Casa Vicens was Gaudi's first house that he designed and built for someone (1883). Mr. Vicens really went out on a limb hiring Gaudi for the project. Gaudi was considered loco in his early years as an architect. Given how different his buildings were from anything that came before him, that early perception of him was understandable!
Back in the day, the house had a huge garden. Much of the house brought nature inside. Open and airy, Gaudi had bold strokes of flowers and plants painted on the inside walls.
I would have loved to been a fly on the wall for the discussions between Gaudi and Vicens. Did Vicens take to Gaudi's ideas right away or did it take a while for him to come around? Did Gaudi draw up the whole plans and show them to Vicens, or did Gaudi unveil his ideas a little at a time? That would have been fun to watch!
It was a private house until 2014, so obviously we did not visit it in 2009 when we were in Barcelona. We are so fortunate that so many more Gaudi houses have been opened to the public in the last ten years. For Carol and I, this was our third new Gaudi house of the trip.
Maddy had put together a list of places/things she wanted to do and see if time permitted (we only failed to do one of those things -- good for us!). Casa Vicens was on the list. We took the Metro to the Fontana stop after the Human Towers on Sunday. We got there early, so we stopped in a bar and had sandwiches and water for lunch. Having killed enough time for our 1:40 tickets, we went to Casa Vicens and were, of course, dazzled.
I know I keep writing on this theme, but it has the added advantage of being true: Gaudi was a genius. . .the greatest architect who ever lived. If you have not been to Barcelona, give yourself plenty of days to see his works. And, be sure to buy your tickets in advance!
I'm sorry if there are too many pictures of Casa Vicens below, but there actually should be more. . .I left plenty out!
A corner of the house.
Look at the brilliant use of color tiles, the
creative balconies, and overall design.
A light in the house. There were so
many incredible design features.
Not the doorway behind it.
The side facade.
The use of palm leaves for the gate/wall.
Look at the intricate ceiling carvings.
Note the palm leaf painting top right,
along with this ceiling triangle.
A vibrant wall.
The porch. And Maddy. Note
the planter behind her.
I might have this done for my ceiling.
Up on top of the house -- Gaudi's
signature whimsical rooftops.
Husband and wife.
Daughter and mom.
Using the tilted technique from Anna.
Casa Vicens from the steps of
the gelato shop. Yes, we took
in a post-tour ice cream!
*For you whippersnappers out there, to "sound like a broken record" means to repeat the same thing over and over again, like a needle is stuck on a record when playing music. We'll see if the phrase lasts!
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