Gaudi the Visionary

by Robert Descharnes

The architecture of Antonio Gaudi (1852-1926) has a unique appeal; its flowing grace and soaring splendor stimulate the mind and ignite the soul. For many years his work was little known outside Europe except among those artists and architects familiar with the cultural ferment in Catalonia at the turn of the century and the creative atmosphere that also nurtured Pablo Picasso and Salvador Dali. Today hardly anyone goes to Barcelona without making a pilgrimage to see Gaudi’s great sculptural monument, the unfinished ‘Church of the Sagrada Familia’, and those who have seen it seek out every existing structure designed by this incomparable genius. This book is an invitation to the discovery, through the photographs of Clovis Prvost and the biography by Robert Descharnes, of the life and work of Gaudi. Salvador Dali, long one of Gaudi’s most arden supporters, discusses the essence of his genius as a master of surrealistic architecture and sculpture in a lyrical introductory essay. The classic appreciation “Gaudi’s Artistic and Religious Vision” by Francesc Pujols, Gaudi’s counterpart as a writer and philosopher, offers an additional perspective of the architect’s inspiration and achievements. THE VISIONARY offers the reader an opportunity to know and understand the many facets of an artistic personality whose work was unique in his time and remains so today.

Hardcover

First published June 18, 1971