GAUDI - PARC GUELL

Copiers do not collaborate

-Antoní Gaudi

I can’t remember when I first became aware of architect Antoni Gaudí’s work, but I also can’t remember when I wasn’t.  As a child, I thought his buildings seemed otherworldly and whimsical - held up by magic and chewing gum, yet logical and inevitable. It never occurred to me that I would actually ever see them, mostly because (I suppose) I wasn’t sure if they indeed were (or even could be) real.  But I did and they are. And like most works of art, they truly have to be seen to be believed.

The first Gaudi work I saw was, oddly enough, not one of his buildings, but the Parc Guell, a municipal garden in the north of the city. Parc Guell was originally intended as a housing development in the early part of the 20^th century, but only 2 houses were ever built (neither by Gaudí), and they were never sold. Gaudí himself bought one of the houses, and furnished it with furniture he had designed himself.  It’s a short subway ride from the city centre, and then a 20-minute walk up the steepest hill known to man. (There was a bloody escalator – on the hill! - which was broken all freakin’ summer.) My first visit there, I went in the back way by mistake, and it turned out to be for the best. When you go in the front, it all hits you at once. It’s almost too much to take.  But the back way brings you through a forest path, and you catch glimpses – a tip of a tower, the corner of a building, the curve of a bench.  Everything reveals itself to you gradually. And then, when you finally step into the park proper, it takes your breath away.  There are several different sections of the park, each defined by its own aesthetic. When you walk through the entry gates, you’re greeted by 2 pavilions straight out of Hansel and Gretel. The grand staircase features 2 of the most whimsical features of the park: an animal head fountain, and the iconic giant salamander, both made of wildly colourful mosaic. Perhaps the most striking and beautiful aspect in the park is a huge terrace surrounded by an elaborately tiled serpentine bench, all of which is supported by huge Doric columns, some of which jut out at odd angles. Behind the terrace are a promenade and walls built out of local stone, echoing the tress planted with in them. It is a testament to Gaudí’s genius, despite how odd and disparate all the elements are on the surface, that everything fits together, and that it is all integrated into the forest landscape.

The park is always bustling with activity, with tchotchke vendors, street performers, locals needing a break and of course, countless tourists, all of whom seemed to conspire to walk in front of my camera just I had a clear shot of that amazing salamander. (I actually had to photoshop a guy out of the shot I posted here).  Every time in was in Barcelona, I would go to the park. I would buy a chorizo sandwich (mmmm… chorizo…) and a bottle of orange juice and sit on those sensuously curved tiled benches and people-watch It’s my favourite place in one of my favourite cities. 

These are the pavilions at the entrance gate. The one on the right is a gift shop.

These are the serpentine benches.

The salamander, before and after photoshop.