At the very beginning of the architect's career in Europe, the Neo-Gothic style actively flourished, and the young one watched with great interest the ideas of the main masters. The declaration proclaimed by them “Decorativeness is the beginning of architecture” ideally corresponded to the imagination of Gaudí, and became his creative credo for life.
But the influence of local Gothic, with its picturesque combination of European and Oriental, Moorish motifs, Gaudí made an even greater impression.
In 1870-1882, he carried out exclusively applied orders in the studio of architects E. Sala and F Villar. The fountain project in 1877 became the first major the work of Antonio Gaudi.
House of Vicens
In the years 1883-1888, a building designed by Gaudí was built - where the architect used the polychrome effects of ceramic cladding. Later he used it in his other works.
The House of Vicens was a reflection of Arabic architecture. The design of the facades, the broken line of the roof, geometric patterns, carved metal grilles on the balconies were the characteristic features of the House of Vicens.
In the period 1887-1900, Antonio Gaudí implemented a number of projects outside of Barcelona (the Bishop's Palace in Astorga, 1887-1893; the House of Botines in Leon, 1891-1894; and others), giving the Neo-Gothic style more and more individual features. Antonio Gaudi also carried out restoration work.
El Capriccio
In the years 1883-1885, according to the project of Gaudi, El Capriccio was built - a summer mansion on the coast of Cantabria near the city of Santander. The project used a horizontal distribution of space. On the ground floor of the house there was a kitchen and utility rooms, on the first floor there were halls, a smoking room, several bedrooms, and bathrooms.
Projects for Eusebi Güell
In 1878, at the World Exhibition in Paris, Antonio Gaudí met a textile magnate, who later became the main customer and good friend of the architect. Throughout Güell's life, Gaudí designed for him and his family everything that the philanthropist entrusted to him. Guell could afford any whim, and Gaudi, in turn, could create freely, not paying attention to standards.
Park Guell
Antoni Gaudí brought to life projects for the Eusebi Güell family near Barcelona; wine cellars in Garraf, a crypt in Santa Coloma de Cervelho and, of course, a stunning one in Barcelona.
Work on the construction of Park Güell lasted from 1900-1914. The most famous buildings of the park are the so-called "Greek Temple" (room for the covered market), in which the architect erected a whole forest of 86 columns, and the "Endless Bench", which winds like a snake for several hundred meters. Also here is the house-museum of the architect himself. Gaudí was able to reflect in architecture what only nature was capable of before.
Park Güell is one of the most significant works of Antonio Gaudí, as well as a significant landmark of Barcelona.
In addition, he managed to create such masterpieces as the convent of St. Teresa (Convento Teresiano) and the house of Calvet (La Casa Calvet).
Temple of the Sagrada Familia
In 1891, the architect receives an order for the construction of a cathedral (Sagrada Familia) in Barcelona. It is rightfully considered the pinnacle of perfection in the work of Antoni Gaudí. The construction of the Sagrada Familia temple began in 1882 under the leadership of the architects Martorell (Juan Martorell) and De Villar (Francisco de P. Del Villar). But in 1891, the project was headed by Antonio Gaudí.
According to Gaudí's idea, the Sagrada Familia was supposed to become a symbolic building of the Nativity of Christ.
The construction of the temple continues to this day and should be completed by 2030.
Keep in mind that there are always huge queues at the box office of the Sagrada Familia. To avoid them, we advise you to buy tickets in advance via the Internet.
Casa Batlló
One of the most unusual buildings of Antonio Gaudi is built in 1904-1906. In its design lies the plot in which St. George kills the dragon. The lower floors are like the bones and skeleton of a dragon. The roof is made in the form of its ridge. Harmony of color and plastic texture became the main feature of the appearance of the Batlló house.
Tickets for Casa Batlló can be bought.
House Mila
Also considered a masterpiece of architecture and (or La Pedrera), the construction of which took place in the period 1906-1910. This is one of the most famous Art Nouveau buildings, called “La Pedrera” (quarry).
Antonio Gaudi(June 25, 1852, Reus - June 10, 1926, Barcelona, full name:Antonio Gaudi and Cornet), is an outstanding Spanish architect, a bright and original representative of organic architecture in European Art Nouveau. Antonio Gaudi developed new ideas about architecture, drawing inspiration from the forms of wildlife, developed original means of spatial geometry.
Gaudí created many architectural objects in Barcelona.
Few architects in the world have had such a significant impact on the look of their city or created something so iconic for their culture. Antonio Gaudí is the most famous architect in Spain. The work of Gaudi marked the highest flowering of Spanish Art Nouveau. A distinctive feature of Gaudi's style is that organic, natural forms (clouds, trees, rocks, animals) became the sources of his architectural fantasies. Gaudí's world of nature has become the main source of inspiration in solving both artistic and design problems, as well as constructive ones. Antonio Gaudi hated closed and geometrically correct spaces, and the walls drove him downright crazy; he avoided straight lines, believing that a straight line is a product of man, and a circle is a product of God. Gaudí declares war on the straight line and moves forever into the world of curved surfaces to form his own, unmistakably recognizable style.
Antonio Gaudi was born on June 25 1852 . in the city of Reus, near Barcelona, in a family belonging to the family of hereditary masons. With 1868 . lived in Barcelona, where in 1873-1878. studied at the Higher Technical School of Architecture. Gaudi studied various crafts (carpentry, metal forging, etc.) in the workshop of E. Punti.
In Europe at that time, an extraordinary flowering of the neo-Gothic style was observed, and the young Antonio Gaudi enthusiastically followed the ideas of neo-Gothic enthusiasts - the French architect and writer Viollet-le-Duc (the largest restorer of Gothic cathedrals in the 19th century, who restored Notre Dame Cathedral) and the English critic and art critic John Ruskin. The declaration proclaimed by them “Decorativeness is the beginning of architecture” fully corresponded to Gaudí’s own thoughts and ideas and, one might say, became the architect’s creative credo for many years.
But to an even greater extent, Gaudí experienced the impact of real local Gothic with its picturesque combination of European and Oriental, Moorish motifs.
In 1870-1882. carried out applied orders (sketches of fences, lanterns, etc.) in the studio of architects E. Sala and F Villar. Gaudi's first independent work (fountain in Plaza Catalunya, 1877 .) revealed the bright quirkiness of the author's decorative fantasy.
In 1880-83. a building was built according to his project - Casa Vicens, where Gaudi used the polychrome effects of ceramic cladding, so characteristic of his mature things. The house, built for the owner of the ceramic factory M. Vicens - Casa Vicens (1878-80), looked like a fairy-tale palace. In accordance with the desire of the owner to see the "kingdom of ceramics" in his country residence, Gaudí covered the walls of the house with multi-color iridescent majolica tiles, decorated the ceilings with hanging stucco "stalactites", filled the courtyard with bizarre gazebos and lanterns. Garden buildings and a dwelling house made up a magnificent ensemble, in the forms of which the architect first tried his favorite techniques: an abundance of ceramic decoration; plasticity, fluidity of forms; bold combinations of different styles; contrasting combinations of light and dark, horizontals and verticals. 
The House of Vicens is a dialogue with Arabic architecture. Asymmetric façade solution, broken roof line, geometric ornament, wrought iron bars on windows and balconies, bright colors due to ceramics - these are the hallmarks of Casa Vicens.
In 1887-1900. Antonio Gaudi carried out a number of projects outside of Barcelona (the Bishop's Palace in Astorga, 1887-1893; Casa Botines in Leon, 1891-1894; and others), giving his Neo-Gothic stylizations an increasingly free character. Antonio Gaudi also acted as a restorer.
In 1883-1885, according to the project of Gaudi, El Capriccio (cat. Capricho de Gaudí) was created - a summer mansion on the Cantabrian coast in the town of Comillas near the city of Santander. In a constructive plan, the project uses a horizontal distribution of space, the living quarters are brought out by windows into a valley descending to the sea. The ground floor houses the kitchen and utility services, while the ground floor houses spacious lounges, a smoking room, living quarters, and several guest bedrooms with en-suite bathrooms. Through the gallery from any bedroom you can get into the heart of the building - a salon-living room with a two-level ceiling.
The outside of the building is lined with rows of bricks and ceramic tiles. The main façade is emphasized in the plinth by rustication painted in ocher and gray colors with a rough relief. The first floor is lined with wide rows of multi-colored bricks interspersed with narrow strips of majolica tiles with relief casts of sunflower inflorescences.
AT 1883 . Gaudí Met a Textile TycoonEusebio Guell, who became for him not only the main customer and patron, but also his best friend. For 35 years, until the death of the patron, the architect designed for his family everything necessary for life: from household items to mansions and parks. This textile magnate, the richest man in Catalonia, not alien to aesthetic insights, could afford to order any dream, and Gaudí got what every creator dreams of: freedom of expression without regard to estimates.
Gaudí designs the pavilions of the estate in Pedralbes near Barcelona for the Guell family; wine cellars in Garrafa, chapels and crypts of Colonia Güell (Santa Coloma de Cervello); fantastic Park Güell (Barcelona).
In 1884-87. created the ensemble of the Güell estate near Barcelona. Cladding walls with mosaics of chipped ceramic tiles became a hallmark of Gaudí's buildings. The most famous buildings of Park Güell on manor lands (1900-14) - the so-called. The "Greek Temple" (room for the covered market), in which the architect erected a whole forest of 86 columns, and the "Endless Bench" several hundred meters long, wriggling like a snake.
In this park, Gaudi tried to embody ideas that exist in nature, but have never been implemented in architecture. The buildings seem to have grown out of the ground, all together they form a single whole, very organic, despite the variety of shapes and sizes.
The famous curvilinear bench of the Hall of a Hundred Columns and the house-museum of the architect himself, the convent of St. Teresa (Convento Teresiano) and the house of Calvet (La Casa Calvet ).
In 1891, the architect received an order for the construction of a new cathedral in Barcelona - the Sagrada Familia (Temple of the "Holy Family"). The Sagrada Familia temple became the highest fruit of the master's imagination. Attaching special importance to this building as a monumental symbol of the national and social revival of Catalonia, Antogio Gaudí1910 . He focused entirely on it, placing his workshop here.
The style in which the cathedral is made is vaguely reminiscent of Gothic, but at the same time, it is something completely new, modern. The building of the Sagrada Familia Cathedral is designed for a choir of 1500 singers, a children's choir of 700 people and 5 organs. The temple was to become the center of the Catholic religion. From the very beginning, the construction of the temple was supported by Pope Leon XIII.
Work on the creation of the Sagrada Familia temple began in 1882 . under the direction of the architects Martorell (Juan Martorell) and De Villar (Francisco de P. Del Villar). AT 1891 . the construction was led by Antoni Gaudí. The architect retained the plan of his predecessor - a Latin cross with five longitudinal and three transverse naves, but made his own changes. In particular, he changed the shape of the capitals of the crypt columns, the height of the arches was increased to10 m , the stairs were moved by him to the wings instead of their intended frontal placement. He constantly refined the idea during construction.
As conceived by Gaudi, the Sagrada Familia (Sagrada Familia) was to become a symbolic building, a grandiose allegory of the Nativity of Christ, represented by three facades. Eastern is dedicated to Christmas; the western one - to the Passion of Christ, the southern, the most impressive, should become the facade of the Resurrection.
The portals and towers of the Sagrada Familia are adorned with exuberant sculpture reproducing the entire living world, the dizzying complexity of profiles and detailing surpassing anything Gothic has ever known. This is a kind of Gothic Art Nouveau, which, however, is based on the plan of a purely medieval cathedral.
Despite the fact that Gaudi built the Sagrada Familia temple for thirty-five years, he managed to build and decorate only the Nativity facade, which is structurally the eastern part of the transept, and four towers above it. The western part of the apse, which makes up most of this majestic building, has not yet been completed.
More than seventy years after Gaudí's death, construction of the Sagrada Familia continues today. Spiers are gradually erected (during the life of the architect, only one was completed), facades with figures of the apostles and evangelists, scenes of the ascetic life and the atoning death of the Savior are being drawn up. The construction of the Sagrada Familia is expected to be completed by2030 .
One of Gaudí's most popular buildings, the Batlo House (1904-06), is the fruit of a whimsical fantasy of purely literary origin. It developed the plot - St. George kills the dragon. The first two floors resemble the bones and skeleton of a dragon, the texture of the wall is its skin, and the roof of a complex pattern is its backbone. A turret and several groups of chimneys of various complex shapes lined with ceramics are installed on the roof.
Casa Batlo is a lyrical creation, where the harmony of color and the plastic texture of the material are masterfully used. The architectural and sculptural décor seems to consist of living, frozen forms only for a moment. The symbolism of the living is completed in the design of the roof in the form of a dragon's back.
Among the masterpieces of modern architecture is the House of Mila (1906-10), one of the famous buildings of Art Nouveau, called "La Pedrera" (quarry), due to the strangeness of this structure. This is a six-storey tenement house located on a corner lot with two courtyards and six light wells.
The building, like apartments, has a complex curvilinear plan. Initially, Gaudi intended to give curvilinear outlines to all internal partitions, but subsequently abandoned this, giving them broken outlines that contrast with the wavy surface of the facade. New constructive solutions have been applied in Mila's house: there are no internal load-bearing walls, all interfloor floors are supported by columns and external walls, in which balconies play a constructive role.
One of the greatest architects in the world and the most famous architect of Barcelona, Gaudí, could have died at birth. The birth of his mother was very difficult, and the midwife immediately put an end to the boy. To save the soul of the newborn, he was immediately baptized. Subsequently, Gaudi claimed that the fact that he survived was a miracle. And he believed that he had been chosen for a special purpose.
Childhood
Antonio Gaudi was born on June 25, 1852 in the small town of Reus, located in Catalonia. His father was the hereditary blacksmith Francesc Gaudí y Sierra, and his mother, after whom the boy was named, was Antonia Cornet y Bertrand. The child received the surname, as was customary in Spain, from both parents - Gaudi i Cornet.
The father taught the child to understand the beauty of the things around him, instilled in Gaudi a love for architecture and fine arts. From his mother, he adopted faith in God and religiosity.
The boy grew up very sickly: he suffered from a severe form of arthritis, which caused severe pain from the simplest movements. He did not play outdoor games, rarely walked. It was difficult for him to walk, so he went for a walk on a donkey. But in mental development, he was significantly ahead of many other children. Antonio was observant, he liked to draw.
In 1863 he began his studies at a school at a Franciscan monastery. In addition to Greek, poetry, rhetoric, and Latin, he studied Christian doctrine, the history of religion, and other religious disciplines that influenced his way of thinking and writing. Despite his intelligence, Antonio did not do well at school, and only geometry came easily to him.
In the family, Gaudí experienced many tragedies: his brother died in 1876. Following him, his mother passed away. And 3 years later, the architect's sister passed away, leaving her daughter in his care.
Studies
In 1868 Antonio moved to Barcelona. To pay for his education, he had to sell his father's land. He became a student at the Higher School of Architecture only in 1874. Prior to this, Gaudi studied at the university at the Faculty of Exact Sciences, where he showed little diligence.
The architecture school gave more freedom for creativity and self-expression, and Gaudi soon became one of the best students. But his stubborn nature, the desire for protests often turned out to be low marks for him. The teachers decided that he was either a genius or crazy.
During his student years, the rheumatic pains in his legs finally disappeared, and in Gaudí he was able to walk normally. And it became one of his favorite things to do.
Antonio graduated in 1878. And in 1906 he suffered another grief - the death of his father. After 6 years, his niece followed him into the grave.
Carier start
From 1870 to 1882, Gaudí worked as a draftsman under the guidance of two architects, Francisco Villar and Emilio Sala. He studied crafts and participated in competitions without success.
Initially, he carried out applied orders. The first official work of the architect Gaudí was lampposts in the Plaza Reial.
These pillars were a chandelier of 6 horns mounted on a marble base. They are crowned with helmets of Mercury - a symbol of prosperity. This work was the first and last order of the city authorities, since the local municipality and Gaudí disagreed about his fee.
In 1877, the architect creates his first major creation - Fountain in Plaza Catalunya. And, since that time, he erects many unique buildings in the Art Nouveau style.
In 1883, Gaudí designed the first mansion. The rich manufacturer Manuel Vicens becomes his customer. It was necessary not only to build a house, but also to successfully fit it into a small space of the land plot, frame it with a garden and at the same time create the illusion of space. The architect brilliantly coped with this task: turrets, bay windows, balconies give a simple quadrangular (cat. Casa Vicens) an amazing three-dimensionality.
In 1898 - 1900. being built (cat. Casa Calvet). Unlike other buildings of Gaudi, the house has a very traditional look, and its facades are symmetrical. The alternating convex and flat balconies, as well as bobbins and columns in the form of coils, give it its originality - a tribute to the professional affiliation of the owner, who owned the textile industry. For the construction of this building, the architect was awarded the Barcelona Municipal Prize in 1900.
Gaudi rarely considered the opinion of the customer. He was modest, but at the same time eccentric, embodied all his fantasies in his works.
He was lucky to be born at a time when the Spanish bourgeoisie got rich and decided to show their triumph to the whole world. Building a more ostentatious home than the neighbor's was an easy way to prove one's superiority. Therefore, architects with an original vision, and not always talented, were popular and had complete freedom of action.
In the same period, Gaudi erected buildings in the neo-Gothic style and in the spirit of a fortified fortress, such as the begun bishop's palace in the city of Astorga (cat. Palacio Episcopal de Astorga). The design of this building, located in Castile, was commissioned in 1887 by the Bishop of Grao i Vallespinos, a Catalan by birth. Gaudi began to build the palace in the form of a medieval fortress, with a moat, four towers and battlements. It was a very bold decision for the palace of the clergyman, but the bishop did not argue. The construction was interrupted by the sudden death of the customer in 1893, and the church council, dissatisfied with the excessive costs, entrusted the completion of the construction to another architect. 
In addition to large-scale architectural work, Gaudí was engaged in interior design and development of furniture sketches.
Fame
All the sights of Barcelona and other cities created by Antonio Gaudi are magnificent, but the real popularity was brought to him by the works created after meeting Eusebio Güell. He was a textile magnate, the richest Catalan, with a creative flair and taste. And he became a friend and patron of the brilliant architect.
There are two versions of their friendship - one by one they met at the World Exhibition in Paris in 1878, where Gaudi presented the project of the village of Mataro. However, this version is hardly plausible, since the layouts of an unknown architect could not attract the attention of the public.
According to another version, Güell noticed Antonio when he was decorating a Barcelona glove store. After receiving a diploma, the young man needed money and took on any job. Decorating the window, Gaudí did it impressively too: from gloves strung on wire, he created entire scenes of urban life: horses pulling carriages, walking people and cats beloved by all Catalans.
Fascinated by the work of the master, Güell watched his work for a long time, and then asked the owner of the store to introduce him to Gaudi. Having learned that the young man was an architect, he invited him to visit him, where he received him warmly and cordially. After that, Gaudí became a frequent visitor to Güell's house. He showed him new sketches of his buildings, and Eusebio always entrusted him with the construction of precisely those that became a real masterpiece.
Many works and houses belonging to the architect Gaudi will survive the centuries, but it was these that brought him fame and finally shaped his unique style.
Palace Guell (cat. Palao Guell).
This house, the construction of which was compared by journalists with the construction of the Tower of Babel, was built in 1885-1900. Güell did not limit the architect in funds for construction and interior design. Only the most luxurious materials were used in the interior decoration of this house: tortoise shell, ivory, ebony and eucalyptus. And if in the interior the hall with a sky dome became the most interesting part, then in the exterior the roof with 18 chimneys in the form of bizarre turrets is most impressive.
Casa Mila (cat. Casa Mila)
The House of Mila or Casa Mila was created by Antonio Gaudi in 1906-1910. for the Mila family. At first, the people of Barcelona did not appreciate this building of a steep, curved shape, and nicknamed it La Pedrera - a quarry. The roof is also decorated with turrets that look like knights in fancy helmets, one of which is inlaid with fragments of green bottle glass.
Batllo House (cat. Casa Batllo)
Casa Batllo by Antonio Gaudí also known as Casa Batlló and house of bones, was rebuilt by Gaudi in 1904-1906. In the building, transformed by a genius, there are practically no straight lines. Its facade, obviously, depicts a dragon - the image of Evil. And the skulls and bones, guessed in the balconies and columns, are his victims. The turret with a cross - the sword of St. George, the patron saint of Catalonia - pierces the dragon's body, symbolizing the victory of the forces of Light over Darkness.
Park Guell (cat. Parc Guell)
Park Güell in Barcelona was created between 1900 and 1914 and was a combination of residential areas and gardens. From a commercial point of view, this project was a failure, because the Catalans did not want to live in the hills. But nowadays Park Güell is one of the brightest sights of Barcelona. The main entrance to the park is decorated with two pavilions that look like huge gingerbread houses, and on the upper terrace there is a giant bench in the shape of a sea serpent. This Park Gaudi chose to live in and owned one of the houses.
(cat. Temple Expiatori de la Sagrada Familia)
With the birth of Antonio Gaudí, the architecture of the whole world was enriched with many works, but the Sagrada Familia became the most outstanding. Gaudi began work on this cathedral in Barcelona in 1883, but did not have time to finish it. In this building, as in many others, the architect reflected what he saw in wildlife. A forest of columns with capitals in the form of branches, intertwining, create the vault of the building, and each tower and stained-glass window tell their own biblical story.
As conceived by Gaudi, the cathedral was supposed to have 3 facades depicting the life of Christ (Birth, Passion and Resurrection). It was also planned to install 12 turrets, symbolizing the apostles, 4 taller towers dedicated to the evangelists, the tower of the Virgin Mary and the highest - 170 m, which was intended for Christ. The God-fearing Catalan did not want the temple to be higher than the Montjuic hill (171 m), because the mountain is the creation of God, and the building is of man.
Gaudí's architecture was way ahead of its time. During the construction of the Temple, Antonio Gaudí based the columns, vaults and other details on complex three-dimensional forms, which can now be recreated only by computer modeling. And the architect developed them only with the help of his imagination and intuition.
It is curious that the temple is being built solely on anonymous donations from parishioners. When this structure is completed (it is assumed that this will happen by 2026), it will become the tallest church in the world.
Antonio Gaudi was extremely mad and stubborn. Perhaps that is why quite funny cases arose with him.
Despite the fact that Gaudi rarely had conflicts with male customers, disputes with their wives were not uncommon. The mistress of the Batlo house was upset with the way their housing was being built. She noticed that because of the oval shape of the room in the music room, it would not be possible to place her daughter's piano. Gaudi ignored the tactfully expressed remarks, and left everything unchanged. The angry woman spoke sharply to the architect, but he, not embarrassed, said: the piano does not fit, buy a violin.
Gaudí and his father were vegetarians and were committed to clean water and fresh air. At the same time, Antonio, as a true Christian, showed moderation in food. For dinner, he, a man of rather large build, ate only lettuce leaves, dipped in milk, and a handful of nuts.
Gaudi passionately loved Catalonia and dreamed of enriching its culture. One day, the police mistook the unkemptly dressed architect for a tramp and stopped him. They asked him some questions in Castilian, but he answered them in Catalan. At this time, there was a fight against "Catalan nationalism", and Gaudí was threatened with prison. Finally realizing that the architect was already well-known at that time, they wanted to hush up the matter, but he continued to talk carelessly in their native language. For which he spent 4 hours in the station.
Gaudí's construction costs were colossal. When the architect, in addition to the main bill, presented the Mila family with an overtime bill, the couple refused to pay. The architect went to court, and the decision was made in his favor. The Mila family had to take out a mortgage on the house they built to pay the bill. Gaudi gave the money to one of the convents.
More scandalous things are also attributed to the architect: it is believed that he made casts of stillborn children for the scene of beating babies, and in order to accurately repeat the contours of animals, before applying plaster, he put them to sleep with chloroform.
Personal life
The great architect Gaudi spent his whole life alone. In his youth, he dressed very catchy and attracted the attention of women. However, when they learned about his profession, which at that time was considered akin to a craftsman, they lost interest in him. Women were worried about the well-being of the groom, and the work of an architect did not guarantee financial stability.
Antonio's first love was the beautiful Joseph Moreu, nicknamed Pepeta. In 1884, this wayward woman worked as a teacher at the school of the Mataro cooperative. Gaudi carried out an order for this enterprise and often visited Pepeta and her sister.
Pepeta gladly accepted the courtship of a young educated architect. Together they visited the Güell drawing room, where all the intellectuals of Barcelona gathered once a week. But at the same time, she kept the inexperienced gentleman at a distance. Finally, Antonio nevertheless proposed to her. And he was taken aback: Pepeta said that she was already engaged to a successful timber merchant.
More Gaudi did not propose to any girl. Years later, he fell in love again with one woman, a young American. But their relationship ended when she returned to the States.
Death
All his life, Gaudí loved to walk around Barcelona. But if in his youth he looked good and dressed elegantly, then in the middle of his life he stopped paying attention to his appearance and resembled a beggar.
On June 7, 1926, he left the house to take his usual walk to the church of Sant Felip Neri. At that time, he was already 73 years old, and the architect visited this church every day. While walking absentmindedly between the streets of Girona and Bailen, he was hit by a tram. Antonio lost consciousness.
The untidy appearance of the tramp led people astray. The cab drivers did not want to take him to the medical department, fearing that they would not receive money. In the end, the great architect was taken to a hospital for the poor, where he received the most primitive help. It was not until July 8 that he was recognized by the chaplain of the Sagrada Familia, but any treatment was already useless.
On June 10, 1926, the genius died. They buried him in the crypt of the temple, which he did not have time to complete.
Antonio Gaudi was born on June 25, 1852 in the small town of Reus, near Tarragona in Catalonia (Spain). Gaudí's childhood passed by the sea. He carried the impressions of the first architectural experiments throughout his life, so some of his houses resemble sand castles. Due to rheumatism, the boy could not play with children and often remained alone, spending a lot of time in contact with nature. Limited mobility due to illness sharpened the future architect's powers of observation, opened the world of nature to him, which became the main source of inspiration in solving both artistic and design problems, as well as constructive ones. Antonio liked to watch mountains, clouds, flowers, snails for a long time. Gaudi's mother instilled in the boy a love of religion. She inspired him that since the Lord left him life, Antonio must definitely find out why.
In the seventies of the XIX century, Gaudí moved to Barcelona, where, after five years of preparatory courses, he was admitted to the Higher School of Architecture, from which he graduated in 1878. It was an educational institution of a new type, in which teachers did everything so that learning did not turn into a routine. At the School, students were encouraged by having the opportunity to participate in real projects, and practical experience is always very valuable for an architect. Antonio studied with pleasure and enthusiasm, sat up in the evenings in the library, learned German and French in order to be able to read literature according to his profile. Antonio was one of the best students, but he was never loved.
In the years 1870-1882, Antonio Gaudi worked under the supervision of the architects Emilio Sala and Francisco Villar as a draftsman, unsuccessfully participating in competitions; studied crafts, doing many small jobs (fences, lanterns, etc.), also designed furniture for his own home.
In Europe at that time there was an extraordinary flowering neogothic style , and the young Gaudi enthusiastically followed the ideas of neo-Gothic enthusiasts - the French architect and writer Violet le Duc (the largest restorer of Gothic cathedrals in the 19th century, who restored Notre Dame Cathedral) and the English critic and art critic John Ruskin. The declaration proclaimed by them "Decorativeness is the beginning of architecture" fully corresponded to Gaudi's own thoughts and ideas, whose creative style becomes completely unique over the years, architecture is as far from the generally accepted one as Lobachevsky's geometry is from classical Euclidean.
In the period of early creativity, marked by the influences of the architecture of Barcelona, as well as the Spanish architect Martorel, his first richly decorated, early modern projects are built: "stylistic twins" - elegant House of Vicens (Barcelona) and quirky El Capricho (Comillas, Cantabria):
In accordance with the desire of the owner to see the "kingdom of ceramics" in his country residence, Gaudí covered the walls of the house with multi-color iridescent majolica tiles, decorated the ceilings with hanging stucco "stalactites", filled the courtyard with bizarre gazebos and lanterns. Garden buildings and a residential building made up a magnificent ensemble, in the forms of which the architect first tried his favorite techniques:
● an abundance of ceramic finishes;
● plasticity, fluidity of forms;
● bold combinations of different styles;
● contrasting combinations of light and dark, horizontals and verticals.
El Capricho (Comillas, Cantabria):
The outside of the building is lined with rows of bricks and ceramic tiles. The first floor is lined with wide rows of multi-colored bricks interspersed with narrow strips of majolica tiles with relief casts of sunflower inflorescences.
The compromise pseudo-baroque House Calvet(Barcelona) - the only building recognized and loved by the citizens during his lifetime:
Also in these years, the following projects appear:
● School at the monastery of Santa Teresa (Barcelona) in a restrained Gothic, even "serf" style:
● Neo-Gothic episcopal palace in Astorga (Castilla, Leon):
● House of Botines in Neo-Gothic style (Leon):
However, the meeting with Eusebi Güell . Gaudí later became a friend of Güell. This textile magnate, the richest man in Catalonia, not alien to aesthetic insights, could afford to order any dream, and Gaudí got what every creator dreams of: freedom of expression without regard to estimates. Antonio designs the pavilions of the estate in Pedralbes near Barcelona for the Guell family; wine cellars in Garrafa, chapels and crypts of Colonia Güell (Santa Coloma de Cervello); fantastic Park Güell (Barcelona). In these works, Gaudí transcends the dominant historical styles within the eclecticism of the 19th century, declaring war on the straight line and moving forever into the world of curved surfaces to form his own unmistakable style.
Once Guell conceived the reconstruction of his summer country residence. For this purpose, he expands his holdings by acquiring several more plots. He gives the order for the restructuring of the country house to Antonio Gaudi, instructing him to remake the park, reform the country house, build a fence with gates, build new pavilions at the entrance to the estate, and the architect was also instructed to build a stable with a covered arena. Now this complex is called Park Güell .
Like all Gaudi's subsequent works, these buildings are deeply symbolic, there are no random details here. The idea of the architect was based on the myth of the magical garden of the Hesperides. This myth was reflected in the poem "Atlantis" by the Catalan author Jacinta Verdaguer, who often visited the Guella estate. The poem describes one of the exploits of Hercules, who was ordered by the king of Mycenae, wanting to test the strength of Hercules, to get golden apples from the garden, which was carefully guarded. The most interesting preserved part of the estate is the gate in the form of a dragon. According to legend, the bloodthirsty dragon Ladon guarded the entrance to the garden, where a tree with golden apples grew, giving eternal youth and immortality.
Another Gaudi building for his patron and friend is the manufacturer's house in Barcelona, the so-called Palace Güell :
With the completion of the palace, Antonio Gaudi ceased to be a nameless builder, quickly becoming the most fashionable architect in Barcelona, soon turned into a "virtually unaffordable luxury."
At that time, Antonio Gaudi was still working as a draftsman in the architectural office of his former teacher at the Higher School of Architecture - Villar. This also played an interesting role in Gaudí's later life. The point is that construction Sagrada Familia (Temple Expiatori de la Sagrada Famnlia) It's been going on in Barcelona for a few years now. And when the question arose of replacing the architect, Villar proposed the candidacy of Gaudi. Oddly enough, the Church Council accepted it. Antonio founded his own architectural office, recruited a staff of assistants and plunged headlong into work ( )
The customers, who were ready to spend half their fortunes on the construction, initially believed in the genius of the architect, who without any effort paved a new path in architecture. For the bourgeois of Barcelona, he built houses one more unusual than the other. One of these houses was Casa Mila - space that is born and develops, expanding and moving like living matter. The house is better known as La Pedrera, which translates as a quarry. The project was commissioned by entrepreneur Pedro Mila y Camps. He needed a house whose apartments he could rent. Gaudí planned the undulating façade. Iron structures were lined with hewn stone, which was cut down nearby in the province of Barcelona:
Designing began in 1906, and the architect, with his usual scrupulousness, verified all the lines. He designed the space so that the neighbors felt as isolated from each other as possible, in addition, if the owner of the house planned to turn it into a hotel, then no problems should have arisen either. Nevertheless, Pedro Mila expressed impatience and urged in every possible way. But obstacles arose at every step. Thus, the regulatory authorities were dissatisfied with the column, which protruded half a meter onto the sidewalk. They demanded that she be removed. Gaudi fought for every detail of his project. He threatened that if he still had to remove the column, then at the place where it was supposed to be, he would write who exactly was guilty of her absence.
Then there were sizing issues. The height of the structure was four meters higher than allowed. There was a demand to cut the attic. In case of non-compliance with the requirement, a fine was imposed on the owner, which corresponded to a fifth of the entire project. A commission was created, which recognized the building as of great value, and thus all this disagreement with the law was settled.
Mila's house was under construction for three years. While the work was going on, the rich Pere Mila became poor, as he had already paid 100,000 pesetas for the architect's violation of all building codes. Therefore, closer to the end, he could not stand it and said: "I will not pay." Gaudi replied: "Well, then finish building it yourself." After which they dispersed, patting their empty pockets, slandering each other and taking the case to court. But future generations can now be inspired and enjoy a wonderful architectural monument.
Similar in spirit project of Gaudí - Casa Batllou - a living trembling creature, the fruit of a bizarre fantasy of an unusual origin: it developed a plot - St. George kills a dragon. The first two floors resemble the bones and skeleton of a dragon, the texture of the wall is its skin, and the roof of a complex pattern is its backbone. Above the roof rises a tower in the form of a spear piercing the dragon's body. The Casa Batlló is also known as the "House of Bones":
With Cathedral of the Holy Family - Sagrada Familia - became the most famous work of Antonio Gaudi, although he did not start building it and he did not finish it. But for the architect himself, this work was the culmination of his life and work. Attaching special importance to this building as a monumental symbol of the national and social revival of Catalonia, Antogio Gaudi from 1910 concentrated entirely on it, placing his workshop here.
As conceived by Gaudi, the Sagrada Familia was to become a symbolic building, a grandiose allegory of the Nativity of Christ, represented by three facades. Eastern is dedicated to Christmas; the western - to the Passion of Christ, the southern, the most impressive, should become the facade of the Resurrection. The portals and towers of the Sagrada Familia are adorned with exuberant sculpture reproducing the entire living world, the dizzying complexity of profiles and detailing surpassing anything Gothic has ever known. This is a kind of Gothic Art Nouveau, which, however, is based on the plan of a purely medieval cathedral.
Despite the fact that Gaudi built the Sagrada Familia temple for thirty-five years, he managed to build and decorate only the Nativity facade, which is structurally the eastern part of the transept, and four towers above it. The western part of the apse, which makes up most of this majestic building, has not yet been completed. More than seventy years after Gaudí's death, construction of the Sagrada Familia continues today. Spiers are gradually erected (during the life of the architect, only one was completed), facades with figures of the apostles and evangelists, scenes of the ascetic life and the atoning death of the Savior are being drawn up. The construction of the Sagrada Familia is expected to be completed by 2030.
The layout of the future Temple of the Sagrada Familia (Temple Expiatori de la Sagrada Famnlia) in Barcelona, made up of suspended sandbags, could only be "read" by modern computers! By connecting the dots-bags, the researchers obtained a spatial model of the cathedral. In addition, in order not to “cut” the room into pieces, Gaudí came up with his own unsupported ceiling system, and only 100 years later a computer program appeared that could perform such operations. It was a NASA program that calculated the trajectories of space flights.
The last years the architect spent as an ascetic hermit, fully devoting all his strength and energy to the creation of the immortal Sagrada Familia Cathedral - Sagrada Familia, which became the highest embodiment of not only his unique talent, but also his devout faith. He finished the tops of the towers of the temple so carefully that it was pleasant for the angels to look at them.
At the end of lifeAntonio Gaudi is very ill. I caught brucellosis or Maltese fever, which is difficult to diagnose even today. Doctors believe that “brucellosis is distinguished by sudden mood swings leading to suicidal depression. Interspersed with outbursts of anger and periods of absent-mindedness, this depressed mood is accompanied by physical exhaustion, excruciating headaches and painful arthritis. There was no cure for this disease. Perhaps this can explain why Gaudí has changed so much for the worse. He walked around in sagging jackets, and his trousers dangled around his legs, which he wrapped with bandages from the cold ... And no underwear! However, he did not change his outer clothing until it turned into tatters. The great architect ate what he put into his hand on the go - a piece of bread, for example. If they didn't eat anything, they didn't eat anything. When he did not eat anything for a very long time, he lay down and began to die. But one of the students came, changed his clothes, fed him ...
On June 7, 1926, 73-year-old Gaudí was hit by a tram and lost consciousness. The cab drivers refused to take an untidy, unknown old man without money and documents to the hospital, fearing non-payment for the trip. Gaudí died soon after from his injuries.
Watch a video presentation of the most famous works of Gaudí:
In the 70s of the 19th century, the young Gaudí moved to Barcelona. After 5 years of preparatory courses, Gaudí was admitted to the Provincial School of Architecture, from which he graduated in 1878.
In 1870-1882, Antoni Gaudí worked as a draftsman, unsuccessfully participating in competitions. He studied crafts, doing many small jobs (fences, lanterns, etc.), designing furniture for his own home.
At this time, an extraordinary flowering of neo-Gothic style began in Europe, and the young Gaudí enthusiastically followed advanced ideas. The declaration “Decorativeness is the beginning of architecture” proclaimed by the followers of the Neo-Gothic completely coincided with the ideas of Gaudi, who over time developed his own, completely unique architectural style.
Gaudí architecture
At the beginning of Gaudi's work, being influenced by the architecture of Barcelona and the architect Martorel, he builds his first buildings, richly decorated: "stylistic twins" - the elegant House of Vicens () and the quaint El Capriccio (Comillas, Cantabria); also the compromise Calvet House (Barcelona) in pseudo-baroque style. At the same time, Gaudí is making a project in a restrained Gothic, even "fortified" style - the School at the Monastery of St. Teresa (), as well as an unrealized project for the buildings of the Franciscan Mission in Tangier; Neo-Gothic episcopal palace in Astorga (Castilla, Leon) and Dom Botines (Leon).
A decisive role in the implementation of Gaudí was played by the architect's meeting with Eusebi Güell, with whom he became friends. This textile magnate, the richest man, not alien to aesthetic insights, could afford to order any dream, and Gaudi got what every creator dreams of: freedom of expression without regard to estimates.
Gaudí designs the pavilions of the estate in Pedralbes near Barcelona for the Guell family; wine cellars in Garrafa, chapels and crypts of Colonia Güell (Santa Coloma de Cervello); fantastic().
Over time, Gaudi developed his own style, where there was not a single straight line. The construction of the Palau Güell turned Gaudí into Barcelona's most fashionable architect, soon becoming "an almost unaffordable luxury". For the bourgeois of Barcelona, he built houses one more unusual than the other: a space that is born and develops, expanding and moving like living matter - the House of Mila; a living quivering creature, the fruit of a bizarre fantasy - Casa Batlló.
Customers, ready to throw half a fortune on the construction, initially believed in the genius of an architect who paves a new path in architecture.
Death of Gaudí
Gaudí died at the age of 73. On June 7, 1926, he left the house, setting off on his daily journey to the church of Sant Felip Neri, of which he was a parishioner. While walking absentmindedly along Gran Via de las Cortes Catalanes between Girona and Bailen streets, he was hit by a tram and Gaudí lost consciousness.
The cab drivers refused to take an untidy, unknown old man without money and documents to the hospital, fearing non-payment for the trip. Still, Gaudi was taken to a hospital for the poor, where he was given only primitive medical care. Only the next day he was found and identified by the chaplain. By that time, Gaudí's condition had already deteriorated so much that the best treatment could not help him.
Gaudí died on June 10, 1926 and was buried two days later in the crypt of the unfinished cathedral.
Gaudí architecture in Barcelona:
Casa Batlló y Casa Novas
Casa Batlló(cat. Casa Batlló), also called "House of Bones"- a residential building built in 1877 for the textile magnate Josep Batllo y Casanovas at , 43 in the district, and rebuilt by the architect Antoni Gaudí in 1904-1906.
Before finishing the construction work, Gaudi received an order to remake an apartment building owned by the family of a wealthy textile manufacturer, Josep Batllo y Casanovas and located next to the modernist house of Amalie. The owner of the house intended to demolish the old building of 1875 and build a new one in its place, but Gaudí decided otherwise.
Architecture of Casa Batlló
Gaudi retained the original structure of the house, adjacent to the side walls of two neighboring buildings, but designed two new facades, the main one from the side, and the back one - inside the quarter. In addition, Gaudí completely redesigned the ground floor and the mezzanine, making original furniture, and adding a basement floor, an attic and an asotea (stepped roof terrace). Two light shafts were combined into a single courtyard, which improved daylight and ventilation of the building. The idea of attaching special significance to the light court, first realized in Casa Batlló, was used by Gaudi during the construction Houses of Mila.
Many researchers of Gaudí's work recognize that the reconstruction of Casa Batlló is the beginning of a new creative stage for the master: from this project, Gaudí's architectural projects will be built on the basis of his own vision, without regard to accepted norms and styles.
Features of Casa Batlló
A distinctive feature of the Casa Batlló is the almost complete absence of straight lines in its architecture. The decoration of the façade is made of hewn stone, quarried on Barcelona's Montjuïc hill, as well as the interior design - everything is done on the basis of wavy lines. The appearance of the facade is interpreted in very different ways, but in general they agree that the main facade is an allegory for the dragon - Gaudí's favorite character, whose image was used in many of his creations. The victory of the patron saint of Catalonia, St. George, over the dragon may be an allegory for the victory of good over evil. The sword of St. George, thrust into the “backbone of the dragon”, is presented in the form of a turret topped with a St. George cross, the facade of the building depicts the sparkling “scales” of the monster and is littered with the bones and “skulls” of its victims, which are guessed in the forms of the mezzanine columns and balconies.
As is characteristic of Gaudí, every detail in the Casa Batlló is carefully thought out. Pay attention to the design of the light palace, where Gaudí created a special play of chiaroscuro. To achieve uniform lighting, the architect gradually changes the color of the ceramic cladding from white to blue and blue, deepening it as it goes from bottom to top, creating a real splash of azure in the decoration of chimneys and ventilation pipes. For the same, the size of the windows overlooking the patio also changes, which gradually decrease with height. The elegant attic of the house is based on the parabolic arches used by Gaudi and other projects.
Decor of Casa Batlló
All home decor is made by the best craftsmen. The forged elements were made by blacksmiths, the Badia brothers, the stained-glass windows were made by the glass blower Josep Pelegri, the tiles were made by P. Pujol i Bausis son, other ceramic details were made by Sebastian i Ribo. The cladding of the main façade was entirely made in Manacor (Mallorca). The furniture created by Gaudí during the interior design is now included in the collection in Park Guell.
Casa Batllo, together with the House of Amalle and the House of Lleo Morera, is part of "Quarter of Disagreement", so named because of the stylistic heterogeneity of the modernist buildings that form it.
In 1962, Casa Batllo was declared an Artistic Monument of Barcelona, in 1969 - a monument of national importance, in 2005 it was included in the list.
Visit Casa Batlló in Barcelona:
- Website: www.casabatllo.es
- Opening hours: daily 9 - 19 (last entry at 20:00)
- Directions: 7, 16, 17, 22, 24 and 28. Barcelona Tourist Bus (North & South) stop Casa Batlló – Fundació Antoni Tàpies.| Barcelona Tourist Bus (North & South) stop Casa Batlló – Fundació Antoni Tàpies.| Metro: Station Passeig de Gràcia: L2, L3 and L4.
- Audio guide - included in the ticket price. There is in Russian.
- Entrance:
- adults: 21.5€
- students and pensioners > 65 years old: 18.5€
- 7 - 18 years old: 18.5€
- children under 7 years old - free of charge
- Night visit (21:00) - 29€
House Mila
On the corner with Carrèr de Provence (Provence St.) stands the main boulevard - Mila's house(Casa Milà, Provença, 261-265, Passeig de Gratia, 92). This building by Antoni Gaudí is more like a piece of sculpture than a piece of architecture.
Architecture of the House of Mila
The six-story house looks like a huge rock, its window and door openings resemble grottoes, the wrought-iron balcony railings are made in the form of fantastic plants. The house is often called La Pedrera, meaning "The Quarry". Gaudi erected it in 1906-1910. for the richest Mila family; the owners' living quarters, an office were located here, and some of the apartments were rented out. Now, in addition to the bank CaixadeCatalunya, who allocated funds for the restoration of the building, the house houses the Gaudí Museum.
In one of the apartments there is a kind of museum of life of the Art Nouveau era; note that there are no straight lines here! You can also climb up to the fantastic rooftop, where giant multicolored chimneys resemble medieval knights. It was on this roof that the shooting of M. Antonioni's famous film "Profession: Reporter" took place.
Religious motifs in the architecture of Gaudí
The house was built on the site of the temple of the Virgin Mary of the 11th century, and therefore its entire appearance is permeated with religious motifs. The building was to be crowned by a colossal figure of the Madonna (12 m) with angels - the entire building of Mila's house would then be perceived as her grandiose pedestal. However, the Madonna was never installed because of the anti-church riots of the Tragic Week of 1909, when the crowd smashed and burned churches and monasteries. Religious symbols are present in all the buildings of Gaudí; “silent wave of the blue mountain” (as the English art critic D. Ruskin called Mila’s house) was supposed to capture the “soul of Catalonia2 and remind monastery of Montserrat.
But it must be remembered that Gaudi intended to somewhat soften the impression of the harsh power of this house - the residents had to decorate their balconies with creeping and hanging flowers, cacti, palm trees, thereby complementing the architecture and sculpture with living vegetation. The most important role in the construction of the Mila House was played by Gaudí's permanent assistant J. Jujol, who designed the wrought-iron grilles of the building's balconies.
Visit Casa Mila in Barcelona:
- House Mila - on the list
- Address: Provença, 261-265, Barcelona
- www.lapedrera.com
- Directions: metro: L3 and L5 stop Diagonal.| buses: 7, 16, 17, 22, 24, 39 and V17.| FGC trains: Provença station.| Barcelona Bus Turistic: stop Pg. de Gracia-La Pedrera.
- Working hours:
- November - February: La Pedrera in the afternoon: daily 9 - 18:30, last admission 18 hours. The Secret Pedrera: Wednesday - Saturday 19 - 22:30, choice of tours and languages.
- March - October: La Pedrera by Day: hedgehog. 9 - 20, last entrance 19:30. The Secret Pedrera: hedgehog 20:30 - 0:00, choice of excursions and languages.
- Closed: 25 December and 1 week in January.
- Entrance: AFTERNOON: adults €16.50, students: €14.85 disabled: €14.85, children (up to and including 6 years old): free, children 7 - 12 years old: €8.25
- Entrance IN THE EVENING: adults: 30 €, children 7-12 years old: 15 €, children under 6 years old inclusive - free of charge.
Sagrada Familia (Sagrada Familia)
It was one of his first buildings, which Antonio Gaudí built in 1886-1889. for his patron, the textile magnate Eusebio de Güell Bacigalupi. Probably, it was thanks to close friendship with him that Gaudi managed to achieve unprecedented architectural perfection: Guell did not count the money that he allocated for Gaudi's buildings and their constant restructuring, he settled numerous legal problems, and as a result, Gaudi became the de facto family architect of the Guells. He built everything for them - from clothes drying devices on the roof of a city house, and a mansion, and a church, and a whole park.
The architect and the industrialist had much in common: they were both from the neighborhood, both were fanatical patriots. Be sure to visit the palace; Fireplaces, bat-shaped weathercocks, parabolic arches, neo-Byzantine living rooms, spear columns on the second floor, multi-colored ceramic chimneys on the roof are unlikely to leave you indifferent (according to legend, to achieve the desired effect, Gaudi smashed objects of an extremely expensive Limoges service).
Interior of the Palace Güell
The decoration of the rooms was fabulously expensive - carved ceilings of rosewood and oak are decorated with false leaves of gold and silver, inlaid with ivory and tortoiseshell; candlesticks were attached to the marble walls. Some art historians believe that the drawing of the mansion resembles a plan in; others note similarities with Babylonian ziggurats. The mansion was the main official residence of Güell - even before the completion of construction work, he was visited here by the Queen Regent Maria Cristina.
In the 1880s, when construction was underway Palace Güell, the southeast side was considered unsuitable for a fashionable life - this cereal area was then called Chinatown and was teeming with prostitutes, alcoholics, syphilitics; it was here that the French writer Jean Genet lived, creating his "Diary of a Thief" - a chronicle of the life of the Barcelona "bottom". Now this area is inhabited mainly by immigrants from Latin America and is still considered the slums of Barcelona. By the way, if you want to live close to the center of Barcelona and very cheap, and you are not too scrupulous, then this place will be perfect - lots of cheap restaurants around, within walking distance…
Visit Palau Güell in Barcelona
- Palau Guell
- Address: Carrer Nou de la Rambla, 3-5
- Tel: +34 934 72 57 75
- Working hours:
- Open from Tuesday to Sunday, both days inclusive.
- Summer work schedule (from April 1 to October 31): from 10 am to 8 pm (ticket office closes at 7 pm)
- Winter work schedule (from November 1 to March 31): from 10 to 17:30 (the box office closes at 16:30)
- Day off: Monday, excluding holidays, December 25 and 26, January 1 and from January 6 to 13 (for prevention)
- Entrance:
- adults: 12€
- other options:
- The audio guide is included in the ticket price.
- Buy ticket to Vdorets Güell:
- Tickets can be purchased at the box office of the Palau Güell, located on the street. Nou de la Rambla, 1, 20 meters from the main entrance to the Palau Güell. Tickets can also be purchased in advance for a specific time and date.
