Documentary that describes how Antoni Gaudí (1852-1926), conceived La Sagrada Familia, a spectacular and difficult to decipher work , at the same time entering Gaudi's workshop, destroyed in the thirties . It contains some biographical remarks about the well-known architect Antonio Gaudí , detailing his life, his difficulties , pains , hardships and accidental death . Here treats Gaudi as a determined man building La Sagrada Familia that was incomplete and its complex geometry makes the task of the engineer's heirs all the more difficult as they only have a few original plans and models.
It is a decent documentary with biographical elements focusing on his hard work in his workshop and re-enacting some aspects of his life , misfortunes and hardships suffered by the artist until he reaches his long road to success . An acceptable biopic of the greatest Spanish architect who deserves a better and more dramatic film to do justice to his immense architectural work. This fine documentary was well directed by Marc Jampolsky .
Adding more remarks about Antoni Gaudí i Cornet (1852 -1926) : he was a Catalan architect and designer from Spain, known as the greatest exponent of Catalan Modernism and creator of the imposing basilica of the Sagrada Família, a major work by the Catalan architect who begun in 1882 and never completed, overlooks the city of Barcelona and has become one of its symbols. Gaudí's works have a highly individualized, sui generis style. Most are located in Barcelona, though he was also assigned to reform the Cathedral of Mallorca ; including his main work , the church of the Sagrada Família that in 1936, during the course of the Spanish Civil War, Gaudí's workshop in the Sagrada Familia was assaulted, destroying a large number of documents, plans and models of the modernist architect. Gaudí's work was influenced by his passions in life: architecture, nature, and religion. ¨La Sagrada Familia¨ is really impressive , its verticality, its organic and curved forms and the brightly colored mosaics that adorn the tops of its towers make it unique. In addition to its aesthetics, this expiatory temple is the product of technical innovations such as the chain arches designed to absorb the load of the immense building without buttresses or the inclined, tree-like columns that follow the trajectory of the building's forces. He considered every detail of his creations and integrated into his architecture such crafts as ceramics, stained glass, wrought ironwork forging and carpentry. He also introduced new techniques in the treatment of materials, such as trencadís which used waste ceramic pieces. Under the influence of neo-Gothic art and Oriental techniques, Gaudí became part of the Modernista movement which was reaching its peak in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. His work transcended mainstream Modernisme, culminating in an organic style inspired by natural forms. Gaudí rarely drew detailed plans of his works, instead preferring to create them as three-dimensional scale models and moulding the details as he conceived them. Gaudí's work enjoys global popularity and continuing admiration and study by architects. His masterpiece, the still-incomplete Sagrada Família, is the most-visited monument in Spain. Between 1984 and 2005, seven of his works were declared World Heritage Sites by UNESCO. Gaudí's Catholic faith intensified during his life and religious images appear in many of his works. This earned him the nickname "God's Architect" and led to calls for his beatification.
Gaudí's professional life was distinctive in that he never ceased to investigate mechanical building structures. Early on, Gaudí was inspired by oriental arts (India, Persia, Japan) through the study of the historicist architectural theoreticians. The influence of the Oriental movement can be seen in works like ¨Casa Mila¨or ¨La Pedrera¨, ¨Capricho¨, ¨Casa Batllo¨, ¨The Güell Palace¨, ¨The Güell Pavilions¨ and the ¨Casa Vicens¨. Later on, he adhered to the neo-Gothic movement that was in fashion at the time, following the ideas of the French architect Eugène Viollet-le-Duc. This influence is reflected in the ¨Teresian College¨, the ¨Episcopal Palace in Astorga¨, the ¨Casa Botines¨ in León and the ¨Bellesguard house¨ as well as in the crypt and the apse of the ¨Sagrada Família¨. Eventually, Gaudí embarked on a more personal phase, with the organic style inspired by nature in which he would build his major works.
It is a decent documentary with biographical elements focusing on his hard work in his workshop and re-enacting some aspects of his life , misfortunes and hardships suffered by the artist until he reaches his long road to success . An acceptable biopic of the greatest Spanish architect who deserves a better and more dramatic film to do justice to his immense architectural work. This fine documentary was well directed by Marc Jampolsky .
Adding more remarks about Antoni Gaudí i Cornet (1852 -1926) : he was a Catalan architect and designer from Spain, known as the greatest exponent of Catalan Modernism and creator of the imposing basilica of the Sagrada Família, a major work by the Catalan architect who begun in 1882 and never completed, overlooks the city of Barcelona and has become one of its symbols. Gaudí's works have a highly individualized, sui generis style. Most are located in Barcelona, though he was also assigned to reform the Cathedral of Mallorca ; including his main work , the church of the Sagrada Família that in 1936, during the course of the Spanish Civil War, Gaudí's workshop in the Sagrada Familia was assaulted, destroying a large number of documents, plans and models of the modernist architect. Gaudí's work was influenced by his passions in life: architecture, nature, and religion. ¨La Sagrada Familia¨ is really impressive , its verticality, its organic and curved forms and the brightly colored mosaics that adorn the tops of its towers make it unique. In addition to its aesthetics, this expiatory temple is the product of technical innovations such as the chain arches designed to absorb the load of the immense building without buttresses or the inclined, tree-like columns that follow the trajectory of the building's forces. He considered every detail of his creations and integrated into his architecture such crafts as ceramics, stained glass, wrought ironwork forging and carpentry. He also introduced new techniques in the treatment of materials, such as trencadís which used waste ceramic pieces. Under the influence of neo-Gothic art and Oriental techniques, Gaudí became part of the Modernista movement which was reaching its peak in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. His work transcended mainstream Modernisme, culminating in an organic style inspired by natural forms. Gaudí rarely drew detailed plans of his works, instead preferring to create them as three-dimensional scale models and moulding the details as he conceived them. Gaudí's work enjoys global popularity and continuing admiration and study by architects. His masterpiece, the still-incomplete Sagrada Família, is the most-visited monument in Spain. Between 1984 and 2005, seven of his works were declared World Heritage Sites by UNESCO. Gaudí's Catholic faith intensified during his life and religious images appear in many of his works. This earned him the nickname "God's Architect" and led to calls for his beatification.
Gaudí's professional life was distinctive in that he never ceased to investigate mechanical building structures. Early on, Gaudí was inspired by oriental arts (India, Persia, Japan) through the study of the historicist architectural theoreticians. The influence of the Oriental movement can be seen in works like ¨Casa Mila¨or ¨La Pedrera¨, ¨Capricho¨, ¨Casa Batllo¨, ¨The Güell Palace¨, ¨The Güell Pavilions¨ and the ¨Casa Vicens¨. Later on, he adhered to the neo-Gothic movement that was in fashion at the time, following the ideas of the French architect Eugène Viollet-le-Duc. This influence is reflected in the ¨Teresian College¨, the ¨Episcopal Palace in Astorga¨, the ¨Casa Botines¨ in León and the ¨Bellesguard house¨ as well as in the crypt and the apse of the ¨Sagrada Família¨. Eventually, Gaudí embarked on a more personal phase, with the organic style inspired by nature in which he would build his major works.
