Catalan Modernisme
Art Nouveau made a huge impact on architecture in countries around the world. The architectural style of Catalan Modernisme, which is derived out of the Art Nouveau movement, had a spectacular impact on Spain.
This impact was most significant in Barcelona, Catalonia. Catalan Modernisme left the city with a cultural heritage that stood out from other architectural styles. This style was more of an extreme version of Art Nouveau due to the fact that Spain during this time felt culturally isolated. This allowed them to express themselves in a more exotic and independent way than the rest of Europe. In this period, Art Nouveau in other areas around Europe expressed the Zeitgeist.
After the Industrial Revolution and the technological advancements that came with it, Europe sought out a new way to live. Barcelona wanted a more modern society and for many reasons the city transformed, but it was from Lluís Domènech i Montaner, Antoni Gaudí and Josep Puig i Cadafalch that truly outlined Catalan Modernism architecture. The place in which their theories of modernism were put into practice was The World Exhibition of 1888. This is where these geniuses could live out their architectural fantasies and where it all started.
Catalan Modernisme used progressive science and technology and included the national romanticism of the Arts and Crafts movement. The style’s early pieces consisted of clear lines, as in the Castle of the three dragons.
It grew into using beautiful and organic shapes inspired by nature and forms that were exaggerated in such a way that look surreal, while still maintaining that nationalistic sentiment. The use of colour is also quite lovely.
In 1906, Modernisme was argued against a new style called Noucentisme, which was quite the opposite. 4 years later, Modernism got a reputation of being lavish and “bad taste” due to the patronage of the upper class and the behavior of the bourgeois. If I could speak on behalf of the other people in the world I think we would all agree that Modernism is a truly magnificent style. Today, millions of people visit these buildings just for that reason!
Works Cited
“Modernisme – Barcelona Formative Period of Art.” Barcelona.de , www.barcelona.de/en/barcelona-modernisme-art-nouveau.html.
“Modernisme.” The Thames & Hudson Dictionary of Design Since 1900, Guy Julier, Thames & Hudson, 2nd edition, 2004. Credo Reference, https://ezproxy.capilanou.ca/login?url=https://search.credoreference.com/content/entry/thdesign/modernisme/0?institutionId=6884. Accessed 03 Nov. 2019.
“Modernism- Art Noveau in Barcelona.” The Catalan Modernism and Barcelona, Nunez I Navarro, 2019, www.casalleomorera.com/en/barcelona-and-modernism/modernism/
Images Cited
Amadalvarez. “Casa Batlló.” Modernisme, Wikipedia, Barcelona, 21 Sept. 2019, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Modernisme.
Selbymay. “The Castle of the Three Dragons in Winter.” Castle of the Three Dragons, Wikipedia, Barcelona, 17 Feb. 2019, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Castle_of_the_Three_Dragons.
Staudt, Wolfgang. “Barcelona Temple Expiatori De La Sagrada Familia .” Modernisme, Wikipedia, Barcelona, 21 Sept. 2019, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Modernisme.