On a small plot of land in Barcelona, the young Antonio Gaudí designed the oriental residence that de facto launched his career. The colourful tiles, exposed brick and delightful decorations alluding to Arabic art make Casa Vicens a true work of art. The building differs significantly from Gaudí’s later works such as the Sagrada Familia or Casa Batlló due to its straight lines and strong Oriental inspiration.
The first masterpiece
After graduating from the Barcelona School of Architecture in 1878, Antonio Gaudí took on various small commissions. However, later that year, the architect received a major commission from local stockbroker Manuel Vicens, who had inherited a small plot of land in Gracia. The town, then not part of Barcelona, was the ‘bedroom community’ of the Catalan rich, so Vicens’ new house had to be a distinctive building. The broker bought some land next to the plot, and in 1883 Gaudi’s design was approved by the city.
Catalan Modernism, which was nascent at the time, was precisely the distinctive style ideal for Vicens’ house. Anyway, during his career Gaudí became the most prominent representative of this movement, and the project in Gracia was the ideal field for experimentation. It is worth adding that the revolution in Barcelona’s architecture was partly the result of the movement to revive Catalonia as a territory with a distinct language and culture.
Flowers on a chessboard
The building has three facades, although the most impressive is the one facing the garden. The wall facing Carrer de les Carolines street, on the other hand, catches the attention of passers-by with its rich ornamentation. The stone and brick are partly covered with a tiled chequerboard in white and green. The lower section of the façade was tiled with non-accidental floral patterns. According to the architect’s notes, yellow Moorish carnations grew on the plot before construction began, and a cabacha palm tree spread its leaves nearby. Gaudí transferred the original vegetation of the site to the façade, designing the colourful tiles. The palm leaves, in turn, became the model for the cast-iron gate made up of dozens of elements set in lattice.
Immediately noticeable are elements of oriental art such as trusses, mukarnas and minarets. It should be noted, however, that all these features are rather fanciful interpretations of the Islamic original. In theory, floral motifs can also be subsumed under oriental inspiration, although in this case their history is linked to the plot’s past. Such references should not come as a surprise, as for centuries Spain was ruled by the Muslims, who conquered almost the entire Iberian Peninsula. The last stronghold of the Arabs, Granada, surrendered in 1492, ending the Christian knights’ struggle against the caliphate. Despite the expulsion of the Muslims from Spain, the Christians were inspired by the art of the Arabs and for centuries combined European styles with oriental design. It was in Gaudi’s time that this combination became fashionable again, giving rise to styles such as Orientalism and Neo-Mudejar.
Catalan Orient
The façade on the garden side is distinguished by a veranda, a pitched roof and small towers (minarets). Under the balcony is the inscription: “sol, solet, vinam a veure” (sun, sunshine, come and see), which is an excerpt from a traditional Catalan folk song. This local touch was mixed with Japanese lattice shutters. Also worth appreciating are the metal lamps, trellises and railings that swirl into impressive shapes. Plant motifs dominate, but also folk motifs, such as a faun’s head on a glazed vase or other spooks. In addition, in addition to the chequered pattern described earlier, the tiles are enriched with convex elements representing sunflowers and leaves.
Although the original design of the house was more reminiscent of a caliph’s palace, the Arabian inspiration is now only part of the interior. The ground floor was designed to be the centre of home life. The inviting foyer was decorated with a floral sgraffito “overgrowing” the walls. Casts of golden shells were placed between the ceiling beams. An interesting accent in the room is an openwork lamp in the Arabian style. The dining room has been arranged in a similar way. Once again, glazed leaves with fruit “grow” out of the space between the ceiling beams, and the walls are decorated with floral motifs. The ubiquitous tiles were combined with Gaudí-designed wooden furniture and sculptures. The walls were decorated with paintings by the Catalan painter Francesco Torrescassana, who painted genre scenes, landscapes and marinas. The figures depicting a man and a woman may be a reference to Turkish harems. Interestingly, the floor is lined with fine Roman mosaics.
Arab palace
The next rooms are the height of oriental fantasy. The vaulted ceiling of the smoking room is decorated with mucarnas painted in lapis-lazuli with gold accents. This Arabian decorative element refers to the natural limestone formations in the caves. Underneath the amazing vaulted ceiling, papier-mâché tiles and ceramic piping have been placed. In the past, a lamp with Arabic inscriptions could still be admired in the smoking room, but this was removed a few years ago during the renovation. The last interesting room of the ground floor is the veranda which lets a lot of air into the house. In addition to the Japanese trusses, the room is decorated with a small fountain in the shape of a font and a metal circle resembling a spider web.
Gaudí also spared no ornamentation when designing the first floor. The rooms are lined with floral decorations alluding to the local vegetation of Catalonia. However, the most astonishing design element is the fresco applied to the ceiling of the living room. The painting was executed in the Baroque form of trompe-l’œil, an optical illusion depicting a huge dome and pigeons flying beneath it. The second floor formerly housed simple servants’ quarters and the cellar was used as a wine cellar. Interestingly, the modernist staircase leading to the cellar can also give the impression of a spiral optical illusion.
Doctoral work
After Vicens’ death in 1895, the house passed into the hands of his wife, and Casa Vicens was subsequently sold to Dr Antony Jover. The doctor commissioned an extension to the house in the 1920s, and it was handled by Gaudí’s pupil Joan Baptista Serra. The architect removed some of the trusses and garden architecture in favour of extending the building to the right. The Jover family lived in this altered property until 2014. When the doctor’s descendants decided to sell Casa Vicens to the MoraBanc bank. Fortunately, the new owner took care of the renovation of the house and opened it as a museum. The glazed tiles were repainted and the paintings were restored.
Today, Casa Vicens is one of Barcelona’s most important monuments. It is a symbol of the emerging style inspired by the Orient and the country’s unusual past. The building’s amazing ornamentation sets it apart from the surrounding buildings, and the museum located inside attracts crowds of tourists. Casa Vicens is also a tangible part of the resurgent identity of the Catalans, as all the decorations and artwork inside were made by Gaudí’s compatriots. The year the project was accepted, Gaudí took over the design of the famous Sagrada Familia, but that’s a story for another article.
Source: Casa Vicens
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