sinopsis

When the Corbusian International Modern style, with its contempt for ornament, imposed itself on architecture, figures like Gaudí (1852-1926) were relegated to the sidelines. In this volume, Lahuerta situates Gaudí in his context and vindicates his fin-de-siècle bohemian modernity. Embodied in such powerful images as the spires of the Sagrada Familia and the flames rising from burning churches during the Tragic Week of 1909, the story takes us back to the Barcelona of the early twentieth century, when class struggle threatened to topple the prevailing capitalist model. Drawing on rare original documents collected over several decades, the author shows that Gaudí was not an isolated eccentric but an architect who was keenly aware of the key theories and major works of his time and the creator of revolutionary technical innovations.