Gaudi & William Morris

10th November 2019

This month, we took a trip to Barcelona. It’s impossible to walk around the city and not see the mark of Antoni Gaudí throughout. The buildings are so stand out, you can’t help but stop and admire them – caught up amongst a throng of locals and tourist alike, you might be a nuisance but, you wouldn’t be to blame.

If you get the opportunity to go to Barcelona, then there’s lots to see of Gaudi’s work. We took a tour of the Casa Batlló, Park Güell and more to see Gaudi’s work. We wanted to show you some photos of our trip and tell you more about Gaudi. We couldn’t help but research further into Gaudi when we got home too, including, a collection to our very own inspiration – William Morris.

A little background, Gaudi was a Catalan architect, born on the 25th June 1852. His distinct style is incredible individual, unable to be replicated and completely, one of a kind. Most, though not all, are located within Barcelona, including, perhaps the most famous worldwide, the Sagrada Familia.

His influence? Nature and religion. The creations he made, you can tell he thought of absolutely everything. The Sagrada Familia for example, he knew he would never be able to see the completion of the project. He therefore laid out a plan to be followed by his predecessors. It is clear that in his works, every detail is considered, the tour took us through everything – from the way the window handles were easy for the user to open to the considered ceramics – in Casa Batlló the tiles in the centre go from dark to light blue as they go up. That’s due to the light hitting them during the day to give depth.

He was influenced by neo-Gothic art and Oriental techniques, meaning he was part of the Modernista movement. Today, he remains one of the most famous architects in the world, between 1984 and 2005, seven of his works became World Heritage Sites.

The Sagarda Familia, in itself, is one of the most beautiful places we’ve been. If you can, please try time your visit for a sunrise or set – the sun throws intense light through stained glass and it’s a magical experience. At one side of the church the Nativity scene is shown and the windows are blues and greens, at the other, the Passions of Christ is depicted, the windows at this side are oranges and yellows. It’s a unique experience. The architecture within too, is spectacular – the pillars show his nature influence as they’re trees – the structural support is important but also, they make the church absolutely unique.

And Morris? Where does he come into it? Well, Morris was an advocate of ornamentation as shown by his work with stained glass and other forms of art. He showed an interest and passion for a wealth of different forms of art throughout his career. Gaudi too, showed a passion for multiple art forms and implemented these into his work. Ceramics, plastering, sculpting and more are all featured within his home. Gaudi was inspired by the oriental arts from India, Persia and Japan – through the study of architectural theoreticians such as William Morris, John Ruskin and Walter Pater. These are known by experts to be seen in his works such as Capricho, the Güell Palace, the Güell Pavilions and the Casa Vicens.

A remarkable man with an incredible talent, it’s impossible to pack the man and his work into one blog. Perhaps we will revisit his work in another blog – we definitely have enough images of ceramics and details within the architecture to fill them! Have you ever visited works of Gaudi? Which ones were your favourites? We’d love to know.

Our William Morris Lily design is back in stock! 🤍 A gorgeous design especially this spring/ summer it’s a timeless design we adore year after year 🌿
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Gaudi & William Morris

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