In Detail: Barcelona Art Nouveau

by Lluís Permanyer (Editor), Melba Levick (photographer)

London is famous for Big Ben, Paris for the Eiffel Tower and Rome for the Colosseum. Barcelona, on the other hand, is associated not with one or two buildings but with the blossoming of an entire movement in art history called Modernism. In Germany it was called Jugendstil; in Austria, Sezession; in Italy, Stile Liberty; and in France it was Art Nouveau. An extraordinary period straddling the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, Barcelona's brand of Art Nouveau was characterized by organic shapes and patterns integrated by all aspects of art and design. The movement, along with its high craftsmanship, was interpreted to be a spontaneous reaction to the Industrial Revolution's trend of mass production. Besides being a survey of the most significant buildings by Domenech i Montaner, Antoni Gaudí, Josep Maria Jujol, and Puig i Cadafalch, this book also provides a detailed analysis of the forms created by the most important craftsmen of the period, many of whom have been relegated to anonymity for decades.

184 pages, Paperback

First published August 15, 2005

About the author

Periodista i crític d'art.
Estudia dret i periodisme. Col·laborador de la desapareguda revista Destino i habitual de La Vanguardia, ha esdevingut un dels cronistes més reconeguts de Barcelona, especialment en matèria d'art, urbanisme i vida cultural en general, temes sobre els quals ha publicat Retrobar Barcelona (1988), Historia del Eixample (1990), Barcelona, un paisatge modernista (1992), Biografia del Passeig de Gràcia (1994), Biografia de la Plaça de Catalunya (1995), l'anecdotari No la saps aquesta? (1996), Biografia de la Diagonal (1996), La Barcelona lletja (2004), 1.000 testimonis sobre Barcelona. La ciutat viscuda i jutjada per personatges no catalans al llarg de més de 2.000 anys (2007) i L'esplendor de la Barcelona burgesa (2008), entre d'altres. És també autor de monografies o biografies sobre escriptors o artistes: Sagarra, vist pels seus íntims (1982), Tàpies i la nova cultura (1986), Miró: noranta anys (1984), Brossa x Brossa (1999), Josep Puig i Cadafalch (2001), Miró. La vida d'una passió (2003), Antoni Clavé fa memòria (2004), a més del qüestionari 43 respostes catalanes al qüestionari Proust (1967). És també autor de la novel·la Amor a l'ombra de pedra blava (2000). Ha rebut els premis els Luca de Tena (1969), Ciutat de Barcelona de periodisme (1987) i Nacional de Cultura de periodisme (2008).

Reviews

[Peter · Rating 5 out of 5]

The book is a collection of photos by Melba Levick showing details of 21 remarkable Barcelona modernista buildings by 4 lead architects. While there are a number of books on modernista architecture in Barcelona, most show only overall view of the buildings. This one allows do dig deeper and appreciate interesting details of exterior and interior that are usually not accessible by visitors. Excellent paper, great quality of images, informative brief intros to each building by Lluis Permanyer.