Modernisme
Encyclopedia
Modernisme was a cultural movement associated with the search for Catalan national identity. It is often understood as an equivalent to a number of fin-de-siècle art movements, such as Art Nouveau
, Jugendstil, Secessionism, and Liberty style, and was active from roughly 1888 (the First International Exhibition of Barcelona) to 1911 (the death of Joan Maragall
, the most important Modernista poet). The Modernisme movement was centred on the city of Barcelona
, and is best-known for its architectural expression, especially the work of Antoni Gaudí
, but was also significant in sculpture, poetry, theatre and painting—notable painters include Santiago Rusiñol
and Ramon Casas.
was an important influence upon Modernista artists, who were receptive to the ideas of Valentí Almirall and Enric Prat de la Riba
and wanted Catalan culture to be regarded as equal to that of other European countries. Such ideas can be seen in some of Rusiñol's plays against the Spanish army (most notably L'Hèroe), in some authors close to anarchism
(Jaume Brossa and Gabriel Alomar
, for example) or in the articles of federalist
anti-monarchic
writers such as Miquel dels Sants Oliver. They also opposed the traditionalism and religiousness of the Renaixença
Catalan Romantics, whom they ridiculed in plays such as Santiago Rusiñol
's Els Jocs Florals de Canprosa (roughly, "The Poetry Contest of Proseland"), a satire of the revived Jocs Florals and the political milieu which promoted them.
Modernistes largely rejected bourgeois values, which they thought to be the opposite of art. Consequently, they adopted two stances: they either set themselves apart from society in a bohemian
or culturalist attitude (Decadent and Parnassian poets, Symbolist playwrights, etc.) or they attempted to use art to change society (Modernista architects and designers, playwrights inspired by Henrik Ibsen
, some of Maragall
's poetry, etc.)
in the Parc de la Ciutadella for the 1888 Universal Exhibition
. It is a search for a particular style for Catalonia drawing on Medieval and arab styles. Like the currents known in other countries as Art Nouveau
, Jugendstil, Stile Liberty, Modern Style or Sezessionstil, Modernisme is basically derived from the English Arts and Crafts movement
movement and the Gothic revival. As well as combining a rich variety of historically-derived elements, it is characterized by the predominance of the curve over the straight line, by rich decoration and detail, by the frequent use of vegetal and other organic motifs, the taste for asymmetry, a refined aestheticism, and the dynamic shapes.
Antoni Gaudí
is the best-known architect of this movement. Other influential architects were Lluís Domènech i Montaner
and Josep Puig i Cadafalch
, and later Josep Maria Jujol
and Enrique Nieto.
While Barcelona was the centre of Modernista construction, the Catalan industrial bourgeoisie built industrial buildings and summer residences - cases d'estiueig - in many Catalan towns, notably Terrassa
and Reus
. The textile factory which is now home to the Catalan national technical museum MNACTEC is an outstanding example.
(whose highly controversial Josafat involved a demented priest who ends up killing a prostitute), Caterina Albert
(also known as Víctor Catala), author of bloody, expressionistic tales of rural violence, opposed to the idealisation of nature propugned by Catalan Romantics, or Raimon Casellas have been highly influential upon later Catalan narrative, essentially recovering a genre that had been lost due to political causes since the end of the Middle Ages. Those writers often, though not always, show influences from Russian literature of the 19th Century and also Gothic novels. Still, works not influenced by those sources, such as Joaquim Ruyra's slice-of-life tales of the North-Eastern Catalan coast are perhaps even more influential than that of the aforementioned authors, and Rusiñol's well-known L'Auca del Senyor Esteve
(roughly "The Tale of Mr. Esteve"; an auca
is a type of illustrated broadside
, similar to a one-sheet comic book) is an ironic critique of Catalan bourgeoisie more related to ironic, pre-Realist Catalan costumisme.
In poetry, Modernisme closely follows Symbolist and Parnassian poetry, with poets frequently crossing the line between both tendencies or alternating between them. Another important strain of Modernista poetry is Joan Maragall
's "Paraula viva" (Living word) school, which advocated Nietzschean vitalism and spontaneous and imperfect writing over cold and thought-over poetry. Although poetry was very popular with the Modernistes and there were lots of poets involved in the movement, Maragall is the only Modernista poet who is still widely read today.
Modernista theatre was also important, as it smashed the insubstantial regional plays that were popular in 19th century Catalonia. There were two main schools of Modernista theatre: social theatre, which intended to change society and denounce injustice—the worker stories of Ignasi Iglésias, for example Els Vells ("The old ones"); the Ibsen-inspired works of Joan Puig i Ferreter, most notably Aigües Encantades ("Enchanted Waters"); Rusiñol's antimilitaristic play L'Hèroe—and symbolist theatre, which emphasised the distance between artists and the bourgeoisie—for example, Rusiñol's Cigales i Formigues ("Cicadas and Ants") or El Jardí Abandonat ("The Abandoned Garden").
to devise a new orthography
for Catalan. However, only with the later rise of Noucentisme
did his projects come to fruition and end the orthographic chaos which reigned at the time.
artists started to ridicule the rebel ideas of Modernisme and propelled a more bourgeois art and a more right-of-center version of Catalan Nationalism, which eventually rose to power with the victory of the Lliga Regionalista
in 1912. Until Miguel Primo de Rivera
's dictatorship suppressed all substantial public use of Catalan, Noucentisme was immensely popular in Catalonia. However, Modernisme did have a revival of sorts during the Second Spanish Republic
, with avant-garde
writers such as Futurist
Joan-Salvat Papasseit earning comparisons to Joan Maragall, and the spirit of Surrealists
such as Josep Vicent Foix or Salvador Dalí
being clearly similar to the rebellion of the Modernistes, what with Dalí proclaiming that Catalan Romanticist Àngel Guimerà
was a putrefact pervert. However, the ties between Catalan art from the 1930s and Modernisme are not that clear, as said artists were not consciously attempting to continue any tradition.
Modernista architecture survived longer. The Spanish city of Melilla
in Northern Africa experienced an economic boom at the turn of the century, and its new bourgeoisie showed its riches by massively ordering Modernista buildings. The workshops established there by Catalan architect Enrique Nieto continued producing decorations in this style even when it was out of fashion in Barcelona, which results in Melilla having, oddly enough, the second largest concentration of Modernista works after Barcelona.
as World Cultural Heritage:
, Lluís Domènech i Montaner
and Josep Puig i Cadafalch
.
Art Nouveau
Art Nouveau is an international philosophy and style of art, architecture and applied art—especially the decorative arts—that were most popular during 1890–1910. The name "Art Nouveau" is French for "new art"...
, Jugendstil, Secessionism, and Liberty style, and was active from roughly 1888 (the First International Exhibition of Barcelona) to 1911 (the death of Joan Maragall
Joan Maragall
Joan Maragall i Gorina was a Catalan poet, journalist and translator, the foremost member of the modernisme movement in literature.-Life:...
, the most important Modernista poet). The Modernisme movement was centred on the city of Barcelona
Barcelona
Barcelona is the second largest city in Spain after Madrid, and the capital of Catalonia, with a population of 1,621,537 within its administrative limits on a land area of...
, and is best-known for its architectural expression, especially the work of Antoni Gaudí
Antoni Gaudí
Antoni Gaudí i Cornet was a Spanish Catalan architect and figurehead of Catalan Modernism. Gaudí's works reflect his highly individual and distinctive style and are largely concentrated in the Catalan capital of Barcelona, notably his magnum opus, the Sagrada Família.Much of Gaudí's work was...
, but was also significant in sculpture, poetry, theatre and painting—notable painters include Santiago Rusiñol
Santiago Rusiñol
Santiago Rusiñol i Prats was a Catalan post-impressionist/Symbolist painter, poet, and playwright.He was born in Barcelona in 1861, and died in Aranjuez in 1931 while painting its famous gardens....
and Ramon Casas.
Main concepts
Catalan nationalismCatalan nationalism
Catalan nationalism or Catalanism , is a political movement advocating for either further political autonomy or full independence of Catalonia....
was an important influence upon Modernista artists, who were receptive to the ideas of Valentí Almirall and Enric Prat de la Riba
Enric Prat de la Riba
Enric Prat de la Riba i Sarrà was a Catalan politician. He became a member of the Centre Escolar Catalanista, where one of the earliest definitions of Catalan nationalism was formulated....
and wanted Catalan culture to be regarded as equal to that of other European countries. Such ideas can be seen in some of Rusiñol's plays against the Spanish army (most notably L'Hèroe), in some authors close to anarchism
Anarchism
Anarchism is generally defined as the political philosophy which holds the state to be undesirable, unnecessary, and harmful, or alternatively as opposing authority in the conduct of human relations...
(Jaume Brossa and Gabriel Alomar
Gabriel Alomar
Gabriel Alomar was a poet, essayist, and educator of the early twentieth century in Spain, closely related to the Catalan art movement Modernisme...
, for example) or in the articles of federalist
Federalism
Federalism is a political concept in which a group of members are bound together by covenant with a governing representative head. The term "federalism" is also used to describe a system of the government in which sovereignty is constitutionally divided between a central governing authority and...
anti-monarchic
Monarchism
Monarchism is the advocacy of the establishment, preservation, or restoration of a monarchy as a form of government in a nation. A monarchist is an individual who supports this form of government out of principle, independent from the person, the Monarch.In this system, the Monarch may be the...
writers such as Miquel dels Sants Oliver. They also opposed the traditionalism and religiousness of the Renaixença
Renaixença
The Renaixença was an early 19th century late romantic revivalist movement in Catalan language and culture, akin to the Galician Rexurdimento or the Occitan Félibrige movements. The first stimuli of the movement date of the 1830s and 1840s, but the Renaixença stretches up into the 1880s, until it...
Catalan Romantics, whom they ridiculed in plays such as Santiago Rusiñol
Santiago Rusiñol
Santiago Rusiñol i Prats was a Catalan post-impressionist/Symbolist painter, poet, and playwright.He was born in Barcelona in 1861, and died in Aranjuez in 1931 while painting its famous gardens....
's Els Jocs Florals de Canprosa (roughly, "The Poetry Contest of Proseland"), a satire of the revived Jocs Florals and the political milieu which promoted them.
Modernistes largely rejected bourgeois values, which they thought to be the opposite of art. Consequently, they adopted two stances: they either set themselves apart from society in a bohemian
Bohemianism
Bohemianism is the practice of an unconventional lifestyle, often in the company of like-minded people, with few permanent ties, involving musical, artistic or literary pursuits...
or culturalist attitude (Decadent and Parnassian poets, Symbolist playwrights, etc.) or they attempted to use art to change society (Modernista architects and designers, playwrights inspired by Henrik Ibsen
Henrik Ibsen
Henrik Ibsen was a major 19th-century Norwegian playwright, theatre director, and poet. He is often referred to as "the father of prose drama" and is one of the founders of Modernism in the theatre...
, some of Maragall
Joan Maragall
Joan Maragall i Gorina was a Catalan poet, journalist and translator, the foremost member of the modernisme movement in literature.-Life:...
's poetry, etc.)
Architecture and the plastic arts
The earliest example of Modernista architecture is the café Castell dels tres Dragons designed by Lluís Domènech i MontanerLluís Domènech i Montaner
Lluís Domènech i Montaner was a Spanish Catalan architect who was highly influential on Modernisme català, the Catalan Art Nouveau / Jugendstil movement. He was also a Catalan politician....
in the Parc de la Ciutadella for the 1888 Universal Exhibition
Exposición Universal de Barcelona
The Exposición Universal de Barcelona was Spain's first international Exposition and ran from May 20 to December 9 1888.-Summary:Eugenio Serrano de Casanova tried to launch an expo in 1886, and when that failed the Mayor took over. The fair was hosted on the 115 acre site of Parc de la Ciutadella...
. It is a search for a particular style for Catalonia drawing on Medieval and arab styles. Like the currents known in other countries as Art Nouveau
Art Nouveau
Art Nouveau is an international philosophy and style of art, architecture and applied art—especially the decorative arts—that were most popular during 1890–1910. The name "Art Nouveau" is French for "new art"...
, Jugendstil, Stile Liberty, Modern Style or Sezessionstil, Modernisme is basically derived from the English Arts and Crafts movement
Arts and Crafts movement
Arts and Crafts was an international design philosophy that originated in England and flourished between 1860 and 1910 , continuing its influence until the 1930s...
movement and the Gothic revival. As well as combining a rich variety of historically-derived elements, it is characterized by the predominance of the curve over the straight line, by rich decoration and detail, by the frequent use of vegetal and other organic motifs, the taste for asymmetry, a refined aestheticism, and the dynamic shapes.
Antoni Gaudí
Antoni Gaudí
Antoni Gaudí i Cornet was a Spanish Catalan architect and figurehead of Catalan Modernism. Gaudí's works reflect his highly individual and distinctive style and are largely concentrated in the Catalan capital of Barcelona, notably his magnum opus, the Sagrada Família.Much of Gaudí's work was...
is the best-known architect of this movement. Other influential architects were Lluís Domènech i Montaner
Lluís Domènech i Montaner
Lluís Domènech i Montaner was a Spanish Catalan architect who was highly influential on Modernisme català, the Catalan Art Nouveau / Jugendstil movement. He was also a Catalan politician....
and Josep Puig i Cadafalch
Josep Puig i Cadafalch
Josep Puig i Cadafalch was a Spanish Catalan Modernista architect who designed many significant buildings in Barcelona...
, and later Josep Maria Jujol
Josep Maria Jujol
Josep Maria Jujol Gibert was a Catalan architect.Jujol's wide field of activity ranged from furniture designs and painting, to architecture. He worked with Antoni Gaudí on many of his most famous works.-Biography:...
and Enrique Nieto.
While Barcelona was the centre of Modernista construction, the Catalan industrial bourgeoisie built industrial buildings and summer residences - cases d'estiueig - in many Catalan towns, notably Terrassa
Terrassa
Terrassa is a city in the east central region of Catalonia, Spain, in the comarca of Vallès Occidental, of which it is the co-capital along with Sabadell, the historic capital....
and Reus
Reus
Reus is the capital of the comarca of Baix Camp, in the province of Tarragona, in Catalonia, Spain. The area has always been an important producer of wines and spirits, and gained continental importance at the time of the Phylloxera plague...
. The textile factory which is now home to the Catalan national technical museum MNACTEC is an outstanding example.
Literature
In literature, Modernisme stood out the most in narrative. The nouvelles and novels of decadent writers such as Prudenci BertranaPrudenci Bertrana
Prudenci Bertrana i Comte was an important modernist writer in Catalan. During his youth, he studied at Girona; some years after he went to Barcelona to study an industrial engineering course, city in which he definitely instatled on 1911, where he managed known magazines as L'Esquella de la...
(whose highly controversial Josafat involved a demented priest who ends up killing a prostitute), Caterina Albert
Caterina Albert
Caterina Albert i Paradís , better known by her penname Víctor Català, was a Catalan writer who participated in the Modernism movement and was the author of one of the signature works of the genre, Solitud...
(also known as Víctor Catala), author of bloody, expressionistic tales of rural violence, opposed to the idealisation of nature propugned by Catalan Romantics, or Raimon Casellas have been highly influential upon later Catalan narrative, essentially recovering a genre that had been lost due to political causes since the end of the Middle Ages. Those writers often, though not always, show influences from Russian literature of the 19th Century and also Gothic novels. Still, works not influenced by those sources, such as Joaquim Ruyra's slice-of-life tales of the North-Eastern Catalan coast are perhaps even more influential than that of the aforementioned authors, and Rusiñol's well-known L'Auca del Senyor Esteve
L'auca del senyor Esteve
L'auca del senyor Esteve is a novel by Santiago Rusiñol published in 1907, of which there is a theatrical version. On 12 May 1917, the theatrical version of this novel is first played in Teatre Victòria, Barcelona .-Characteristics:...
(roughly "The Tale of Mr. Esteve"; an auca
Auca (cartoon)
An auca is a genre of a story in pictures developed mainly in Catalonia.-Description:The auca was present in some other parts of Spain, even though it was most popular in Catalonia. It has a structure somewhat similar to comics, but has more rigid...
is a type of illustrated broadside
Broadside (printing)
A broadside is a large sheet of paper printed on one side only. Historically, broadsides were posters, announcing events or proclamations, or simply advertisements...
, similar to a one-sheet comic book) is an ironic critique of Catalan bourgeoisie more related to ironic, pre-Realist Catalan costumisme.
In poetry, Modernisme closely follows Symbolist and Parnassian poetry, with poets frequently crossing the line between both tendencies or alternating between them. Another important strain of Modernista poetry is Joan Maragall
Joan Maragall
Joan Maragall i Gorina was a Catalan poet, journalist and translator, the foremost member of the modernisme movement in literature.-Life:...
's "Paraula viva" (Living word) school, which advocated Nietzschean vitalism and spontaneous and imperfect writing over cold and thought-over poetry. Although poetry was very popular with the Modernistes and there were lots of poets involved in the movement, Maragall is the only Modernista poet who is still widely read today.
Modernista theatre was also important, as it smashed the insubstantial regional plays that were popular in 19th century Catalonia. There were two main schools of Modernista theatre: social theatre, which intended to change society and denounce injustice—the worker stories of Ignasi Iglésias, for example Els Vells ("The old ones"); the Ibsen-inspired works of Joan Puig i Ferreter, most notably Aigües Encantades ("Enchanted Waters"); Rusiñol's antimilitaristic play L'Hèroe—and symbolist theatre, which emphasised the distance between artists and the bourgeoisie—for example, Rusiñol's Cigales i Formigues ("Cicadas and Ants") or El Jardí Abandonat ("The Abandoned Garden").
Linguistics
Modernista ideas impelled L'Avenç collaborator Pompeu FabraPompeu Fabra
Pompeu Fabra i Poch was a Catalan grammarian, the main author of the normative reform of contemporary Catalan language....
to devise a new orthography
Orthography
The orthography of a language specifies a standardized way of using a specific writing system to write the language. Where more than one writing system is used for a language, for example Kurdish, Uyghur, Serbian or Inuktitut, there can be more than one orthography...
for Catalan. However, only with the later rise of Noucentisme
Noucentisme
Noucentisme was a Catalan cultural movement of the early 20th century that originated largely as a reaction against Modernisme, both in art and ideology, and was, simultaneously, a perception of art almost opposite to that of avantgardists...
did his projects come to fruition and end the orthographic chaos which reigned at the time.
The end of Modernisme
By 1910, Modernisme had been accepted by the bourgeoisie and had pretty much turned into a fad. It was around this time that NoucentistaNoucentisme
Noucentisme was a Catalan cultural movement of the early 20th century that originated largely as a reaction against Modernisme, both in art and ideology, and was, simultaneously, a perception of art almost opposite to that of avantgardists...
artists started to ridicule the rebel ideas of Modernisme and propelled a more bourgeois art and a more right-of-center version of Catalan Nationalism, which eventually rose to power with the victory of the Lliga Regionalista
Regionalist League
Regionalist League was a political party of Catalonia, Spain, that appeared thanks to the triumph of the candidacy of the "four presidents" in 1901...
in 1912. Until Miguel Primo de Rivera
Miguel Primo de Rivera
Miguel Primo de Rivera y Orbaneja, 2nd Marquis of Estella, 22nd Count of Sobremonte, Knight of Calatrava was a Spanish dictator, aristocrat, and a military official who was appointed Prime Minister by the King and who for seven years was a dictator, ending the turno system of alternating...
's dictatorship suppressed all substantial public use of Catalan, Noucentisme was immensely popular in Catalonia. However, Modernisme did have a revival of sorts during the Second Spanish Republic
Second Spanish Republic
The Second Spanish Republic was the government of Spain between April 14 1931, and its destruction by a military rebellion, led by General Francisco Franco....
, with avant-garde
Avant-garde
Avant-garde means "advance guard" or "vanguard". The adjective form is used in English to refer to people or works that are experimental or innovative, particularly with respect to art, culture, and politics....
writers such as Futurist
Futurism (art)
Futurism was an artistic and social movement that originated in Italy in the early 20th century. It emphasized and glorified themes associated with contemporary concepts of the future, including speed, technology, youth and violence, and objects such as the car, the airplane and the industrial city...
Joan-Salvat Papasseit earning comparisons to Joan Maragall, and the spirit of Surrealists
Surrealism
Surrealism is a cultural movement that began in the early 1920s, and is best known for the visual artworks and writings of the group members....
such as Josep Vicent Foix or Salvador Dalí
Salvador Dalí
Salvador Domènec Felip Jacint Dalí i Domènech, Marquis de Púbol , commonly known as Salvador Dalí , was a prominent Spanish Catalan surrealist painter born in Figueres,Spain....
being clearly similar to the rebellion of the Modernistes, what with Dalí proclaiming that Catalan Romanticist Àngel Guimerà
Àngel Guimerà
Àngel Guimerà i Jorge was a Spanish Canarian writer, born in Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Canary Islands, to a Catalan father and a Canary islander mother...
was a putrefact pervert. However, the ties between Catalan art from the 1930s and Modernisme are not that clear, as said artists were not consciously attempting to continue any tradition.
Modernista architecture survived longer. The Spanish city of Melilla
Melilla
Melilla is a autonomous city of Spain and an exclave on the north coast of Morocco. Melilla, along with the Spanish exclave Ceuta, is one of the two Spanish territories located in mainland Africa...
in Northern Africa experienced an economic boom at the turn of the century, and its new bourgeoisie showed its riches by massively ordering Modernista buildings. The workshops established there by Catalan architect Enrique Nieto continued producing decorations in this style even when it was out of fashion in Barcelona, which results in Melilla having, oddly enough, the second largest concentration of Modernista works after Barcelona.
UNESCO World Heritage
Some of the works of Catalan Modernism have been listed by UNESCOUNESCO
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations...
as World Cultural Heritage:
- By Lluís Domènech i MontanerLluís Domènech i MontanerLluís Domènech i Montaner was a Spanish Catalan architect who was highly influential on Modernisme català, the Catalan Art Nouveau / Jugendstil movement. He was also a Catalan politician....
:- Palau de la Música CatalanaPalau de la Música CatalanaThe Palau de la Música Catalana is a concert hall in Barcelona. Designed in the Catalan modernista style by the architect Lluís Domènech i Montaner, it was built between 1905 and 1908 for the Orfeó Català, a choral society founded in 1891 that was a leading force in the Catalan cultural movement...
en BarcelonaBarcelonaBarcelona is the second largest city in Spain after Madrid, and the capital of Catalonia, with a population of 1,621,537 within its administrative limits on a land area of...
; - Hospital de Sant PauHospital de Sant PauThe present Hospital de la Santa Creu i Sant Pau in the neighborhood of El Guinardó, Barcelona, Catalonia , is a complex built between 1901 and 1930, designed by the Catalan modernist architect Lluís Domènech i Montaner. Together with Palau de la Música Catalana, it is a UNESCO World Heritage Site...
en BarcelonaBarcelonaBarcelona is the second largest city in Spain after Madrid, and the capital of Catalonia, with a population of 1,621,537 within its administrative limits on a land area of...
;
- Palau de la Música Catalana
- By Antoni GaudíAntoni GaudíAntoni Gaudí i Cornet was a Spanish Catalan architect and figurehead of Catalan Modernism. Gaudí's works reflect his highly individual and distinctive style and are largely concentrated in the Catalan capital of Barcelona, notably his magnum opus, the Sagrada Família.Much of Gaudí's work was...
:- Park GüellPark GüellPark Güell is a garden complex with architectural elements situated on the hill of El Carmel in the Gràcia district of Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. It was designed by the Catalan architect Antoni Gaudí and built in the years 1900 to 1914...
in BarcelonaBarcelonaBarcelona is the second largest city in Spain after Madrid, and the capital of Catalonia, with a population of 1,621,537 within its administrative limits on a land area of...
; - Palau GüellPalau GüellThe Palau Güell is a mansion in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain designed by the Catalan architect Antoni Gaudí for the Catalan industrial tycoon Eusebi Güell.It is part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site "Works of Antoni Gaudí"....
in BarcelonaBarcelonaBarcelona is the second largest city in Spain after Madrid, and the capital of Catalonia, with a population of 1,621,537 within its administrative limits on a land area of...
; - Sagrada FamíliaSagrada FamiliaThe ' , commonly known as the Sagrada Família, is a large Roman Catholic church in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain, designed by Catalan architect Antoni Gaudí...
in BarcelonaBarcelonaBarcelona is the second largest city in Spain after Madrid, and the capital of Catalonia, with a population of 1,621,537 within its administrative limits on a land area of...
; - Casa BatllóCasa BatllóCasa Batlló is a building restored by Antoni Gaudí and Josep Maria Jujol, built in the year 1877 and remodelled in the years 1904–1906; located at 43, Passeig de Gràcia , part of the Illa de la Discòrdia in the Eixample district of Barcelona, Spain...
in BarcelonaBarcelonaBarcelona is the second largest city in Spain after Madrid, and the capital of Catalonia, with a population of 1,621,537 within its administrative limits on a land area of...
; - Casa MiláCasa MilàCasa Milà , better known as La Pedrera , is a building designed by the Catalan architect Antoni Gaudí and built during the years 1905–1910, being considered officially completed in 1912...
in BarcelonaBarcelonaBarcelona is the second largest city in Spain after Madrid, and the capital of Catalonia, with a population of 1,621,537 within its administrative limits on a land area of...
; - Casa VicensCasa VicensCasa Vicens is a family residence in Barcelona , designed by Antoni Gaudí and built for industrialist Manuel Vicens. It was Gaudí's first important work. It was added to the UNESCO World Heritage Site "Works of Antoni Gaudí" in 2005....
in BarcelonaBarcelonaBarcelona is the second largest city in Spain after Madrid, and the capital of Catalonia, with a population of 1,621,537 within its administrative limits on a land area of...
; - Colònia GüellChurch of Colònia GüellThe Church of Colònia Güell is an unfinished work by Antoni Gaudí. It was built as a place of worship for the people in a manufacturing suburb in Santa Coloma de Cervelló, near Barcelona . Colònia Güell was the brainchild of Count Eusebi de Güell...
in Santa Coloma de CervellóSanta Coloma de CervellóSanta Coloma de Cervelló is a municipality situated in the comarca of Baix Llobregat, at the province of Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. The town has 7081 people....
.
- Park Güell
Architects
There were more than 100 architects who made buildings of the Modernista style. Highlighting them about all three: Antoni GaudíAntoni Gaudí
Antoni Gaudí i Cornet was a Spanish Catalan architect and figurehead of Catalan Modernism. Gaudí's works reflect his highly individual and distinctive style and are largely concentrated in the Catalan capital of Barcelona, notably his magnum opus, the Sagrada Família.Much of Gaudí's work was...
, Lluís Domènech i Montaner
Lluís Domènech i Montaner
Lluís Domènech i Montaner was a Spanish Catalan architect who was highly influential on Modernisme català, the Catalan Art Nouveau / Jugendstil movement. He was also a Catalan politician....
and Josep Puig i Cadafalch
Josep Puig i Cadafalch
Josep Puig i Cadafalch was a Spanish Catalan Modernista architect who designed many significant buildings in Barcelona...
.
- Antoni GaudíAntoni GaudíAntoni Gaudí i Cornet was a Spanish Catalan architect and figurehead of Catalan Modernism. Gaudí's works reflect his highly individual and distinctive style and are largely concentrated in the Catalan capital of Barcelona, notably his magnum opus, the Sagrada Família.Much of Gaudí's work was...
, who went beyong mainstream Modernisme, creating a personal style based on observation of the nature and exploitation of traditional Catalan construction traditions. He was using regulated geometric shapes as the hyperbolic paraboloid, the hyperboloid, the helicoid and the conoide. - Lluís Domènech i MontanerLluís Domènech i MontanerLluís Domènech i Montaner was a Spanish Catalan architect who was highly influential on Modernisme català, the Catalan Art Nouveau / Jugendstil movement. He was also a Catalan politician....
created a genuine alternative architecture. Along with Josep Vilaseca i CasanovasJosep Vilaseca i CasanovasJosep Vilaseca i Casanovas was a Catalan architect and artist who formed part of the Modernista movement.He studied architecture in Madrid and qualified in 1873. He travelled with Lluís Domènech i Montaner in Germany...
he worked towards a modern and international style. Domenech continued on from Viollet-le-Duc, his work characterized by a mix of constructive rationalism and ornaments inspired in the Hispano-Arab architecture as seen in the Palau de la Música CatalanaPalau de la Música CatalanaThe Palau de la Música Catalana is a concert hall in Barcelona. Designed in the Catalan modernista style by the architect Lluís Domènech i Montaner, it was built between 1905 and 1908 for the Orfeó Català, a choral society founded in 1891 that was a leading force in the Catalan cultural movement...
, in the Hospital de Sant PauHospital de Sant PauThe present Hospital de la Santa Creu i Sant Pau in the neighborhood of El Guinardó, Barcelona, Catalonia , is a complex built between 1901 and 1930, designed by the Catalan modernist architect Lluís Domènech i Montaner. Together with Palau de la Música Catalana, it is a UNESCO World Heritage Site...
or in the Institut Pere MataInstitut Pere MataL'Institut Pere Mata is a psychiatric hospital in Reus, Catalonia, Spain. The building was designed by the Catalan Modernist architect Lluís Domènech i Montaner. The hospital predates Hospital Sant Pau of Barcelona and it has a similar structure...
of Reus. His Hotel Internacional del Passeig Colom (demolished after the Exposition of 1888) was an early example of industrial building techniques. - Josep Puig i CadafalchJosep Puig i CadafalchJosep Puig i Cadafalch was a Spanish Catalan Modernista architect who designed many significant buildings in Barcelona...
: was a Catalan nationalist polititian and historian. The reform of the Casa AmatllerCasa AmatllerCasa Amatller is a building in the Modernisme style in Barcelona, designed by Josep Puig i Cadafalch. Along with Casa Batlló and Casa Lleó-Morera, it makes up the three most important buildings in Barcelona's famous Illa de la Discòrdia , noted for its unique modernist buildings.The building was...
in Passeig de Gràcia has elements of both the Catalan tradition as of others originating in the NetherlandsNetherlandsThe Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
or the German GothicGothic architectureGothic architecture is a style of architecture that flourished during the high and late medieval period. It evolved from Romanesque architecture and was succeeded by Renaissance architecture....
. The Neo-Gothic can be reviewed in the Caves Codorniu (1904).
Other architects
- Enric Sagnier i Villavecchia, the great builder of buildings for the bourgeoisie to the l'EixampleEixampleThe Eixample is a district of Barcelona between the old city and what were once surrounding small towns , constructed in the 19th and early 20th centuries....
. - Josep Maria Jujol i GibertJosep Maria JujolJosep Maria Jujol Gibert was a Catalan architect.Jujol's wide field of activity ranged from furniture designs and painting, to architecture. He worked with Antoni Gaudí on many of his most famous works.-Biography:...
, Gaudi's collaborator, creator of the fountain of the Plaça Espanya in Barcelona, and professor of the Escola Superior d'Arquitectura. - Cèsar Martinell i BrunetCèsar Martinell i BrunetCèsar Martinell i Brunet was a Catalan architect. He was part of the small and selected group of architects that were connected to Antoni Gaudí, his most important teacher...
, author of nearly 40 winerieWine cellarA wine cellar is a storage room for wine in bottles or barrels, or more rarely in carboys, amphorae or plastic containers. In an active wine cellar, important factors such as temperature and humidity are maintained by a climate control system. In contrast, passive wine cellars are not...
s (The Cathedrals of the Wine), and agricultural buildings. - Josep Vilaseca i CasanovasJosep Vilaseca i CasanovasJosep Vilaseca i Casanovas was a Catalan architect and artist who formed part of the Modernista movement.He studied architecture in Madrid and qualified in 1873. He travelled with Lluís Domènech i Montaner in Germany...
, author of the Arc de TriomfArc de TriomfThe Arc de Triomf is an archway structure in Barcelona, Spain. It was built for the Exposición Universal de Barcelona , as its main access gate by architect Josep Vilaseca i Casanovas.The arch is built in reddish brickwork in the Neo-Mudéjar style...
of Barcelona (gate entrance to the Exposition of 1888) and the Casa Pia Batlló of the Rambla Catalunya, Gran Via. - Joan Rubió i Bellver, pupil of Domènech i Montaner and disciple and assistant of Gaudí between 1893 and 1905 to the Sagrada FamíliaSagrada FamiliaThe ' , commonly known as the Sagrada Família, is a large Roman Catholic church in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain, designed by Catalan architect Antoni Gaudí...
, to the Casa BatllóCasa BatllóCasa Batlló is a building restored by Antoni Gaudí and Josep Maria Jujol, built in the year 1877 and remodelled in the years 1904–1906; located at 43, Passeig de Gràcia , part of the Illa de la Discòrdia in the Eixample district of Barcelona, Spain...
and the Parc Güell. He built the Casa Golferichs, the Casa Pomar and the building of the Escola Industrial. - Josep Amargós i Samaranch
- Francesc Berenguer i MestresFrancesc Berenguer i MestresFrancesc Berenguer i Mestres was a Catalan Modernista architect, and an assistant and friend of Antoni Gaudí.He worked with several architectural workshops...
- Domènec Boada i Piera
- Cristóbal Cascante i Colom
- Ferran Cels
- Eduard Ferrés i Puig
- Josep Font i Gumà
- Josep Graner i Prat
- Miquel Madorell i Rius
- Bernardí Martorell i Puig
- Rafael Masó i Valentí
- Francesc de Paula Morera i Gatell
- Lluís Muncunill i Parellada
- Camil Oliveras i Gensana
- Ignasi Oms i Ponsa
- Pere Caselles i Tarrats
- Josep Maria Pericas i Morros
- Josep Pujol i Brull
- Pere Ros i Tort
- Manuel Vega i March
See also
- Art NouveauArt NouveauArt Nouveau is an international philosophy and style of art, architecture and applied art—especially the decorative arts—that were most popular during 1890–1910. The name "Art Nouveau" is French for "new art"...
- ModernismModernismModernism, in its broadest definition, is modern thought, character, or practice. More specifically, the term describes the modernist movement, its set of cultural tendencies and array of associated cultural movements, originally arising from wide-scale and far-reaching changes to Western society...
- List of Modernista buildings in Barcelona
- BohemianismBohemianismBohemianism is the practice of an unconventional lifestyle, often in the company of like-minded people, with few permanent ties, involving musical, artistic or literary pursuits...
- Fin de siècleFin de siècleFin de siècle is French for "end of the century". The term sometimes encompasses both the closing and onset of an era, as it was felt to be a period of degeneration, but at the same time a period of hope for a new beginning...
- Catalan LiteratureCatalan literatureCatalan literature is the name conventionally used to refer to literature written in the Catalan language. The Catalan literary tradition is extensive, starting in the Middle Ages....
- ArchitectureArchitectureArchitecture is both the process and product of planning, designing and construction. Architectural works, in the material form of buildings, are often perceived as cultural and political symbols and as works of art...