By MorBCN, Flickr
By guercio, Flickr
By (Erik), FlickrCasa Batlló, one of Antoni Gaudí's most beautiful masterpieces, is located at Passeig de Gràcia of the Eixample District in Barcelona. The Eixample literally means "extension" in Catalan, and the district was constructed accordingly between the 19th and 20th century.
Locally also known as Casa dels ossos (House of... Bones), Casa Batlló was actually already built in 1877 in a conventional style; Antoni Gaudí only "remodeled" the building during the years 1905 to 1907. At the time, Barcelona was expanding rapidly and emerged as the largest city of Spain, and its economic prosperity brought the cultural movement known as the Catalan Renaissance or Renaixença.
The building's stunning architectural details show Gaudí's creative and deeply individualistic style, and some parts of the building (like the corridor shown) are very modern in design. It seems to me that Santiago Calatrava (another Spanish but contemporary architect) is inspired by Casa Batlló.
Gaudí certainly was aware of Art Nouveau and was deeply influenced by Eugène Viollet-le-Duc's writings and by his architectural visions regarding Gothic architecture. The building features organic motifs, including a colorful roof that resembles dragon's spine and skin and windows flanked by skeleton-like columns.
It is one of my favorite buildings by Gaudí. I am always stunned at how he used so many colors to decorate this building while not making it look kitsch.
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