Art Nouveau Architecture and Art
Gaudi and Casa Batlló
Casa Batlló is one of Antonio Gaudi's architectural masterpieces, which he remodeled in 1904 with the help of several other architects.
Barcelona is home to many of Gaudi's works, all of which I love, but Casa Batlló is a sentimental favorite. I studied in Spain my junior year in college, and one weekend
a few of us rented a couple of cars and drove all night to get from Salamanca to Barcelona, arriving at 4 a.m. The others decided to try to get a little sleep, but a
friend and I took a walk while the sun came up. When we turned a corner, there she was, utterly resplendent in the early morning light.
In Barcelona, Casa Batlló is referred to as Casa dels ossos (House of Bones), since it has a skeletal quality, and the balconies have a skull-like appearance.
Rather than being macabre though, it's lovely. The skull-like balconies are quite beautiful, and seeing them lit up, glowing in sunrise pink, along with the beauty of the rest of the design, left me dumbstruck.
I was a small-town midwestern girl who knew nothing about Gaudi or Art Nouveau at the time, and I couldn't believe that someone had been allowed (and paid) to create something so beautifully unusual. It remains one of the most impactful moments in a life subsequently filled with a great deal of globetrotting.
Learn more about Gaudi and Casa Batlló on Wikipedia