elements are seamlessly connected to form a whole. Soon after work began the building was called Casa dels ossos (House of bones) because of the resemblance of its white columns to bleached bones.
- Architectural design of the period was influenced by Modernism, a cultural movement that prevailed in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The movement had different names and characteristics in different regions: Modernisme in Catalonia, Modernismo in the rest of Spain, Art Nouveau in Belgium and France, and Secession in Vienna. Regional forms of Modernism were parallel, but not identical, in style. The Catalonian form developed between 1888 and 1960 and is characterised by ornamentation, rich detailing, organic lines and asymmetric shapes.
- Art Nouveau, Secession and Modernisme are considered to have played a role in defining Gaudí‘s distinctive architectural style but, although influenced by contemporary movements, his style is a unique combination of Gothic, biomorphic and Art Nouveau.
- Gaudí‘s individual approach to design stood him apart from other modernist architects of the time. Unique to his style are his careful observations and understanding of nature, which are reflected structurally and aesthetically in his work (note the tortoiseshell designs and scales in this clip). Many of his projects remained incomplete due to the complexity of the design and the precise, intricate and extensive decorations, which he directed and designed personally.
- Detailed, rich, colourful and intricately constructed mosaics are a feature of Gaudí‘s work. He often used broken or discarded tiles on the exteriors of his buildings. This use of ceramic tiles combined the influence of his own cultural tradition with ornamental ideas from other cultures, particularly oriental and Islamic cultures.
