The Genius of Reus saw himself as the architectural intermediary between God and men, the interpreter and prolonger of Creation. In his works, he has in mind both the religious sentiment and the time of progress in which the society of the early 20th century in Barcelona was immersed. A progress and a global projection of the city with which Gaudí had a lot to do, thanks, in part, to the commissions he had from wealthy industrialists of the time – especially from his main client, Eusebi Güell – and the connection he established with different ecclesiastical circles. Many of his clients shared with him religious faith and its conservation as the only way to find hope in a new society that was predicted to be chaotic.
The presence of numerous symbols in Gaudí’s works has led several researchers to study their provenance. Among them, Joan Bassegoda stands out, who, in his article “True and false symbols and symbolism in the work of Antoni Gaudí” categorizes the symbols into four categories: Christian, mythological, patriotic symbols and false symbols resulting from alien imaginations Gaudí’s. In the first category of Christian symbols we would find references to the Bible and the Christian tradition in Gaudí’s works, from the Sagrada Família, described as “the Bible in stone” to the presence of the four-armed cross and monograms of Jesús, Josep and Maria that can be seen in Casa Calvet or Casa Batlló. On the other hand, we find Greek mythological symbols in two specific works of Gaudí: Finca Güell and Parc Güell, and patriotic symbols, so fashionable in the Renaissance period that Gaudí lived in, on a roof of Casa Milà alludes to a poem by Francesc Matheu Fornells, in Bellesguard or Casa Botines. The fourth category established by Bassegoda on Gaudí’s symbology refers us to the hobby of many historians and critics to look for hidden meanings in some details of the architect’s works. Investigations that have given rise to multiple unconfirmed theories, but which have become urban legends, cataloging Gaudí as a mason, templar, alchemist or drug addict, among others.
Be that as it may, the only proven theory is that the architect’s true source of inspiration was Nature and its forms devoid of artistic pretension. That is why, Nature as a divine creation, the cause that explains the deep religiosity of Gaudí, who after several love rejections, lived a life of chastity completely consecrated to architecture and religion.
With great mastery, Gaudí incorporated into his works allusions to nature – by means of the representation of various animals or plants – which complement the religious content that emerges from various icons of the Catholic tradition used, the most recurring being the cross. However, Gaudí applied the icon of the cross in a different way to each work, from the baroque cross on the picador of Casa Calvet, to the four-armed cross that crowns the facade of Casa Batlló, passing through the cross with lobed arms present in the stained glass windows of the Colonia Güell. Apart from the cross, there are also religious echoes in the bars of the Teresian College or the frequent Marian allusion in Bellesguard and Casa Milà.
This original transformation of the icons of the Catholic tradition is part of the process of overcoming the preceding modernist architecture in which Gaudí was immersed. The architect found in medieval art the combination of tradition and innovation, specifically in Gothic art he saw the values lost in modernism, both artistically and socially. Gaudí recovered from Gothic art the religious feeling with its verticality and stained glass windows full of color that connect the earthly world with the heavenly, but he escaped its structural rigidity by developing an architecture full of life where curved lines are the protagonists And it is that the Genius maintained that the curve is the line of God, and the straight line, that of men.
Gaudí’s deep religiosity can not only be admired in his architecture, according to various sources in 1894 the architect began a complete fast that was to last 40 days and was followed by the Barcelona press almost every day, sometimes with ungodly comments. This fast almost caused his death if not for the intervention of Bishop Torras i Bages who prevented him from continuing. A couple of years later, in 1899, he joined the Cercle Artístic de Sant Lluc, an organization of artists of conservative Catholic inspiration where he found the ideological refuge he needed under the advocacy of Sant Lluc and which led him to go out even to the entity’s processions, such as that of Corpus Christi, where we can see Gaudí leaving the cathedral with a large lit candle in his hand.
According to the writer Apeles Mestres, there was a moment in Gaudí’s life when he declared his preference for exclusively accepting religious commissions. If any secular order came to him, he first had to ask the Virgin of Montserrat for permission and guidance. Luckily for Josep Batlló, according to Apeles Mestres, the Virgin always let Gaudí undertake secular works. Thanks to this special permit, today we can enjoy Casa Batlló and see how Gaudí left religious symbols in it. The first would be found in the oratory that he arranged in the main hall of the House, on the wall opposite the large window on the Noble Floor. A kind of chapel closet closed by two large doors that housed an altar with an altarpiece carved in oak, the work of Josep Llimona and which is currently in the crypt of the Sagrada Família. This solution made it possible to convert the hall into a chapel and host the celebration of small religious acts. Another religious detail present in Casa Batlló is found behind this chapel, on a large platform Gaudí placed an opening similar to a door that leads to a small room that the chaplain would use as a sacristy.
The third religious detail of Casa Batlló can be found in the tower on the façade with the initials JHS -allusion to the name of Jesus-, M -for Mary- and JHP -for Joseph-. Apart from Casa Batlló, it is in the Sagrada Família where Gaudí concentrated his artistic and religious vision, where theology becomes an image and where the description of “Architect of God ” is most evident. It was during its construction that death came to the architect at the age of 74, due to a tram accident, and after spending three days at the Hospital de la Santa Creu, a multitude of people wanted to say their last goodbyes at a funeral that toured the city until he was buried in the crypt of the Sagrada Família.
Consulted sources: BASSEGODA I NONELL, Joan. “True and false symbols and symbolisms in the work of Antonio Gaudí”. University of Alicante, Annals of Spanish Literature. No. 15 (2002) BLANCA ARMENTEROS, Josefa. “Architecture and religion in Gaudí”. Complutense University of Madrid, Annals of Art History. No. 6 (1996). HENSBERGEN, GIJS VAN. “Antoni Gaudí”. Editorial Plaza & Janes, 2001. Barcelona.