Casa Batllo is another one of Gaudi's masterpieces. It is a casa ( home) which is magical and more than a building. It is actually a legend of art.The striking modernistic facade has a whole world full of surprises, both artistic and architectural . Gaudi is constantly having a dialogue between architecture and nature.
Casa Batllo was built for a wealthy Barcelona aristocrat. It is imaginative and unconventional. The roof is in the shape of a dragon with an armored back of iridescent scales. The spine forms the ornamental top and the colors on it change as you move from one end of the roof to another.
The facade of the building has no straight lines. It's like it is made of bones ( as supporting pillars) and eye sockets of the skull ( as balconies). I saw anatomy in a different light. Even the building seemed organic , it had life. It is covered by leaf vines. The facade tells a story- Monet's waterlilies, carnival scene with masks and bone flag poles, confetti showers and a dragon to be slayed by a warrior. You take as much time admiring and interpreting the outside of it as you would the inside of it.
Inside the house , the banisters are carved of fine hardwood, in the shape of a spine of a huge animal,. The fire place is shaped like a mushroom, oak doors have organic shapes with fancy twined handles and honeycomb shaped peepholes, ceiling is scaly or wavy evoking a ripple effect as in a sea.
In the loft are the laundry and the storage rooms. There is even a room for the priest to come and stay with the family. Throughout the house the passageways are painted white and are arched. You will feel as if you are walking through the ribcage of a giant whale. The building epitomizes form and functionality, as in anatomy and physiology. The complimentarity is amazing. There is an element of purity as art combines with function .
Gaudi's house has a magical characteristics of nudging at you. His creativity and design challenges you to ask questions and to think how Antoni Gaudi was able to synthesize and process the natural world and present such an extraordinary masterpiece for us to behold.
Park Guell - Has amazing mosaic stone structures, Gaudi's dragon fountain at the entrance and a huge lizard, with which every body wanted a picture. The walkways are supported by twisting rock columns that seem to be growing out of the soil. They appear natural and organic. On the roof of the Guell park is a terraced area where from you get a magnificent view of the city.There are multicolored mosaic tiled benches to sit upon.
On the park is also Gaudi's home which is now a museum that has his bedroom, prayer room . His personal belongings are on display along with some furniture he has designed.
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