Antoni Gaudí 1852-1926: From Nature to Architecture

Surprisingly, the slang word 'gaudy' is not named after this gifted visionary.Which is reasauring, as this Taschen book clearly proves that his unique and ambitious work, while impressively extravagent, was far from tasteless.My fifth book from Taschen's basic art series, not including gifts for others, and the first on an architect.Just arrived the other day, but of course I've already checked out the many large high quality photographs this publisher is known for. Now I get to slowly learn about what the artist was like and how he got to designing the eternally unfinished La Sagrada Famillia. Can't wait, then I'll have an excuse to get another Taschen portfolio of an architect! I'm thinking a recent ambitious once, maybe Zaha Hadid. Can't go wrong!

The book is informative and clearly set out. Excellent photographs. If interested in Gaudi’s work and life history, would highly recommend this book. Good quality and a good price.

The photography is superb and I appreciated that floor plans were available to flesh out the written descriptions. Also liked having he map of Spain with his world heritage sites located as well as the street plan of Barcelona where locations of his building projects could be found. I am excitedly planning a vacation to Barcelona and the city map will help in my choice of hotel. There was also just enough history, both political and architectural, to gain a better perspective on his work without being overpowered by historical details. This book has the high quality of an artistic eye catching coffee table book without the ponderous weight to hold and read it. This was a most satisfying combination of background, photography and artistic description for examples of his major building projects. The book also revealed an interesting aspect of patron/artist relationships in modern times with summary information about his clients.

Ce livre fait partie d'une collection d'une vingtaine d'ouvrages à ce jour, sur les plus célèbres architectes de la période fin XIXème siècle et première moitié du XXème siècle.Matériellement, le livre est de bonne qualité : couverture souple mais doublée et glacée, une centaine de pages en papier bien blanc avec une impression précise et bien contrastée, et avec des photos contemporaines ou d'époque (mais très belles) sur toutes les pages.La lecture commence par une dizaine de pages retraçant le parcours professionnel de l'architecte catalan.Le corps de l'ouvrage décrit les principales constructions d'Antoni Gaudi, sur deux à huit pages chacune, en les plaçant dans leur contexte géographique, historique et dans l'évolution de l'oeuvre de l'architecte.A noter : une belle photo pleine page et un plan pour la plupart des constructions.A la fin du livre on trouve une biographie sur quatre pages et une carte situant les constructions.Bibliographie en dernière page.Les productions architecturales détaillées dans le livre :El Capricho, Espagne (1883-1885)Finca Güell (1883-1887)Casa Vicens (1883-1888)Palau Güell (1886-1890)Collegi de les Teresianes (1889-1890)Palais épiscopal (1889-1893)Casa Fernandez y Andrés(1891-1894)Casa Calvet (1898-1900)Crypte de la Colonia Güell (1898-1915)Villa Bellesguard (1900-1905)Parc Güell (1900-1914)Cathédrale de Majorque (1903-1914)Casa Balto (1904-1906)Casa Mila (1906-1910)Escoles de la Sagrada Familia (1909)Sagrada Familia (1883-1926)

Very informative book showing the various designs done by Gaudi. Plenty of photos with description of what's happening in the picture with the name, date and location. I was hoping to get more information on personal influences but book just shows the work he did and when. Would recommend for anyone a fan of Gaudi or any architectural work.