Casa Dolors Calm by Josep Vilaseca i Casanovas, Rambla Catalunya 54, Barcelona

Rambla Catalunya in Barcelona is splattered with architecture jewels of different styles and periods, most of them illustrious samples of Modernisme or Catalan Art Nouveau. In fact, there are more here (over 20) than along neighboring street Passeig de Gracia. One that I specially admire is Casa Dolors Calm by Josep Vilaseca i Casanovas that dates back to 1903. The distinguishing wood and glass gallery and the floral motifs on the façade are worth mentioning. Here is an interesting link to many representative buildings in our city where a small pic shows a front view. As you see the original is rather sober in appearance so I decided to add some infrared color that highlighted the glass panes and the wooden framework of the gallery. Maybe you are interested in other works by this artist like: Casa Bruno Quadros or the Arch of Triumph (Arc de Triomf)

Art Nouveau Treasures: Casa Mila aka La Pedrera, Barcelona, Spain

We had seen the façade, we had the balconies, the door, the roof but we forgot to show you Casa Mila (La Pedrera) from inside.

Come to think of it, there is more from this mind-blowing building by Gaudi to be portrayed in Barcelona Photoblog, I am sure!

It takes some trouble to show the shadows properly without blowing up the skies so I spent some time playing with the settings in my Nikon. Anyway I've seen much better versions of this photo on the web.

To learn more: La Pedrera and Casa Milá facts and history.

Art Nouveau Lamp at Casa Mila or La Pedrera

This impressive art nouveau lamp that reminds me of some ancient diver's helmet or the head of a dragonfly with a little more imagination, hangs from the ceiling in the hall of La Pedrera or Casa Mila, built by Gaudi between 1906 and 1910. Brothers Badia were the iron forgers so I assume they had to do with this lamp but so far I haven't been able to find out who designed such beauty. You can find a thumbnail of La Pedrera on my Google Map below.

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Casa Sayrach: An Art Nouveau Fantasy in Barcelona

Art nouveau buildings are surrounded by mysterious auras that can only be perceived if you are spiritually prepared. The same way auras come in many colors representing different levels of energy or so they say, modernist houses emit some kind of ectoplasm of uncanny origins that seduces, mesmerises those who behold their sinister beauty.

Of course, you've got to have that something in your soul that lets you see things, that ignote power that allows the connection between you, an insignificant end user and the universal stream of knowledge, the legacy of past generations, the richness of human culture and the message that somewhere, someday, another person, an advanced user in this case, left inside a bottle and cast upon the waves of time.

This is Casa Sayrach and the way I see it in my dreams. But let's give some facts about Casa Sayrach: The Sayrach House was built in 1915 by architect Manuel Sayrach i Carreras and it is eclectic in style although it follows modernist schemes, especially those present in Gaudi's works. In fact it is one of the last relevant buildings of the so called late modernist period. The building has been declared of local interest and part of our cultural heritage. It is exactly located on Avinguda Diagonal 423, on the corner with Enric Granados street, on the left side of the Eixample district in Barcelona.

Casa Sayrach: The Last Modernist House in Barcelona

This is a detail of Casa Sayrach at Diagonal Avenue 423-425 next to Enric Granados street, one of the best representative houses of late Barcelona Modernisme. Influenced by Gaudi, Manuel Sayrach i Carreras built it in 1918 although the project was signed by Gabriel Borrell. It was restored recently and it is often ignored in traditional routes. The architect didn't have a vast curriculum but was wealthy enough to allow himself every whim. Casa Sayrach is considered to be the last manifestation of Modernisme and that makes it even more relevant. By the way, downstairs on the very corner there is a luxury restaurant called La Dama (the Lady) which is a must for gourmets. As today's detail only features the tower I will show another angle including the whole building tomorrow although it appeared in Barcelona Photoblog in the past: Casa Sayrach and here Modernisme in Black and White

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Mosaic in the Chamber of the 100 Columns, Park Guell, Barcelona

Ceiling mosaic at the 100 column hall in Park Guell

This is the second mosaic I show you of those you can admire on the ceiling of the Chamber of the 100 Columns at Park Guell. 

Please read the last post here to know more. And of course, do follow labels to compare to other works by Antoni Gaudi. 

I encourage you to enlarge the picture for a more detailed view of the shape of the fragments, their colors and distribution to make up the final figure.

Gaudi Museum in Park Guell, Barcelona

Pink Tower - Gaudi museum at Park Guell

This a museum inside Park Guell, a modernist house Gaudi bought in 1906 and that had been built by Francesc Berenguer, one of his collaborators. 

The house had been part of the park's utopian projects and later it could not be sold. Thanks to that it came into Gaudi hands who lived there for 20 years first with his father and niece and then completely alone till 1926 the year of his death although he was not there till he died cause he abandoned the house some months before due to the distance with the city and went to his workshop in the cathedral. 

The house was known as the Pink Tower because Antoni Gaudí was very devout to the Rose Virgin. This is the view of the building as taken from a low angle in the garden that is in the backyard.

La Pedrera or Casa Mila by Gaudi at Paseo de Gracia, Barcelona

Today I will go to bed quite late but it has been worth the time spent on posting this photograph. It has its flaws but I like the stormy look and the contour of this building:  Casa Mila also known as La Pedrera one of the best works by Gaudi located at Paseo de Gracia. 

You can see some people up there admiring the strange chimneys or turrets that are scattered all over the roof. 

Have a nice weekend.

Art Nouveau Balcony: An Integrating Modern Style

As you know Art Nouveau distinctive features are the use of ornamental shapes and patterns, mainly organic like these animals protruding from the balcony. Art Nouveau was as an international art movement with different names: Jugendstil, in Germany, Stile Liberty in Italy, Sezession in Austria and Modernism in Spain. It integrates different streams in art and design. For example, see this balcony, the abundance of motifs is almost Baroque in style and that bird might as well stand for a gargoyle on any gothic cathedral but at the same time all those characteristic natural elements seem to writhe and adopt impossible innovative forms breaking all previous canons. Most of all it is an emphasis on decorative arts based upon craftsmanship that goes hand in hand with symbolism, a consequence of industrial revolution, the constant search for modernity and the rupture with XIX historicism in arts.