Appreciating Gaudí - La Pedrera
Wonderful stone and metal sculptures by Antoni Gaudí is one of the reasons to visit Barcelona. You won't be able to see all of his works in a whole day. The talent of a genius will be noticeable even to a person far from art. Casa Mila, Casa Batllo, Park Guel, Pavellons Guell and out-of-town Colonia Guell are the top 5 from the eminent architect. And for special fans, there are a few more of his early "warm-up" works.
His solutions in architecture, coupled with the laws of nature and geometry, are amazing. Not everyone was able to feel the material in such a way. And his finds and compositions surprise and fascinate at the same time. Talent here is not covered by social status and pretentious patronage. Each of his creations is unique and attracts thousands of onlookers every day. Such ideas could hardly come to mind to an ordinary architect with collegiate documents.
Personally, I liked his solutions for natural lighting of rooms and giving inhuman forms to such ordinary attributes of houses as drains, exhaust pipes, benches and even door handles. He had nothing for nothing, everything had meaning, form and character. Not a single standard item like IKEA.
So Casa Mila. Located in the Gracia district, near Placa Catalynay, this cultural property, bought by the Catalynya Caixa savings bank, opens its doors from Monday to Sunday from 10 to 20.
The entrance cost 16.50, and for the audio guide they asked for another 4 euros. We took one for two, and using headphones from the tour bus, we walked like Siamese twins. There is also Russian, by the way.
The exhibition consists of a roof-terrace, an attic floor, an apartment-museum and an exhibition hall. Entrance to the exhibition hall is from Gracia Avenue itself and is usually free of charge. There are some exhibitions on the theme of the creative flight of thought of someone from the gifted.
The entrance to the rest of the objects is already through the cash desk, which is located a little further.
Climbing up the stairs (later we saw an elevator there), you will start from the roof. The imperturbable forms of Imperial stormtroopers adorn the roofs where air ducts and exits from ventilation shafts stand on non-noble buildings. The roof is very harmonious and cartoony. Curvilinear forms rule the ball and catch the eye. Nothing fancy or functional.
Next, you need to go down to the floor below, where on the attic floor you will find an exhibition of works by Gaudí dedicated to all his sculptures. Models, drawings, drawings and photographs. Here you can get acquainted with the main architectural techniques used by Gaudi to build his objects and fill the interiors within them.
The museum apartment showcases the furnishings of a Barcelona bourgeois family from the early 20th century. Decor, furniture, fabrics and household utensils.
Full immersion in the everyday life of those times.
After that, you will go to the hall with souvenirs, where Gaudi is sold for a lot of money. But you still want to buy something for memory.
