The Warrior, a reproduction of one of twenty-eight ceramic chimneys crowning and guarding Casa Milà, La Pedrera, the singular Modernist architectural triumph designed by the inimitable Antonio Gaudí, welcomes us on a transcendent journey to Barcelona. No passport is required on this intimate, luxurious tour of the bold, inimitable architecture of the largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia. Crafted by one of the sculptors who works on Gaudí’s illustrious minor basilica, Sagrada Familia, this case opens up a world reclaiming precious work lost in a studio fire and compiles all the original drawings by the unrivaled Catalan Modernist master. A micro-cement finish and anti-graffiti varnishes intimate Gaudí’s preferred architectural materials.
Gaudí Up Close by ARTIKA is more than an opulent art book. Limited to 4,998 copies worldwide, each hand-crafted unique edition may be displayed in myriad ways as a mini gallery honoring the world-renowned artist’s prolific career. A pair of white gloves is tucked into the meticulous packaging, ensuring a museum-quality handling of this magnificent array of art objects. Reborn from the ashes of a 1936 arson at Sagrada Familia, the art book recreates papers, plans, and drawings that burned in his studio. As the Spanish Civil War raged, revolutionaries set the blaze, obliterating the church's sacristy and severely damaging the crypt. This magnificent collection follows more than a decade of research, documentation, and poring over thousands of dispersed archives.
Behold the Spanish and English bilingual Libro De Arte (artist's book), featuring 48 original drawings, each custom printed in its original size, along with several small-format works, and fragments of works that were nearly irreparably demolished. The large-format drawings depict the shapes and designs that grew into Gaudí’s imposing, awe-inspiring sui generis buildings. Feel the weight of the book bound with iron covers die cut with the letter G, opening to reveal endpapers embossed in a vivid relief that borrows from Gaudí’s trencadís (or pique assiette, broken tile mosaic) work, an homage to two of the architect’s most coveted materials. A trailblazer who looked to sustainability, Gaudí reclaimed waste ceramic pieces.
Delve deeper into Gaudí’s oeuvre through Libro Estudios (study book), learning from leading experts who reveal secrets, fascinating facts, and fresh perspectives on the master’s work. Enjoy another tactile experience by gently handling the embellished cover which brings us back to Gaudí’s trencadís.
Architect Juan José Lahuerta, director of the Gaudí Chair, analyzes Gaudí’s work as a student and presents Gaudí and Photography, a scholarly exploration of the drawings executed at the Barcelona School of Architecture. Lahuerta leads us through Gaudí’s formative relationship with drawing through a series of photographs. Art historian Joan Aicart informs us with his essay, Gaudí and Mediterranean Culture, underscoring the impact and influence of the artist’s birthplace in provincial Catalonia on the Mediterranean coast of Spain. The light and colors magnified in Gaudí’s work are deeply rooted in his geography. Dr. Mireia Freixa, a professor of art history at the University of Barcelona, and director of the university’s research group GRACMON, helps us comprehend and interpret Gaudí’s process and intention in Drawings, Projects, and Models. Jordi Faulí, head architect and construction coordinator at Sagrada Familia, joins forces with architect Chiara Curti, to welcome us on an exclusive tour of the exterior and interior of Sagrada Familia.
Three of Gaudí’s most exceptional original drawings are printed in their full format, and nestled inside archival envelopes in the architect’s folder. Examine the design for a quay Gaudí drew while studying at the Llotja School and the Barcelona Higher School of Architecture in 1876, the original façade design for Casa Mila, and the first urban study of the Sagrada Familia drawn in 1916. Each is suitable for framing and hanging alongside the case and books, which evoke the grandeur of Gaudí’s interpretation of the Modernista movement, influenced by neo-Gothic art and Oriental techniques.
Honoring the legacy of Gaudí is a complicated pursuit, and this extravagant ARTIKA collection is the most comprehensive source for drawing together the pieces that gave rise to the fantastical creations that differentiate Barcelona’s stunning secular and holy urban landscape. Growing up in the rural Tarragona countryside, a rocky region fertile with vineyards, olive trees, and carob trees, Gaudí painstakingly observed nature and translated that beauty and biodiversity into architectural marvels that continue to wow tourists and locals alike.
“There are no straight lines or sharp corners in nature. Therefore, buildings must have no straight lines or sharp corners.” _ Antoni Gaudí
