♥♥Gone to pastures new. Thanks to all of you. You are a lovely crowd, but time does not ...
♥♥Gone to pastures new. Thanks to all of you. You are a lovely crowd, but time does not permit me to do the site justice any more♥♥
Member since:01.08.2003
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I visited the Cassa Battlo in Barcelona, because I am an artistic person and am drawn to the work of the Art Nouveau Movement all over the world, and one of my main reasons for my stay in Barcelona was to bask in the work of Antoni Gaudi, whose work is renowned, and for me this work is perfection in detail.
The Cassa Battlo is no exception. What Gaudi did with his archecture was to take decoration one stage further, and to decorate the outside of buildings equally with as much detail and decorum as the inside of buildings. The popularity of this concept cannot be disputed as more and more people every year pay to see his work, and it saddens me that there were not more architects with the same forethought and originality as Gaudi, although perhaps it would have made his work less valid, and less original in concept.
The fact that this house in all its splendour has passed the test of time and stands proudly overlooking a street in a city as busy as Barcelona says to me that it was built to last. The house was constructed under the guidance and architecture of Gaudi between 1904 and 1906, and is one of the most complete works that he achieved in his lifetime.
Externally as well as internally the building is graceful and its lines not straight and formed in usual architectural straight lines, and harsh corners. The windows are beautiful and have rounded edges, the balconies similarly individually scupted to form an amazing place which shows the evolution of a person's thoughts, from thought to reality which in itself is extraordinary.
Entrance to the building is expensive, and to take a tour of the whole building even moreso, and the entrance I paid was seven euros to see the first two floors. The building is not wheelchair friendly and I would advise handicapped visitors to profit by seeing the building from the other side of the street, where the beauty of its creation can really be appreciated.
On entering the building, one of the things that I disliked a lot was the modern concept that people need to be informed with silly electronictelephone like gadgets that speak to each visitor in their chosen language. I carried mine under my arm because people seemed to lose themselves in the commentary and in doing so lost a lot of the feeling for the place itself, walking around as if they were on the telephone and not actually feeling their surroundings.
Detail is wonderful. There is a fireplace that is kind of heart shaped and the staircases in the building have amazing wrought iron work taking all the twists and turns of the art nouveau concept a step further than most architects were prepared to go. The staircase is beautifully sculted in wood and ressembles the backbone of a human being, although none of the woodwork is sharp or hardened at the edges, preferring to take a softer form that flows.
Even the ceilings in the building are amazingly swirled though not imposing, and the woodwork has soft lines that seem to draw you more and more into the building, taking in the way in which Gaudi created furnishings, and stained glass windows, and partitions and doors, all in his own unique style that cannot ever be disputed as being one of the most innovative and wonderful concepts of architect in history.
The outside of the building is amazing, and this can be enjoyed by anyone passing, and I noticed that the building a few doors away took Gaudi's ideas and concepts and made their entrance grandois and welcoming.
For me, Barcelona is Gaudi and a visit without taking a detour to see Gaudi's work is a visit wasted.
Alive are the dreams this great man had, just as real and alive as they were when he was constructing the place, and alive his dreams will stay, not in the history books where only historians will find them, but in actuality, in a simple Barcelona street where everyone can feel proud that the world had such a man, whose work will remain to remind mankind that dreams do come true.
Pictures of Casa Batlló (Barcelona)
Cassa
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Oct 3rd, 2004
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