Gaudi: A Biography

by Gijs van Hensbergen

Book Overview

"A soaring biography. . . meticulously researched, elegantly organized, fluidly, lucidly written." --Chicago Tribune

At the time of his death in 1926, Antonio Gaudi was arguably the most famous architect in the world. He had created some of the greatest and most controversial masterpieces of modern architecture that were as exotic as they were outrageous. But little is known about the shadowy figure behind the swirling, vivid...

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0066210658
• ISBN13: 9780066210650
• Release Date: November 2001
• Publisher: Harper
• Length: 368 Pages
• Weight: 0.85 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.2" x 6.1" x 9.3"

Customer Reviews

Makes Gaudi's Works come alive!

I have been obessed with Gaudi from the first minute I landed in Spain a month ago. I have been to msot of his major works and am finding my way to his lesser. This book has been an amazing companion to the journey. It is amazing to sit and read about Park Guell while sitting in Park Guell. The author gives you the entire story of each work, and the social, political, and economical contexts that surrounded Gaudi's works and life. I read the book at fast I as could and now am reading it again. If you want to learn not just about Gaudi but the Modernisme movement and the socio-politics of turn-of-the-century Spain, there is no better book than this one.

Worthwhile despite some flaws

I recently finished two architectural biographies, Gijs Van Hensbergen's volume on Antoni Gaudi, and Libeskind's book on himself. Neither is especially well-written (Libeskind's is especially dull), but the situation begged comparison. In Van Hensbergen's hands, Gaudi comes across (like his architecture) as generous and spirited, whereas Libeskind (who chose to write about himself) comes across as self-centered and disrespectful. Gaudi's life was spiritually motivated and this was reflected in his deeply moving architecture; Libeskind also pontificates, but it doesn't ring true, and when I was told he used another architect to design his home, it made me wonder how sincere he really is about the ideas he sells to clients. Gaudi was a quiet, humble and modest man; Libeskind is a braggart who writes about developers, other architects and even his clients, with venom and disdain. Gaudi's architecture remains popular a century later; much of Libeskind's work is hated before it is built. I would like to have known Gaudi, but by the end of Libeskind's book, I feel glad not to have met this petty and selfish man. Van Hensbergen's account, despite its flaws, is a welcome addition to the limited accounts of Gaudi's life that are available in English. It is also a refreshing read about a time when architecture was a civic art and beautification for a common good was the norm. Libeskind's book is the worst kind of indulgent self-promotion and I could not recommend it to anyone.

A fabulous book despite the errors

Gaudi, perhaps one of the most important architects of the 20th century, has long been in need of a good account of his life and works. This book finally fills the gap in scholarship surrounding Gaudi.Gaudi was a Catalan from Barcelona. He sculpted the famous La Sagrada Familia, Park Guell and a few other works including an apartment building. He was a modernist and his buildings frequently appeared alive, as if from some fantastical dream, crawling, moving, fluid. He was a genius, on par with Goya(who lived a century before and was a painter). This is a wonderful account of the life and times of Guadi. It explorers his passionate faith and his obsessive qualities. It also looks at his unique designs and revolutionary ideas while exploring the cataclysms and social movements which shook Spain from 1900-1940. A important addition to any collection and of interest to anyone who enjoys art and architecture

With two rulers and a chord one generates all architecture

My title is a quote from Gaudi himself and it is only something a genius could say. Like Bach claiming his work was 10% inspiration and 90% perspiration. What clearly comes through in this book is that Gaudi was an extraordinary man - a creator of unique structures and visions.I have always felt a fascination with things that seem to have some unexpected, almost alien, aspect to them. In architecture this includes the temples at Angkor and the Hindu temples of India; are these the works of humankind? So it is with Gaudi. Where are the precursors? Where are the followers? Perhaps there are no followers because what he did was so exceptional no-one dares takes the same path. And then there is the man Gaudi as described in this book - he is no less alien; banishing intimacy with women from his life, being absorbed in catholicism, following a rigorous vegetarian diet. I didn't want speculation - I hate that in biographies - but I would have liked more information. For example, why was Gaudi a vegetarian - was it a religious tenet he was following, was it a moral one, was it health-driven?Other reviewers have been disturbed by Mr Hensbergens command of the English language. This did not offend me. Perhaps the paperback version I am reviewing had been further edited. But I did find the book slow to capture my attention. Perhaps it was Gaudi and not the prose that finally engaged me - but engaged I was. Another feature that initially annoyed me was the placing of the four sections of illustrations. It seemed to me that I was forever hunting for an illustration for the text I was reading. But by the end of the biography this didn't offend me at all; in fact I grew to love hunting back and forth through the illustrations because as I did so I grew to know Gaudi's architecture better and better.

Essential for those already interested in Gaudi

This biography is not breezy, light reading. Nor, despite it's unusually elegant printing, is it remarkable writing. It is, however, far more detailed and credible information and insight into Gaudi than one is likely to get anywhere else. I've been fascinated with Gaudi's works since a very young age. The construction work on the Sagrada Familia -- the bulk of which has been during my lifetime -- is something I have been able to measure my life by. That said, my understanding of the architect himself had always been quite vague and contradictory for the simple reason that quality information was never available (at least not in English). Until all the renovations for the '92 Olympics, one certainly didn't learn much useful about him by visiting his buildings. While the architectural sites have radically improved their exhibits, they cannot get anywhere near the depth of this volume. This book is certainly revealing.One significant flaw in the book, however, is the complete lack of visual reference. I HIGHLY recommend that you have a visual reference to the buildings on hand, such as the Taschen book, when tackling this biography. The few photos here are mostly of people.