Looks familiar? Me (centre) with family members In front of the Sagrada Familia, July 2009.
La Basílica i Temple Expiatori de la Sagrada Família is Barcelona’s world famous architectural work-in-progress, seemingly forever in a state of incompletion, which commenced construction in 1882 and has been projected to reach its final in 2026. The Roman Catholic basilica has captured the awe of many with its sheer scale and scope, both physically and artistically.
ANTONI GAUDI Spires climbing high featuring pinnacle detailing similar to Gaudí‘s work at Parc Güell, also in Barcelona (sagradafamiliablog)
It’s ostentatious and organically styled stonework reveal much of the mind, character and genius of it’s designer, “God’s architect” Antoni Gaudí, who died in 1926 when only approximately 20% of the basilica had been constructed. Work was painfully slow until the 1990s when a great push in construction (including the great vaulted ceiling over the central nave) set the project towards a clear and tangible completion point.
Gaudí took over from original architect Francisco de Paula del Villar when he quit the project after construction commenced in 1882. The basilica’s basic form follows the typical traditional cruciform shape of large church buildings. He incorporated his highly personalised Art Nouveau associated style with the original Neo-Gothic design to envisage something that defies description, much like his other building works. Organic flora and fauna motives abound, the splendour of nature, bone like structures, reflections of life. As a devout Catholic he recognised nature as truly God’s design. With the basilica, he was able to place it into full context with Christ - the joining of heaven and earth.
The magnificent interior is relatively new when compared to the entire lifetime of the basilica but it faithfully recreates Gaudí‘s nature inspired structures such as the pillars which mimic a forest. (somosviajeros)
The basilica reminds me of the illuminated pages of the Lindisfarne Gospels which were a stylistic fusion of English (plants and creatures), Celtic (knots and spirals) and Roman (formal design) elements. Parts of pages were left unfinished so to suggest that only God is perfect. (Some people have argued for the basilica to remain unfinished.)
Gaudí used innovative engineering solutions to design his daring and monumental shapes, such as equilibrating (a technique involving hanging curved strings to work out vertical and horizontal pressure points in structures).
In 1926 Gaudí was mortally wounded by a tram whilst on his way to daily Mass and confession. As such he only saw completion of the apse in his lifetime. Work continued by others (the first four bell towers were completed in 1933) but vandalism during the Spanish Civil War resulted in many of the original models that Gaudí produced were destroyed.
La Sagrada Família in 1905, featuring the Nativity entrance and apse. (Baldomer Gili Roig)
Subsequent efforts to fully realise his masterpiece has involved using surviving models and drawings, piecing together recovered broken fragments, and inspired artistic interpretation. Still, progress remained slow for decades.
I remember walking up inside one of the towers in the 1980s. Mild vertigo aside, I noticed inscriptions in the stonework made by previous visitors, including one dating from the 1950s. The passage of time reflecting generations who came to marvel at this unfinished monument. I looked out at an open air area below. The sound of a single stonemason’s hammer worked away ploddingly, a quiet reminder that work was still in progress.
The bony structures of the Passion facade make a stylistic and tonal contrast against the basilica. The birdlike sacristy sits to the left. The Mary tower and Gospel writer towers are almost as tall as the bell towers (sagradafamiliablog)
The open air area was later covered with an immense vaulted ceiling when construction work accelerated in the 90s onward, thanks in part to increased donations as Barcelona became a popular tourist destination after the 1992 Olympics, and also with advances in building engineering techniques and computer aided modelling.
Eight completed curved bell towers representing Apostles pierced the skyline. For so long these were the pinnacle icon but the silhouette has finally changed in the last few years as the rest of the basilica is speedily catching up. As my sister remarked, “I’ll have to change my fridge magnet!”
Like a plant that was slow to spring up but now growing rampantly, several new towers currently rising will soon dwarf the rest of the basilica, especially the central Jesus tower that will be twice as tall as everything else. An era came to a close when Gaudí died in 1926. When the Sagrada Família is finally completed, another Gaudí era will come to a close but a heavenly masterwork will be remain.
3D printed model of the finished design. Once completed the Jesus tower will be twice the height of the much older, longer standing bell towers. (pinterest)
