The architecture of Barcelona has had an evolution parallel to that of the rest of Catalan architecture, and has followed in a diverse way the multiple tendencies that have taken place in the context of the history of Western art. Throughout its history, Barcelona has welcomed various cultures and civilizations, which have contributed their concept of art and have left their legacy for posterity, from the first Iberian settlers, through the Roman settlers, Visigoths and A brief Islamic period, until the emergence in the Middle Ages of Catalan art, language and culture, with a first period of splendor for Catalan art, where Romanesque and Gothic periods were very fruitful for to the artistic development of the region.
The nineteenth century brought about some economic and cultural revitalization, which was reflected in one of the most fruitful periods in the city’s architecture, modernism. It should be noted that until the nineteenth century it was bordered by the walls of medieval origin, to be considered a military square, so that its growth was limited. The situation changed with the demolition of the walls and the donation to the city of the Fortress of Ciutadella, which led to the expansion of the city through the adjacent plain, which was reflected in the project of the Eixample prepared by Ildefons Cerdà, which was the largest territorial extension of Barcelona. Another significant increase in the surface area of the Catalan capital was the annexation of several bordering municipalities between the end of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century. All of this meant the adaptation of the new urban spaces and an increase in municipal artistic commissions on public roads, which were also favored by various events held in the city, such as the Universal Exhibition of 1888 and the International of 1929 or, more recently, for the 1992 Olympic Games and the Universal Forum of Cultures in 2004.
19th century
In this period there was a great economic revitalization, linked to the Industrial Revolution -especially the textile industry-, which led to the blow a cultural revival. Between 1854 and 1859 the demolition of the walls took place, so that the city could expand, which was why the Eixample project was built by Ildefons Cerdà in 1859. However, thanks to the revolution of In 1868 the demolition of the Ciutadella was reached, whose lands were transformed into a public park. The population was growing, especially thanks to the immigration of the rest of the state, reaching the end of the 400,000 inhabitants. Artistically, the century saw the succession of various styles of different sign, such as neoclassicism, historicism and modernism.
Neoclassicism
Neoclassicism, developed between the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries, was a return to the Greco – Roman classical art, driven by the discovery of the remains of Pompeii and Herculaneum and the theoretical work of the historian of art Johann Joachim Winckelmann. In Catalonia, the impulse of the School of Fine Arts of Barcelona (the Llotja) was decisive for the consolidation of Catalan art, as well as its departure from its trade union and craftsman aspect. If until then the construction was entrusted to masters of works of trade union formation, from now on the new architects will already have an academic degree.
Neoclassical architecture was not very productive, with the name of Antoni Cellers, an academic architect and a great theoretician of classicism. He was the author of the now-defunct Carmelite Church (1832), as well as the Alòs i Dou Palace (1818), where he makes a neoclassical interpretation of the traditional Catalan courtyard, with serial arches on Ionic columns, and a rear façade garden with an ionic tetraplastic.
His disciple was Josep Mas i Vila, author of the new facade of the Casa de la Ciudad (1830), fully classicist and monumental, with a central body that stands out from the rest, where four Ionian columns stand out that hold an attic with the shield of the city. Mas i Vila, master of houses and fountains of the City Council, was also in charge of the remodeling of the Plaça de Sant Jaume and the urbanization of Ferran Street, as well as the construction of the market for the Boqueria (1836-1846), initially a porticoed square with Ionic colonnade, although on average construction was chosen by the iron to cover it, instead of the stone planned by Mas. Along with Josep Buxareu he was also in charge of the conversion of the convent of Santa Caterina in the market of the same name (1844-1848).
The presence of the Italian architect Antonio Ginesi, author of the cemetery of the Poblenou cemetery (1818), of a rather eclectic style, that mixes the new classical language with elements that last from the Baroque, as well as influences of the Egyptian art.
In 1828 the parochial church of Santa Maria de Sants was built, by Francesc Renart of a programmatic classicism, with a mid-point arch flanked by two Ionic columns, on which there is a rosette and a triangular pediment, and at the side a tower-bell tower of 70 meters high. The church was destroyed in 1936, and rebuilt between 1940 and 1965 by Raimon Duran and Reynals.
An emblematic building of the time was Casa Xifré (1835-1840), by Josep Buxareu and Francesc Vila, a housing estate located in front of the Llotja palace, which stands out for its porches on the ground floor, half point arches. The façade has a decoration next to the so-called Elizabethan style, with reliefs by the sculptor Damià Campeny. It was the first building in Barcelona with running water.
Between 1844 and 1848 Portal de Mar was built, a monumental portico of access to Barceloneta from Pla de Palau, by Josep Massanès, who was demolished in 1859. In an eclectic style, it mixed classic, gothic and Oriental, and it was formed by a door with four Ionic columns, staggered pediment and dome, while on the sides were placed some monumental overhanging horseshoe arches supported on double columns. Massanès was also the author of an expansion plan in 1838, which included the triangle between Canaletes, Plaça de la Universitat and Plaça Urquinaona, and that already outlined what would be the Plaça de Catalunya, located at center of triangle
One of the last exponents of neoclassicism was the Principal Theater (1847), by Francesc Daniel Molina, built replacing the old Teatro de la Santa Creu -original of 1568-. It has a classicistic face of Elizabethan romantic air, with three large balconies with a triangular pediment embedded in half-point arches.
With regard to urban planning, the most remarkable fact of these years was the confiscation of 1836, which left many lots that were built or converted into public spaces: thus, in the location of the Carmelite convent of San José, on La Rambla, the Boqueria market was built; On the convent of the Virgin of Bonanova of the barefoot trinitarians the Teatre del Liceu was built; The Plaza Real was located on the site of the Capuchin convent of Santa Madrona; the convent-Franciscan School of Saint Bonaventure gave way to the East Hotel; On the Carmelite convent-school of Sant Àngel Màrtir, a barracks of the Guàrdia Urbana de Barcelona were located; and the convent of Santa Caterina was replaced by the market of the same name. In the same way, the new sanitary provisions promulgated at that time supposed the disappearance of numerous parochial cemeteries, whose lots were urbanized like new public places; Thus arose places such as Santa Maria, Pi, Sant Josep Oriol, Sant Felip Neri, Sant Just, Sant Pere and Sant Jaume.
Historicism
The architecture of the mid-nineteenth century was imbued with the new romantic spirit and, following the guidelines of theorists such as John Ruskin and Eugène Viollet-le-Duc, was framed within the so-called historicism, current that advocated the revitalization of ‘ Previous architectural styles, especially medieval ones, which created several streams called the “neo” prefix: neogothic, neo-Romanesque, neo- Mudejar, neo-baroque, etc.
One of his first outstanding figures was Elies Rogent, first director of the newly created Technical School of Architecture of Barcelona. He was the author of the headquarters of the University of Barcelona (1862-1873), in the Plaza de la Universidad, a sober and religious-looking building despite its civil character, especially in the interior cloisters, which are almost monastic. It has an axial plant, emphasizing in its central part the stairs of honor and the paraninfo, an eclectic room that mixes Romanesque, Gothic and Islamic elements, to whose sides the patios are located in the form of a cloister, also of medieval inspiration. He was also the author of the Conciliar Seminary (1879-1882), of a Neo-Romanesque style, with a Greek cross plant that forms four wings that converge in a church in the center, from which the dome stands out.
Another exponent was Josep Oriol Mestres, author of the remodeling of the Gran Teatre del Liceu (1862), a building by Miquel Garriga i Roca in 1847 that had to be reconstructed after a fire; The intervention of Mestres highlights the façade and the large interior room, an original composition of boxes in a row unfortunately lost in the 1994 fire. Mestres was also the author of the new facade of the Cathedral of Barcelona (1887- 1890), in a Neo-Gothic style inspired by the French Gothic; The façade was completed with a dome projected by August Font i Carreras. Other works by Mestres were: the church of Santa Maria del Remei (1846-1849), which was the parish church of Les Corts after separating from Sarrià; the Teatre dels Camps Elisis (1853), on Passeig de Gràcia, now disappeared, which stood out for its metallic structure; the Casa Jover (1856), built on the Renaissance Casa Gralla; and the building of the Tobacco Company of the Philippines (1880), at the site of the former Jesuit College of Cordelles, on the Rambla.
Joan Martorell was the author of several gothic-inspired churches, such as the Salas, on the Passeig de Sant Joan (1882-1885), and that of the Sacred Heart of the Jesuits, on the Casp Street (1883-1889). The first one is eclectic, with evident medieval influences but shaped in a personal way; It has a unique Latin-cross shaped nave with lateral chapels and a pentagonal apse with an ambulance, as well as a cruise that bulges bulky on its outer part, while the facade is highlighted by a tall tower with a pointed finish and two pinnacles sides The second denotes a certain Romanesque- Byzantine influence, and has a centralized dome-shaped dome surrounded by smaller domes to distribute weight; The facade is sober, and stands out for the chromatic effects of the materials used. Martorell was responsible for the transfer of the gothic church of Santa Maria de Montsió -revious to an Augustinian convent originally from 1388- of the Portal de l’Àngel in the Rambla de Catalunya, and projected its new facade Neogothic (1882-1890); It is the current parish of Sant Ramon de Penyafort. He was also the author of Palau Güell de Pedralbes, later Palau Reial (1862); of the church and convent of the Adoratrius (1875); and of the Jesuit school of Saint Ignatius (1893-1896).
A case similar to that of Montsió occurred with the gothic church of Santa Maria de Jonqueres, originally from the 15th century and run by Benedictine monks, who was transferred in 1868 from Carrer de Jonqueres to carrer d’Aragó. Between 1871 and 1888 Jeroni Granell i Mundet was in charge of his reform, and was renamed as the Church of the Immaculate Conception and Assumption of Our Lady. It is of a nave with ogival vaults and polygonal apse, with a rectangular cloister of two floors with a neogothic chapel attached.
Other churches of the time were: the parish of San Juan Bautista de Gracia (1878-1884), Magí Rius, Miquel Pascual and Tintorer and Francesc Berenguer, with a Latin cross plant, side chapels and neo-medievalist facade; The church of Sant Andreu de Palomar (1881), by Pere Falqués, reforms the old parochial church of the municipality of Romanesque origin, remodeled with a classicist style of eclectic air, and stands out for its great dome of 61 m high; Also in Sant Andreu and in 1881 the church of Sant Pacià, Joan Torras and Guardiola, was built with a single nave and covered with nervous ogival vaults.
In the civil field it is possible to emphasize the factory Batlló (1870-1875), of Rafael Guastavino, with a structure of iron and brick work seen and covered of Catalan return; The original building preserves the building of the Clock, the octagonal chimney and the yarn plant, while the rest was reformed between 1927 and 1931 by Joan Rubió and converted into the Industrial School. Antoni Rovira i Trias built the markets of San Antonio (1876-1882) and Concepción (1888): the first is considered the best iron building in the city, and is composed of four longitudinal ships that converge diagonally over a central body with an octagonal dome; The second one has three parallel ships with a cover of two waters, each with its own facade crowned by a triangular pediment.
In addition to the neomedieval styles of this period, orientalism became fashionable, with a set of Islamic – inspired constructions – the neomudéjar, neo – arabic or neomorisc – influenced especially for the Alhambra of Granada. Some exponents were: the Museu-Teatre de la Ciutadella (1872) project by Carlo Maciachini; the Orient Baths (1872), by August Font and Carreras; the houses of the Teatre Espanyol (1872), by Domènec Balet i Nadal; The House of the Count of Belloch, by Jeroni Granell and Mundet; the Xalet del Moro (1873), by Jaume Brossa; and the Mudejar pavilion built in Tibidabo for the Universal Exhibition of 1888. A good example would also be the Casa de les Aigües (or the Heights), the current headquarters of the Horta-Guinardó district (1890), by Enric Figueres. This fashion would still be in the coming years in two places of bulls: the one of the Sands (1899-1900), of August Font and Carreras; and the Monumental (1913-1915), by Manuel Joaquim Raspall, Domènec Sugrañes and Ignasi Mas i Morell. Another example is the Sobirana tower, a recreation palace of the Marquess of Alfarràs, surrounded by large gardens that today constitute the Laberint d’Horta park.
On the other hand, the nineteenth century was the period of the Industrial Revolution, which had a rapid consolidation in Catalonia, being a pioneer in the national territory in the implantation of the factory procedures begun in Britain in the eighteenth century. In 1800 there were 150 textile mills in Barcelona, highlighting El Vapor, founded by Josep Bonaplata. In 1849, the Industrial Spain complex, owned by the Muntadas brothers, was opened in Sants. The textile industry had a continuous growth until the crisis of 1861, motivated by the shortage of cotton due to the War of American Secession. The metallurgical industry was also gaining importance, enhanced by the creation of the railroad and steam navigation. In 1836 he opened the Nova Vulcano grave in Barceloneta; and in 1841 La Barcelonesa started, an antecedent of La Maquinista Terrestre y Marítima (1855), one of the most important factories in the history of Barcelona. It should be noted that Barcelona left the first railway line in Spain, which communicated the city with the city of Mataró (1848).
In parallel to the industrial processes, Barcelona lived throughout the nineteenth century a wide series of urban transformations: the Royal squares (1848-1860) and the Duke of Medinaceli (1849) were opened, both by Francesc Daniel Molina; The port was made – increasingly important as the arrival of raw material, especially cotton and coal – with the construction of a new dock and the dredging of the port; and the walls were demolished (1854-1856), after many distrusts by the Government of Spain, but after the finding that was indispensable for the growth of the population and to safeguard public health.
But, without a doubt, the great urban event of the 19th century Barcelona was the project of the Eixample d ‘ Ildefons Cerdà: in 1859 the City Council appointed a commission to promote a competition for projects of the city outbuilding; The competition was won by Antoni Rovira, but the Ministry of Public Works intervened and imposed Cerdà’s project, the author of a topographic map of the Barcelona plan and a demographic and city-planning study of the city. The Cerdà Plan instituted an orthogonal route between Montjuïc and the Besòs, with a system of rectangular streets facing the northwest – south-east, 20 m wide, carved by others facing south-west – north-east Parallel to the coast and the Collserola mountains. Thus, a series of 113,3m square-sized square block islands, of which Cerdà was planning to build only two sides and left the other spaces for gardens, were thus delimited, although this point was not fulfilled and finally it is He practically practiced all the building land; The buildings were projected with an octagonal plant characteristic of the Eixample, with shamrocks that favored circulation. The plan provided for the construction of several main avenues: Diagonal, Meridiana, Paral•lel, Gran Vía and Paseo de San Juan; as well as several large squares at their intersections: Tetuan, Glories, Spain, Jacint Verdaguer, Letamendi and University.
It should also be noted that in the nineteenth century the first public parks appeared, as the increase in urban environments due to the phenomenon of the Industrial Revolution, often in conditions of degradation of the environment, recommended the creation of large gardens and urban parks, which were taken over by the public authorities, so that public gardening – preferably private – and landscaping architecture emerged. The first public garden in Barcelona was created in 1816: the Garden of the General, an initiative of Captain General Francisco Javier Castaños; It was located between the current Marqués de l’Argentera and Ciutadella avenue, opposite the station of France, which had an extension of 0.4 hectares, until it disappeared in 1877 during the urbanization of the park of the Ciutadella. In 1848 the Gardens of Tívoli, between Valencia and Consell de Cent, were created on Passeig de Gràcia; and in 1853 the so-called Campos Elisis, which had a garden, a lake with boats, a theater and an amusement park with roller coasters, was located between the streets of Aragon and Roussillon. These gardens disappeared a few years later when going out to urbanize the Passeig de Gràcia.
Modernism
Modernism was an international movement that was developed throughout the western world, and advocated the creation of a new architectural language untying of previous styles -especially in opposition to historicism-, putting special emphasis in the relation of the architecture with the applied arts, in parallel to the phenomenon Arts and Crafts. Developed between the nineteenth and twentieth century, in Catalonia had enough personality to speak of “Catalan modernism”, due to the large quantity and quality of works carried out and the large number of artists from First order that cultivated this style. Stylistically, it was a heterogeneous movement, with many differences between artists, each one with its personal stamp, but with the same spirit, an eagerness to modernize and europeise Catalonia.
Some essential features of modernism were: an anticlassic language inheriting from Romanticism, with a tendency towards a certain lyricism and subjectivism; a decided connection of the architecture with the applied arts and the artistic offices (glass, forge, ceramics, cabinetmaking, marquetry, enamel, sgraffito), creating a remarkably ornamental style; Use of new materials, creating a constructive language that is mixed and rich in contrasts, in search of the plastic effect of the whole; strong feeling of optimism and faith in progress, which produces an exalted and emphatic art, a reflection of the climate of prosperity of the moment, especially in the bourgeois class.
The first modernism, developed in the 1890s, was still a not-so-defined style, the main component of which was a gothicism that had already been separated from historicism, with the survival of certain classicist and medievalist features, practiced mainly by Lluís Domènech i Montaner, Josep Puig i Cadafalch and Antoni Maria Gallissà. In these early years there was a certain feeling of lack of definition, as shown in the work Arquitectura moderna de Barcelona (1897), by Francesc Rogent, where he defends the use of the “neogrec style” for public buildings, «Neogothic» for particular buildings and «neo-Romanesque» by churches. At the same time, it continued to practice a academic architecture that is alien to modernist innovations, as seen in the work of architects such as Salvador Viñals, Gaietà Buïgas, Joan Baptista Pons i Trabal, Francesc de Paula del Villar and Carmona, etc..
With the change of century, modernism evolved towards a certain stylistic formalism of secessionist influence, practiced by a second generation of architects such as Josep Maria Jujol, Manuel Joaquim Raspall, Josep Maria Pericas, Eduard Maria Balcells, Salvador Valeri, Alexandre Soler and March, Antoni de Falguera, Bernardí Martorell, etc. These architects pose the architecture as a support of exultant ornamentation, entering a Mannerist phase of modernism. On the other hand, neogothic tendencies and classical eclecticism continued, practiced mainly by Enric Sagnier, Josep Domènech i Estapà, Manuel Comas and Thos, August Font i Carreras, Joan Josep Hervàs, etc.
Antoni Gaudí
One of the greatest representatives of Catalan modernism was Antoni Gaudí, an architect with an innate sense of geometry and volume, as well as a great imaginative capacity that allowed him to mentally project most of his works before moving them to drawings. Featuring a strong intuition and creative capacity, Gaudí conceived its buildings in a global way, attending both structural, functional and decorative solutions, also integrating artisanal work, and introduced new techniques in the treatment of materials, like its famous trencadís, done with ceramic pieces of rejection. After some beginnings influenced by Neo-Gothic art, as well as certain orientalising tendencies, Gaudí led to modernism in its epoch of greater effervescence, although the reuscan architect went beyond Orthodox modernism, creating a personal style based on the observation of nature, the result of which was its use of regulated geometric forms, such as the hyperbolic paraboloid, the hyperboloid, the helicoidal and the conoide.
His first accomplishments, both during his student stage and the first ones executed in obtaining the title, stand out for the high precision of the details, the use of superior geometry and the preponderance of mechanical considerations in the calculation of structures. From this time standlights of the Plaça Reial (1878), as well as the beginning of the works from which it would be his great work, the Expiatorio Temple of the Sagrada Família (1883).
Later, he went through an orientalist stage, with a series of works of marked oriental taste, inspired by the art of the Near and Far East, as well as in Islamic Islamic art, mainly Mudejar and Nazari. It uses the decoration in ceramic tile, as well as the mitral arches, brick posters seen and finished in the form of a temple or dome. His main achievements in this period are: the Vicens house (1883-1888), the Güell pavilions (1884-1887), the Güell palace (1886-1888) and the Pavilion of the Transatlantic Exposition Company Universal of 1888.
He then underwent a Neo-Gothic period, which was inspired above all by medieval Gothic art, which he assumed in a free, personal way, trying to improve his structural solutions; In his works he eliminates the need for buttresses through the use of regulated surfaces, and suppresses excessive crests and bumps. In this style you could cite the College of the Teresianas (1888-1889) and the Bellesguard tower (1900-1909).
In the turn of the century, he ended finally in his naturalistic phase, in which he perfected his personal style, inspired by the organic forms of nature and putting into practice a whole series of new structural solutions originated in the deep analyzes made by Gaudí of the regulated geometry. Starting with a certain baroque style, his works acquired great structural wealth, of forms and volumes lacking in rationalist rigidity or of any classical premise. Among the works of this period are: Casa Calvet (1898-1899), Miralles portal (1900 – 1902), Parc Güell (1900-1914), Casa Batlló (1904-1906) and the Casa Milà (1906-1910). These two last ones are from his most outstanding works: the Batlló house is an example of his fertile imagination, with a sandstone facade cut according to regulated surfaces in a guerrilla fashion, with bone-shaped columns and vegetal representations; The façade ends with a vault formed by catenary arches covered with two brick layers, covered with glazed ceramics in the form of scales – in shades of yellow, green and blue – that reminds the back of a dragon. The Casa Milà or La Pedrera has a facade made of limestone, except the top covered with white tiles; On the roof stand out stairs, ending with the gaudinian cross of four arms, as well as the chimneys, covered with ceramics in some ways that suggest elms of soldiers.
In the last years of his career, dedicated almost exclusively to the Sagrada Familia, Gaudí reached the culmination of his naturalistic style: after the execution of the crypt and the apse, still in neogothic style, the rest of the temple He conceived it in an organic style, imitating the forms of nature, where the regulated geometrical forms abound. The temple has a Latin cross floor plan, with five central naves and a transept of three naves, and apses with seven chapels, with three facades dedicated to the Birth, Passion and Glory of Jesus, and eighteen towers. The interior resembles a forest, with a set of inclined arborescent columns, helically, creating a simple yet resistant structure.
Six of Antoni Gaudí’s works in Barcelona have been named World Heritage Sites by Unesco: Güell Palace, Güell Park and Casa Milà (1984); Casa Vicens, Batlló house and façade of the Birth and crypt of the Sagrada Familia (2005, in addition to the Crypt of the Colònia Güell in Santa Coloma de Cervelló).
Lluís Domènech i Montaner
Lluís Domènech i Montaner made a mixture of constructive rationalism and fabulous decoration influenced by Hispano-Islamic architecture. He was the creator of what he called a “national architecture”, an eclectic style based on new techniques and materials, with a modern and international eagerness. For this, he was inspired by architects such as Eugène Viollet-le-Duc, Karl Friedrich Schinkel and Gottfried Semper. In his work, he seeks the constructive and aesthetic unit, with clear and ordered approaches, through a rational system that assumes decorativism as a part of the work.
His most important works were the Hospital de la Santa Creu and Sant Pau (1902-1913, completed by his son Pere Domènech i Roura) and the Palau de la Música Catalana (1905-1908). The first is a vast hospital complex inheriting from the former Hospital de la Santa Cruz, which occupies nine islands of the Eixample, with a set of 46 pavilions arranged in parallel and diagonal according to the distribution to the enclosure to have the optimum solar orientation Separate pavilions are separated by interstitial spaces, although connected by underground galleries, which include the administration pavilion, the auditorium, the library, the secretariat, the church and the convalescence room. The applied arts, such as sculpture – with works by Eusebi Arnau and Pau Gargallo -, mosaic, tile and stained glass, are particularly important in this work. The Palau de la Música Catalana is a building articulated around the large central hall, with an oval shape and with a capacity for 2,000 spectators. Inside it has three bodies, access, auditorium and stage, with a lavish decoration with ceramic tiles and a large central skylight that covers the room, made of colored glass, as well as several sculptures of Eusebi Arnau and Pau Gargallo. The main façade covers the walls of Amadeu Vives and Sant Pere més Alt, with large access arches and a balcony that surrounds the entire facade, with ceramic-covered columns, and finished by a mosaic dome, where the sculptural group stands out. from The folk song by Miquel Blay. The Hospital de Sant Pau and the Palau de la Música Catalana were named World Heritage Sites by UNESCO in 1997.
Also worthy of mention are the Lleó Morera house (1905), a renovation of a building built in 1864: its location in a chamfer determined the protagonism of the corner, where the main gallery is located and it ends vertically with a temple; Each floor has a different design, where the ornamental work is highlighted – with sculptures by Eusebi Arnau-, partially mutilated in a ground floor reform made in 1943. Other works of his are: the publisher Montaner i Simón (current Fundació Antoni Tàpies, 1881-1886); the restaurant of the Universal Exhibition of 1888, known as the Three Dragons Castle (now the Museum of Zoology); the house Thomas (1895-1898); the house Lamadrid (1902); the Hotel Espanya (1903); and the Fuster house (1908-1911).
Josep Puig i Cadafalch
Josep Puig i Cadafalch adapted modernism to certain influences of the Nordic and Flemish gothic, as well as elements of traditional Catalan Catalan architecture, with a strong presence of applied arts and stucco. Disciple of Domènech i Montaner, he was an architect, archaeologist, historian, professor and politician. He was president of the Commonwealth of Catalonia (1917-1924), a position from which he promoted the creation of several professional schools (Nursing, Commerce, Textile Industries), scientific entities (Institut d’Estudis Catalans) and cultural (MNAC, Library of Catalonia).
He went through several stages: in the 1890s, a certain flamingo Germanism, which Alexandre Cirici i Pellicer called “pink epoch” (Martí house or “Els Quatre Gats”, 1895-1896; Amatller house, 1898-1900, Macaya house, 1899- 1901; Baró de Quadras Palace, 1899-1906; Terrades house or “Les Punxes”, 1903-1905); in the 1900s, a Mediterranean style or “white period” (Trinxet house, 1902-1904; Casa Serra, headquarters of the Diputació de Barcelona, 1903-1908; Casa Sastre Marqués, 1905; Casa Muntadas, 1910; casa Pere Company, 1911); and since the 1910s, a classicism of secessionist influence that would lead to the nineteenth century, its “yellow season” (Muley Afid house, 1911-1914, Casaramona factory, current Caixa Forum, 1915-1939, Rosa Alemany house, 1928-1930), with influence of the Chicago School (Pich and Pon house, 1919-1921) and with a derivation towards a certain monumentalist baroque style (palaces of Alfonso XIII and Victoria Eugenia, 1923).
Among these achievements, it is worth mentioning the Casa Amatller and the Casa Terrades. The first one has a facade with a Neo-Gothic aspect, with three distinct parts: a stone base with two doors on the left side, creating an asymmetrical effect; a central body of embossed walls and ornamentation of floral motifs, with a superior gallery that reminds us of that of the Sant Jordi chapel of the Palau de la Generalitat; and a red-and-gold ceramic staggered form, with possible influence from the traditional architecture of the Netherlands. The Terrades house occupies an entire block of the Eixample, with an irregular layout: it has six facades inspired by Nordic Gothic architecture and in the Spanish Plateresque, finished by hawks, some truncated by ceramic panels with images of ” Preflight style, and flanked by six circular towers crowned with needle-like conical bolts, which give the building its nickname; It is built in a visible work, with sculptural ornamentation of stone and glazed ceramics, and forging elements.
Other modernist architects
Some architects evolved from historicism to modernism, with varying degrees of assimilation of the new style, although in general, in their works, a certain continuity with the previous forms was continued. Some of the most outstanding were: August Font i Carreras, Josep Vilaseca, Pere Falqués and Josep Domènech i Estapà. The first was a disciple of Elies Rogent, and developed an eclectic style inspired by the Neogothic and the Neo-Arab; Among his works are: the palace of Les Heures (1894-1898), the headquarters of the Caja de Ahorros de Barcelona in Plaça de Sant Jaume (1903) and the church of the Casa de la Caritat (1912).
Josep Vilaseca practiced a classical airmodelist, as it is denoted in the house Pia Batlló (1891-1896), the house Enric Batlló (1892-1896), the house Àngel Batlló (1893-1896), the houses Cabot (1901 -1905), the house Dolors Calm (1903) and the house Comas de Argemir (1903-1904).
Pere Falqués was a municipal architect of Barcelona, so he took part in numerous city-planning improvements; He was the author of the Clot market (1889), the source of Canaletes (1892), the Tinencia de Alcaldía de l’Eixample (1893), the Catalan Electricity Center (1896-1897), the streetlights of Passeig de Gràcia (1900), the Laribal house (1902), the house Bonaventura Ferrer (1905-1906) and the market of Sants (1913).
Josep Domènech i Estapà embodied in his works a modernism of personal, eclectic, functional and grandiloquent cutting. He was the author of the Model Prison (with Salvador Viñals, 1887-1904), Ramon Montaner Palace – current Delegation of the Government of Spain in Catalonia – (1889 -1893, completed by Antoni Maria Gallissà and Lluís Domènech i Montaner), the Catalan Gas and Electricity building (1895-1896), the Asylum of Santa Llúcia – the Museum of Science – (1904-1909), the Fabra Observatory (1904-1906), the Hospital Clínic(1904), the Costa house (1904), the church-convent of the Virgen del Carmen (1909-1921) and the Magoria station (1912).
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