Gaudí left Barcelona—the “city of Gaudí”—with countless enduring masterpieces. If time is short, you can limit yourself to what might be called the essential Gaudí trio: the Sagrada Família,、 Casa Milà,and Casa Batlló.
Casa Batlló is a fairy-tale house in the truest sense. The most fully realized work of Modernisme from Gaudí’s mature period, it was inscribed on UNESCO’s World Heritage List in 2005. This official video tells you nearly everything you need to know about it.
© Richard HuangThe house was inspired by the Catalan legend of Saint George slaying the dragon and rescuing the princess. With the help of the official photographs, let’s see how Gaudí tells this tale of heroic rescue. The arched roof resembles the dragon’s spine, while the colored mosaics suggest its scales. You can even make out the dragon’s eye. The balcony railings look like warriors’ helmets, and the cross represents Saint George’s sword plunged into the dragon’s body.
© Richard HuangFour columns on the façade imitate the shapes of bones, earning the building its nickname, the “House of Bones.”
© Richard HuangThe large windows behind the columns offer an unobstructed view of Passeig de Gràcia—and of the crowds waiting in line below.
© Richard HuangThere were certainly plenty of visitors. Tickets came in several tiers, too. These two children had the expensive ones, which included a tablet for each of them. Through its virtual-reality feature, animated scenes appeared wherever they pointed the camera. The children loved it.
© Richard HuangThe interior bears Gaudí’s unmistakable signature: no straight lines or sharp corners, only gentle curves.
© Richard HuangThe doors, windows, ceilings, and rooftop of the Batlló residence are all shaped in curves. Gaudí personally designed every door, handle, and chair so that each would harmonize with the rooms themselves.
© Richard HuangInside and out, the building evokes the sea. Its undulating lines and shades of blue both conjure an underwater world. Across the ceiling, a vast spiral swirls toward a sea-anemone-like light at its center.
© Richard HuangSeen from another angle, the light takes on a different charm.
© Richard HuangAs at Casa Milà, Gaudí incorporated a central light well to improve ventilation and bring more daylight into the rooms. Ingeniously, he used paler tiles and larger windows toward the bottom, where the light grows weaker. This gives every room ample, evenly distributed daylight.
© Richard HuangSpeaking of ventilation, beneath the glass panes are wooden panels that can also be opened whenever more air is needed.
© Richard HuangThe balustrade around the light well is fitted with rippled glass. Reflected through it, the windows resemble an underwater world. I took a series of abstract photographs here.
© Richard HuangAt the back of the house is a terrace that served as a private dining area.
© Richard HuangContinuing upward, we reached the attic, once used for storage and laundry and also designed to insulate the house. Its catenary arches saved money while creating more space. Built of brick, then plastered and polished, the vaulted structure supports the entire roof terrace.
© Richard HuangA spiral staircase leads from there to the rooftop.
© Richard HuangThe residents used the rooftop to hang their laundry and bask in the sun.
© Richard HuangFrom the rooftop, you can take another close look at the dragon’s spine from behind, along with the sword driven into its body.
© Richard HuangAs atCasa Milà,the rooftop chimneys are decorated with mosaics, making them both beautiful and functional. They also provide a pleasing echo of the mosaics on the façade.
© Richard HuangAfter touring the rooftop, we headed back down the stairs. Perhaps to keep visitors from growing bored, the stairwell had been wrapped in curtains of black beads. This commercial addition is completely at odds with Gaudí’s original style. Still, dislike it as I might, I seized the opportunity to take a series of abstract black-and-white photographs.
© Richard HuangBack on the ground floor, I found this pared-back, colorless model of Casa Batlló in the gift shop. Its purity felt calm and harmonious. After seeing all three of Gaudí’s essentials in succession, I could not help but marvel at his boundless imagination and creativity. His imitation of nature’s myriad forms and colors is dazzling, almost overwhelming. Yet once the excitement subsided, I began to wonder whether Gaudí might sometimes have tried a little too hard.
© Richard HuangBefore leaving, I stopped at the café next door for a hot chocolate. Sitting there and looking at the classical sculpture on the doorframe was a pleasure. Wasn’t it another depiction of the dragon-slaying legend? I asked and discovered that it belonged toCasa Amatller,which is also open to visitors, though it had already closed for the day. The longer I looked at the sculpture, the more I liked it. I decided to return tomorrow, adding an unplanned stop to explore this understated opulence.
Understated luxury, with substance.