title: Antoni Gaudí

text: Gaudí incorporated elements of Catalan culture and identity in his works. Gaudí was part of the Catalan Renaissance ("Renaixença" in Catalan), romantic revivalist and cultural movement that aimed at restoring Catalan language and arts combined with an anti-Castilian political "Catalanism." Park Güell, which was commissioned by Catalan patriot Eusebi Güell, was envisioned by Gaudí as a focus of Catalan nationalism and cultural aspirations. Gaudí inserted numerous motifs from Catalan culture in the park, such as a large mosaic with the Catalan flag or the representations of dragons, which were seen as Catalan symbols during the "Renaixença" because of their connection to the Catalan patron saint George. The Park was also host to the "First Congress of the Catalan Language" while it was still under construction. Casa Batlló, which is considered among Gaudí's finest examples of Catalan Modernism, is known as "the House of the Dragon" due to its symbolism related to the legend of Saint George, the patron saint of Catalonia. The Sagrada Familia is decorated with many words and writings, such as on the towers and doors, and are mainly in Catalan, such as the Lord's Prayer in Catalan on the main doors. The Palau Güell's entrance is decorated with the Catalan coat of arms and a helmet with a winged dragon. His project for Barcelona's Muralla de Mar featured shields and names of battles and Catalan admirals. The Torre Bellesguard (1900–1909), former summer palace of King Martin I the Humane, was restored by Gaudí and its spire decorated the Catalan flag and the royal crown. He also designed a project (never terminated) to crown El Cavall Bernat (a mountain peak) with a viewpoint in the shape of a royal crown and a 20 meters (66 ft) high Catalan coat of arms. The Catalan flag was also present in a banner designed for Our Lady of Mercy of Reus and a monument (not completed) to Catalan politician Enric Prat de la Riba in Castellterçol. Even before he became an architect, he was very interested in the history of medieval Catalonia, when it was a big player in Mediterranean politics and history. He joined several Catalan associations, such as Cercle Artístic de Sant Lluc, "Lliga Espiritual de la Mare de Déu de Montserrat", "Associació Catalanista d'Excursions Científiques". The latter was a group dedicated to preserve and celebrate the art, landscape, culture, and language of Catalunya.


title: Antoni Gaudí

text: On 7 June 1926, Gaudí was taking his daily walk to the Sant Felip Neri church for his habitual prayer and confession. While walking along the Gran Via de les Corts Catalanes between Girona and Bailén streets, he was struck by a passing number 30 tram and lost consciousness. Assumed to be a beggar, the unconscious Gaudí did not receive immediate aid. Eventually some passers-by transported him in a taxi to the Santa Creu Hospital, where he received rudimentary care.


title: Antoni Gaudí

text: By the time that the chaplain of the Sagrada Família, Mosén Gil Parés, recognised him on the following day, Gaudí's condition had deteriorated too severely to benefit from additional treatment. Gaudí died on 10 June 1926 at the age of 73 and was buried two days later. A large crowd gathered to bid farewell to him in the chapel of Our Lady of Mount Carmel in the crypt of the Sagrada Família. His gravestone bears this inscription:


title: Antoni Gaudí

text: Antonius Gaudí Cornet. Reusensis. Annos natus LXXIV, vitae exemplaris vir, eximiusque artifex, mirabilis operis hujus, templi auctor, pie obiit Barcinone die X Junii MCMXXVI, hinc cineres tanti hominis, resurrectionem mortuorum expectant. R.I.P.


title: Antoni Gaudí

text: Gaudí's professional life was distinctive in that he never ceased to investigate mechanical building structures. Early on, Gaudí was inspired by oriental arts (India, Persia, Japan) through the study of the historicist architectural theoreticians, such as Walter Pater, John Ruskin and William Morris. The influence of the Oriental movement can be seen in works like the Capricho, the Güell Palace, the Güell Pavilions and the Casa Vicens. Later on, he adhered to the neo-Gothic movement that was in fashion at the time, following the ideas of the French architect Eugène Viollet-le-Duc. This influence is reflected in the Teresian College, the Episcopal Palace in Astorga, the Casa Botines and the Bellesguard house as well as in the crypt and the apse of the Sagrada Família. Eventually, Gaudí embarked on a more personal phase, with the organic style inspired by nature in which he would build his major works.


title: Antoni Gaudí

text: During his time as a student, Gaudí was able to study a collection of photographs of Egyptian, Indian, Persian, Mayan, Chinese and Japanese art owned by the School of Architecture. The collection also included Moorish monuments in Spain, which left a deep mark on him and served as an inspiration in many of his works. He also studied the book "Plans, elevations, sections and details of the Alhambra" by Owen Jones, which he borrowed from the School's library. He took various structural and ornamental solutions from Nasrid and Mudéjar art, which he used with variations and stylistic freedom in his works. Notably, Gaudí observed of Islamic art its spatial uncertainty, its concept of structures with limitless space; its feeling of sequence, fragmented with holes and partitions, which create a divide without disrupting the feeling of open space by enclosing it with barriers.


title: Antoni Gaudí

text: Undoubtedly the style that most influenced him was the Gothic Revival, promoted in the latter half of the 19th century by the theoretical works of Eugène Viollet-le-Duc. The French architect called for studying the styles of the past and adapting them in a rational manner, taking into account both structure and design. Nonetheless, for Gaudí the Gothic style was "imperfect", because despite the effectiveness of some of its structural solutions it was an art that had yet to be "perfected". In his own words:


title: Antoni Gaudí

text: After these initial influences, Gaudí moved towards "Modernisme", then in its heyday. "Modernisme" in its earlier stages was inspired by historic architecture. Its practitioners saw its return to the past as a response to the industrial forms imposed by the Industrial Revolution's technological advances. The use of these older styles represented a moral regeneration that allowed the bourgeoisie to identify with values they regarded as their cultural roots. The "Renaixença" (rebirth), the revival of Catalan culture that began in the second half of the 19th century, brought more Gothic forms into the Catalan "national" style that aimed to combine nationalism and cosmopolitanism while at the same time integrating into the European modernizing movement.


title: Antoni Gaudí

text: Some essential features of "Modernisme" were: an anticlassical language inherited from Romanticism with a tendency to lyricism and subjectivity; the determined connection of architecture with the applied arts and artistic work that produced an overtly ornamental style; the use of new materials from which emerged a mixed constructional language, rich in contrasts, that sought a plastic effect for the whole; a strong sense of optimism and faith in progress that produced an emphatic art that reflected the atmosphere of prosperity of the time, above all of the esthetic of the bourgeoisie.


title: Antoni Gaudí

text: Gaudí is usually considered the great master of Catalan Modernism, but his works go beyond any one style or classification. They are imaginative works that find their main inspiration in geometry and nature forms. Gaudí studied organic and anarchic geometric forms of nature thoroughly, searching for a way to give expression to these forms in architecture. Some of his greatest inspirations came from visits to the mountain of Montserrat, the caves of Mallorca, the saltpetre caves in Collbató, the crag of Fra Guerau in the Prades Mountains behind Reus, the Pareis mountain in the north of Mallorca and Sant Miquel del Fai in Bigues i Riells.


title: Antoni Gaudí

text: This study of nature translated into his use of ruled geometrical forms such as the hyperbolic paraboloid, the hyperboloid, the helicoid and the cone, which reflect the forms Gaudí found in nature. Ruled surfaces are forms generated by a straight line known as the generatrix, as it moves over one or several lines known as directrices. Gaudí found abundant examples of them in nature, for instance in rushes, reeds and bones; he used to say that there is no better structure than the trunk of a tree or a human skeleton. These forms are at the same time functional and aesthetic, and Gaudí discovered how to adapt the language of nature to the structural forms of architecture. He used to equate the helicoid form to movement and the hyperboloid to light. Concerning ruled surfaces, he said:


title: Antoni Gaudí

text: Another element widely used by Gaudí was the catenary arch. He had studied geometry thoroughly when he was young, studying numerous articles about engineering, a field that praised the virtues of the catenary curve as a mechanical element, one which at that time, however, was used only in the construction of suspension bridges. Gaudí was the first to use this element in common architecture. Catenary arches in works like the Casa Milà, the Teresian College, the crypt of the Colònia Güell and the Sagrada Família allowed Gaudí to add an element of great strength to his structures, given that the catenary distributes the weight it regularly carries evenly, being affected only by self-canceling tangential forces.


title: Antoni Gaudí

text: Gaudí evolved from plane to spatial geometry, to ruled geometry. These constructional forms are highly suited to the use of cheap materials such as brick. Gaudí frequently used brick laid with mortar in successive layers, as in the traditional Catalan vault, using the brick laid flat instead of on its side. This quest for new structural solutions culminated between 1910 and 1920, when he exploited his research and experience in his masterpiece, the Sagrada Família. Gaudí conceived the interior of the church as if it were a forest, with a set of tree-like columns divided into various branches to support a structure of intertwined hyperboloid vaults. He inclined the columns so they could better resist the perpendicular pressure on their section. He also gave them a double-turn helicoidal shape (right turn and left turn), as in the branches and trunks of trees. This created a structure that is now known as fractal. Together with a modulation of the space that divides it into small, independent and self-supporting modules, it creates a structure that perfectly supports the mechanical traction forces without need for buttresses, as required by the neo-Gothic style. Gaudí thus achieved a rational, structured and perfectly logical solution, creating at the same time a new architectural style that was original, simple, practical and aesthetic.


title: Antoni Gaudí

text: This new constructional technique allowed Gaudí to achieve his greatest architectural goal; to perfect and go beyond Gothic style. The hyperboloid vaults have their center where Gothic vaults had their keystone, and the hyperboloid allows for a hole in this space to let natural light in. In the intersection between vaults, where Gothic vaults have ribs, the hyperboloid allows for holes as well, which Gaudí employed to give the impression of a starry sky.


title: Antoni Gaudí

text: Gaudí complemented this organic vision of architecture with a unique spatial vision that allowed him to conceive his designs in three dimensions, unlike the flat design of traditional architecture. He used to say that he had acquired this spatial sense as a boy by looking at the drawings his father made of the boilers and stills he produced. Because of this spatial conception, Gaudí always preferred to work with casts and scale models or even improvise on-site as a work progressed. Reluctant to draw plans, only on rare occasions did he sketch his works—in fact, only when required by authorities.


title: Antoni Gaudí

text: Another of Gaudí's innovations in the technical realm was the use of a scale model to calculate structures: for the church of the Colònia Güell, he built a 1:10 scale model with a height of in a shed next to the building. There, he set up a model that had strings with small bags full of birdshot hanging from them. On a drawing board that was attached to the ceiling he drew the floor of the church, and he hung the strings (for the catenaries) with the birdshot (for the weight) from the supporting points of the building—columns, intersection of walls. These weights produced a catenary curve in both the arches and vaults. At that point, he took a picture that, when inverted, showed the structure for columns and arches that Gaudí was looking for. Gaudí then painted over these photographs with gouache or pastel. The outline of the church defined, he recorded every single detail of the building: architectural, stylistic and decorative.


title: Antoni Gaudí

text: Gaudí's position in the history of architecture is that of a creative genius who, inspired by nature, developed a style of his own that attained technical perfection as well as aesthetic value, and bore the mark of his character. Gaudí's structural innovations were to an extent the result of his journey through various styles, from Doric to Baroque via Gothic, his main inspiration. It could be said that these styles culminated in his work, which reinterpreted and perfected them. Gaudí passed through the historicism and eclecticism of his generation without connecting with other architectural movements of the 20th century that, with their rationalist postulates, derived from the Bauhaus school, and represented an antithetical evolution to that initiated by Gaudí, given that it later reflected the disdain and the initial lack of comprehension of the work of the "modernista" architect.


title: Antoni Gaudí

text: Among other factors that led to the initial neglect of the Catalan architect's work was that despite having numerous assistants and helpers, Gaudí created no school of his own and never taught, nor did he leave written documents. Some of his subordinates adopted his innovations, above all Francesc Berenguer and Josep Maria Jujol; others, like Cèsar Martinell, Francesc Folguera and Josep Francesc Ràfols graduated towards Noucentisme, leaving the master's trail. Despite this, a degree of influence can be discerned in some architects that either formed part of the "Modernista" movement or departed from it and who had had no direct contact with him, such as Josep Maria Pericas (Casa Alòs, Ripoll), Bernardí Martorell (Olius cemetery) and Lluís Muncunill (Masia Freixa, Terrassa). Nonetheless, Gaudí left a deep mark on 20th-century architecture: masters like Le Corbusier declared themselves admirers, and the works of other architects like Pier Luigi Nervi, Friedensreich Hundertwasser, Oscar Niemeyer, Félix Candela, Eduardo Torroja and Santiago Calatrava were inspired by Gaudí. Frei Otto used Gaudí's forms in the construction of the Munich Olympic Stadium. In Japan, the work of Kenji Imai bears evidence of Gaudí's influence, as can be seen in the Memorial for the Twenty-six Martyrs of Japan in Nagasaki (Japanese National Architecture Award in 1962), where the use of Gaudí's famous "trencadís" stands out.


title: Antoni Gaudí

text: During his student days, Gaudí attended craft workshops, such as those taught by Eudald Puntí, Llorenç Matamala and Joan Oñós, where he learned the basic aspects of techniques relating to architecture, including sculpture, carpentry, wrought ironwork, stained glass, ceramics, plaster modelling, etc. He also absorbed new technological developments, integrating into his technique the use of iron and reinforced concrete in construction. Gaudí took a broad view of architecture as a multifunctional design, in which every single detail in an arrangement has to be harmoniously made and well-proportioned. This knowledge allowed him to design architectural projects, including all the elements of his works, from furnishings to illumination to wrought ironwork.


title: Antoni Gaudí

text: Gaudí was also an innovator in the realm of craftsmanship, conceiving new technical and decorative solutions with his materials, for example his way of designing ceramic mosaics made of waste pieces ("trencadís") in original and imaginative combinations. For the restoration of Mallorca Cathedral he invented a new technique to produce stained glass, which consisted of juxtaposing three glass panes of primary colours, and sometimes a neutral one, varying the thickness of the glass in order to graduate the light's intensity.


title: Antoni Gaudí

text: This was how he personally designed many of the Sagrada Família's sculptures. He would thoroughly study the anatomy of the figure, concentrating on gestures. For this purpose, he studied the human skeleton and sometimes used dummies made of wire to test the appropriate posture of the figure he was about to sculpt. In a second step, he photographed his models, using a mirror system that provided multiple perspectives. He then made plaster casts of the figures, both of people and animals (on one occasion he made a donkey stand up so it would not move). He modified the proportions of these casts to obtain the figure's desired appearance, depending on its place in the church (the higher up, the bigger it would be). Eventually, he sculpted the figures in stone.


title: Antoni Gaudí

text: Gaudí also practiced landscaping, often in urban settings. He aimed to place his works in the most appropriate natural and architectural surroundings by studying the location of his constructions thoroughly and trying to naturally integrate them into those surroundings. For this purpose, he often used the material that was most common in the nearby environment, such as the slate of Bellesguard and the grey Bierzo granite in the Episcopal Palace, Astorga. Many of his projects were gardens, such as the Güell Park and the Can Artigas Gardens, or incorporated gardens, as in the Casa Vicens or the Güell Pavilions. Gaudí's harmonious approach to landscaping is exemplified at the First Mystery of the Glory of the Rosary at Montserrat, where the architectural framework is nature itself—here the Montserrat rock—nature encircles the group of sculptures that adorned the path to the Holy Cave.


title: Antoni Gaudí

text: Equally, Gaudí stood out as interior decorator, decorating most of his buildings personally, from the furnishings to the smallest details. In each case he knew how to apply stylistic particularities, personalising the decoration according to the owner's taste, the predominant style of the arrangement or its place in the surroundings—whether urban or natural, secular or religious. Many of his works were related to liturgical furnishing. From the design of a desk for his office at the beginning of his career to the furnishings designed for the Sobrellano Palace of Comillas, he designed all furnishing of the Vicens, Calvet, Batlló and Milà houses, of the Güell Palace and the Bellesguard Tower, and the liturgical furnishing of the Sagrada Família. It is noteworthy that Gaudí studied some ergonomy in order to adapt his furnishings to human anatomy. Many of his furnishings are exhibited at Gaudí House Museum.


title: Antoni Gaudí

text: Another aspect is the intelligent distribution of space, always with the aim of creating a comfortable, intimate, interior atmosphere. For this purpose, Gaudí would divide the space into sections, adapted to their specific use, by means of low walls, dropped ceilings, sliding doors and wall closets. Apart from taking care of every detail of all structural and ornamental elements, he made sure his constructions had good lighting and ventilation. For this purpose, he studied each project's orientation with respect to the cardinal points, as well as the local climate and its place in its surroundings. At that time, there was an increasing demand for more domestic comfort, with piped water and gas and the use of electric light, all of which Gaudí expertly incorporated. For the Sagrada Família, for example, he carried out thorough studies on acoustics and illumination, in order to optimise them. With regard to light, he stated:


title: Antoni Gaudí

text: Lighting also served Gaudí for the organisation of space, which required a careful study of the gradient of light intensity to adequately adapt to each specific environment. He achieved this with different elements such as skylights, windows, shutters and blinds; a notable case is the gradation of colour used in the atrium of the Casa Batlló to achieve uniform distribution of light throughout the interior. He also tended to build south-facing houses to maximise sunlight.


title: Antoni Gaudí

text: Gaudí's work is normally classed as "modernista", and it belongs to this movement because of its eagerness to renovate without breaking with tradition, its quest for modernity, the ornamental sense applied to works, and the multidisciplinary character of its undertakings, where craftsmanship plays a central role. To this, Gaudí adds a dose of the baroque, adopts technical advances and continues to use traditional architectural language. Together with his inspiration from nature and the original touch of his works, this amalgam gives his works their personal and unique character in the history of architecture.


title: Antoni Gaudí

text: Chronologically, it is difficult to establish guidelines that illustrate the evolution of Gaudí's style faithfully. Although he moved on from his initially historicist approach to immerse himself completely in the "modernista" movement which arose so vigorously in the last third of the 19th century in Catalonia, before finally attaining his personal, organic style, this process did not consist of clearly defined stages with obvious boundaries: rather, at every stage there are reflections of all the earlier ones, as he gradually assimilated and surpassed them. Among the best descriptions of Gaudí's work was made by his disciple and biographer Joan Bergós, according to plastic and structural criteria. Bergós establishes five periods in Gaudí's productions: preliminary period, mudéjar-morisco (Moorish/mudéjar art), emulated Gothic, naturalist and expressionist, and organic synthesis.


title: Antoni Gaudí

text: Gaudí's first works both from his student days and the time just after his graduation stand out for the precision of their details, the use of geometry and the prevalence of mechanical considerations in the structural calculations.


title: Antoni Gaudí

text: During his studies, Gaudí designed various projects, among which the following stand out: a cemetery gate (1875), a Spanish pavilion for the Philadelphia World Fair of 1876, a quay-side building (1876), a courtyard for the Diputació de Barcelona (1876), a monumental fountain for the Plaça Catalunya in Barcelona (1877) and a university assembly hall (1877).


title: Antoni Gaudí

text: Gaudí started his professional career while still at university. To pay for his studies, he worked as a draughtsman for some of the most outstanding Barcelona architects of the time, such as Joan Martorell, Josep Fontserè, Francisco de Paula del Villar y Lozano, Leandre Serrallach and Emili Sala Cortés. Gaudí had a long-standing relationship with Josep Fontserè, since his family was also from Riudoms and they had known each other for some time. Despite not having an architecture degree, Fontserè received the commission from the city council for the Parc de la Ciutadella development, carried out between 1873 and 1882. For this project, Gaudí was in charge of the design of the Park's entrance gate, the bandstand's balustrade and the water project for the monumental fountain, where he designed an artificial cave that showed his liking for nature and the organic touch he would give his architecture.


title: Antoni Gaudí

text: Gaudí worked for Francisco de Paula del Villar on the apse of the Montserrat monastery, designing the niche for the image of the Black Virgin of Montserrat in 1876. He would later substitute Villar in the works of the Sagrada Família. With Leandre Serrallach, he worked on a tram line project to Villa Arcadia in Montjuïc. Eventually, he collaborated with Joan Martorell on the Jesuit church on Carrer Casp and the Salesian convent in Passeig de Sant Joan, as well as the Villaricos church (Almería). He also carried out a project for Martorell for the competition for a new façade for Barcelona cathedral, which was never accepted. His relationship with Martorell, whom he always considered one of his main and most influential masters, brought him unexpected luck; he later recommended Gaudí for the Sagrada Família.


title: Antoni Gaudí

text: After his graduation as an architect in 1878, Gaudí's first work was a set of lampposts for the Plaça Reial, the project for the Girossi newsstands and the Mataró cooperative, which was his first important work. He received the request from the city council of Barcelona in February 1878, when he had graduated but not yet received his degree, which was sent from Madrid on 15 March of the same year. For this commission he designed two types of lampposts: one with six arms, of which two were installed in the Plaça Reial, and another with three, of which two were installed in the Pla del Palau, opposite the Civil Government. The lampposts were inaugurated during the Mercè festivities in 1879. Made of cast iron with a marble base, they have a decoration in which the caduceus of Mercury is prominent, symbol of commerce and emblem of Barcelona.


title: Antoni Gaudí

text: The Girossi newsstands project, which was never carried out, was a commission from the tradesman Enrique Girossi de Sanctis. It would have consisted of 20 newsstands, spread throughout Barcelona. Each would have included a public lavatory, a flower stand and glass panels for advertisements as well as a clock, a calendar, a barometer and a thermometer. Gaudí conceived a structure with iron pillars and marble and glass slabs, crowned by a large iron and glass roof, with a gas illumination system.


title: Antoni Gaudí

text: The Cooperativa Obrera Mataronense (Mataró Workers' Cooperative) was Gaudí's first big project, on which he worked from 1878 to 1882, for Salvador Pagès i Anglada. The project, for the cooperative's head office in Mataró, comprised a factory, a worker's housing estate, a social centre and a services building, though only the factory and the services building were completed. In the factory roof Gaudí used the catenary arch for the first time, with a bolt assembly system devised by Philibert de l'Orme. He also used ceramic tile decoration for the first time in the services building. Gaudí laid out the site taking account of solar orientation, another signature of his works, and included landscaped areas. He even designed the Cooperative's banner, with the figure of a bee, symbol of industriousness.


title: Antoni Gaudí

text: In May 1878 Gaudí designed a display cabinet for the Esteban Comella glove factory, which was exhibited in the Spanish pavilion at the Paris World Exhibition that year. It was this work that attracted the attention of the entrepreneur Eusebi Güell, visiting the French capital; he was so impressed that he wanted to meet Gaudí on his return, beginning a long friendship and professional collaboration. Güell became Gaudí's main patron and sponsor of many of his large projects.


title: Antoni Gaudí

text: Güell's first task for Gaudí, that same year, was the design of the furniture for the pantheon chapel of the Palacio de Sobrellano in Comillas, which was then being constructed by Joan Martorell, Gaudí's teacher, at the request of the Marquis of Comillas, Güell's father in law. Gaudí designed a chair, a bench and a prayer stool: the chair was upholstered with velvet, finished with two eagles and the Marquis's coat of arms; the bench stands out with the motif of a dragon, designed by Llorenç Matamala; the prayer stool is decorated with plants.


title: Antoni Gaudí

text: Also in 1878 he drew up the plans for a theatre in the former town of Sant Gervasi de Cassoles (now a district of Barcelona); Gaudí did not take part in the construction of the theatre, which no longer exists. The following year he designed the furniture and counter for the Gibert Pharmacy, with marquetry of Arab influence. The same year he made five drawings for a procession in honour of the poet Francesc Vicent Garcia i Torres in Vallfogona de Riucorb, where this celebrated 17th-century writer and friend of Lope de Vega was the parish priest. Gaudí's project was centred on the poet and on several aspects of agricultural work, such as reaping and harvesting grapes and olives; however, as a result of organisational problems Gaudí's ideas were not carried out.


title: Antoni Gaudí

text: Between 1879 and 1881 he drew up a proposal for the decoration of the church of Sant Pacià, belonging to the Colegio de Jesús-María in Sant Andreu del Palomar: he created the altar in a Gothic style, the monstrance with Byzantine influence, the mosaics and the lighting, as well as the school's furniture. The church caught fire during the Tragic Week of 1909, and now only the mosaics remain, of "opus tesselatum", probably the work of the Italian mosaicist Luigi Pellerin. He was given the task of decorating the church of the Colegio de Jesús-María in Tarragona (1880–1882): he created the altar in white Italian marble, and its front part, or antependium, with four columns bearing medallions of polychrome alabaster, with figures of angels; the ostensory with gilt wood, the work of Eudald Puntí, decorated with rosaries, angels, tetramorph symbols and the dove of the Holy Ghost; and the choir stalls, which were destroyed in 1936.


title: Antoni Gaudí

text: In 1880 he designed an electric lighting project for Barcelona's Muralla de Mar, or seawall, which was not carried out. It consisted of eight large iron streetlamps, profusely decorated with plant motifs, friezes, shields and names of battles and Catalan admirals. The same year he participated in the competition for the construction of the San Sebastián social centre (now town hall), won by Luis Aladrén Mendivi and Adolfo Morales de los Ríos; Gaudí submitted a project that synthesised several of his earlier studies, such as the fountain for the Plaça Catalunya and the courtyard of the Provincial Council.


title: Antoni Gaudí

text: A new task of the Güell-López's for Comillas was the gazebo for Alfonso XII's visit to the Cantabrian town in 1881. Gaudí designed a small pavilion in the shape of a Hindu turban, covered in mosaics and decorated with an abundance of small bells which jingled constantly. It was subsequently moved into the Güell Pavilions.


title: Antoni Gaudí

text: In 1882 he designed a Benedictine monastery and a church dedicated to the Holy Spirit in Villaricos (Cuevas de Vera, Almería) for his former teacher, Joan Martorell. It was of neo-Gothic design, similar to the Convent of the Salesians that Gaudí also planned with Martorell. Ultimately it was not carried out, and the project plans were destroyed in the looting of the Sagrada Família in 1936. The same year he was tasked with constructing a hunting lodge and wine cellars at a country residence known as La Cuadra, in Garraf (Sitges), property of baron Eusebi Güell. Ultimately the wine cellars, but not the lodge, were built some years later. With Martorell he also collaborated on three other projects: the church of the Jesuit School in Carrer Caspe; the Convent of the Salesians in Passeig de Sant Joan, a neo-Gothic project with an altar in the centre of the crossing; and the façade project for Barcelona cathedral, for the competition convened by the cathedral chapter in 1882, ultimately won by Josep Oriol Mestres and August Font i Carreras.


title: Antoni Gaudí

text: Gaudí's collaboration with Martorell was a determining factor in Gaudí's recommendation for the Sagrada Família. The church was the idea of Josep Maria Bocabella, founder of the Devotees of Saint Joseph Association, which acquired a complete block of Barcelona's Eixample district. The project was originally entrusted to Francisco de Paula del Villar y Lozano, who planned the construction of a neo-Gothic church, on which work began in 1882. However, the following year Villar resigned due to disagreements with the construction board, and the task went to Gaudí, who completely redesigned the project, apart from the part of the crypt that had already been built. Gaudí devoted the rest of his life to the construction of the church, which was to be the synthesis of all of his architectural discoveries.


title: Antoni Gaudí

text: During these years Gaudí completed a series of works with a distinctly oriental flavour, inspired by the art of the Middle and Far East (India, Persia, Japan), as well as Islamic-Hispanic art, mainly Mudejar and Nazari. Gaudí used ceramic tile decoration abundantly, as well as Moorish arches, columns of exposed brick and pinnacles in the shape of pavilions or domes.


title: Antoni Gaudí

text: Between 1883 and 1888 he constructed the Casa Vicens, commissioned by stockbroker Manuel Vicens i Montaner. It was constructed with four floors, with façades on three sides and an extensive garden, including a monumental brick fountain. The house was surrounded by a wall with iron gates, decorated with palmetto leaves, work of Llorenç Matamala. The walls of the house are of stone alternated with lines of tile, which imitate yellow flowers typical of this area; the house is topped with chimneys and turrets. In the interior the polychrome wooden roof beams stand out, adorned with floral themes of papier maché; the walls are decorated with vegetable motifs, as well as paintings by Josep Torrescasana; finally, the floor consists of Roman-style mosaics of "opus tesselatum". Among the most original rooms is the smoking room, notable the ceiling, decorated with Moorish honeycomb-work, reminiscent of the Generalife in the Alhambra in Granada.


title: Antoni Gaudí

text: In the same year, 1883, Gaudí designed the Santísimo Sacramento chapel for the parish church of San Félix de Alella, as well as some topographical plans for the Can Rosell de la Llena country residence in Gelida. He also received a commission to build a small annex to the Palacio de Sobrellano, for the Baron of Comillas, in the Cantabrian town of the same name. Known as El Capricho, it was commissioned by Máximo Díaz de Quijano and constructed between 1883 and 1885. Cristòfor Cascante i Colom, Gaudí's fellow student, directed the construction. In an oriental style, it has an elongated shape, on three levels and a cylindrical tower in the shape of a Persian minaret, faced completely in ceramics. The entrance is set behind four columns supporting depressed arches, with capitals decorated with birds and leaves, similar to those that can be seen at the Casa Vicens. Notable are the main lounge, with its large sash window, and the smoking room with a ceiling consisting of a false Arab-style stucco vault.


title: Antoni Gaudí

text: Gaudí carried out a second commission from Eusebi Güell between 1884 and 1887, the Güell Pavilions in Pedralbes, now on the outskirts of Barcelona. Güell had a country residence in Les Corts de Sarrià, consisting of two adjacent properties known as Can Feliu and Can Cuyàs de la Riera. The architect Joan Martorell had built a Caribbean-style mansion, which was demolished in 1919 to make way for the Royal Palace of Pedralbes. Gaudí undertook to refurbish the house and construct a wall and porter's lodge. He completed the stone wall with several entrances, the main entrance with an iron gate in the shape of a dragon, with symbology allusive to the myths of Hercules and the Garden of the Hesperides. The buildings consist of a stable, covered longeing ring and porter's lodge: the stable has a rectangular base and catenary arches; the longeing ring has a square base with a hyperboloid dome; the porter's lodge consists of three small buildings, the central one being polygonal with a hyperbolic dome, and the other two smaller and cubic. All three are topped by ventilators in the shape of chimneys faced with ceramics. The walls are of exposed brick in various shades of reds and yellows; in certain sections prefabricated cement blocks are also used. The Pavilions are now the headquarters of the Real Cátedra Gaudí, of the Polytechnic University of Catalonia.


title: Antoni Gaudí

text: In 1885 Gaudí accepted a commission from Josep Maria Bocabella, promoter of the Sagrada Família, for an altar in the oratory of the Bocabella family, who had obtained permission from the Pope to have an altar in their home. The altar is made of varnished mahogany, with a slab of white marble in the centre for relics. It is decorated with plants and religious motifs, such as the Greek letters alpha and omega, symbol of the beginning and end, gospel phrases and images of Saint Francis of Paola, Saint Teresa of Avila and the Holy Family and closed with a curtain of crimson embroidery. It was made by the cabinet maker Frederic Labòria, who also collaborated with Gaudí on the Sagrada Família.


title: Antoni Gaudí

text: Shortly after, Gaudí received an important new commission from Güell: the construction of his family house, in the Carrer Nou de la Rambla in Barcelona. The Palau Güell (1886–1888) continues the tradition of large Catalan urban mansions such as those in Carrer Montcada. Gaudí designed a monumental entrance with a magnificent parabolic arch above iron gates, decorated with the Catalan coat of arms and a helmet with a winged dragon, the work of Joan Oñós. A notable feature is the triple-height entrance hall; it is the core of the building, surrounded by the main rooms of the palace, and it is remarkable for its double dome, parabolic within and conical on the outside, a solution typical of Byzantine art. For the gallery on the street façade Gaudí used an original system of catenary arches and columns with hyperbolic capitals, a style he used only here. He designed the interior of the palace with a sumptuous Mudejar-style decoration, where the wood and iron coffered ceilings stand out. The chimneys on the roof are a remarkable feature, faced in vividly coloured ceramic tiles, as is the tall spire in the form of a lantern tower, which is the external termination of the dome within, and is also faced with ceramic tiles and topped with an iron weather vane.


title: Antoni Gaudí

text: On the occasion of the World Expo held in Barcelona in 1888, Gaudí constructed the pavilion for the Compañía Trasatlántica, property of the Marquis of Comillas, in the Maritime Section of the event. He created it in a Granadinian Nazari style, with horseshoe arches and stucco decoration; the building survived until the Passeig Marítim was opened up in 1960. In the wake of the event he received a commission from Barcelona Council to restore the Saló de Cent and the grand stairs in Barcelona City Hall, as well as a chair for the queen Maria Cristina; only the chair was made, and Mayor Francesc Rius i Taulet presented it to the Queen.


title: Antoni Gaudí

text: During this period Gaudí was inspired above all by mediaeval Gothic art, but wanted to improve on its structural solutions. Neo-gothic was one of the most successful historicist styles at that time, above all as a result of the theoretical studies of Viollet-le-Duc. Gaudí studied examples in Catalonia, the Balearic Islands and Roussillon in depth, as well as Leonese and Castillian buildings during his stays in León and Burgos, and became convinced that it was an imperfect style, leaving major structural issues only partly resolved. In his works he eliminated the need of buttresses through the use of ruled surfaces, and abolished crenellations and excessive openwork.


title: Antoni Gaudí

text: The first example was the Teresian College ("Col·legi de les Teresianes") (1888–1889), in Barcelona's Carrer Ganduxer, commissioned by San Enrique de Ossó. Gaudí fulfilled the wish of the order that the building should be austere, in keeping with their vows of poverty. He designed a simple building, using bricks for the exterior and some brick elements for the interior. Wrought ironwork, one of Gaudí's favourite materials, appeared on the façades. The building is crowned by a row of merlons which suggest a castle, a possible reference to Saint Teresa's "Interior Castle". The corners have brick pinnacles topped by helicoidal columns and culminate in a four-armed cross, typical of Gaudí's works, and with ceramic shields bearing various symbols of the order. The interior includes a corridor which is famous for the series of catenary arches that it contains. These elegant arches are decorative and support the ceiling and the floor above. For Gaudí, the catenary arch was an ideal constructional element, capable of supporting great loads with slender masonry.


title: Antoni Gaudí

text: Gaudí received his next commission from a clergyman who had been a boyhood friend in his native Reus. When he was appointed bishop of Astorga, Joan Baptista Grau i Vallespinós asked Gaudí to design a new episcopal palace for the city, as the previous building had caught fire. Constructed between 1889 and 1915, in a neo-Gothic style with four cylindrical towers, it was surrounded by a moat. The stone with which it was built (grey granite from the El Bierzo area) is in harmony with its surroundings, particularly with the cathedral in its immediate vicinity, as well as with the natural landscape, which in late 19th-century Astorga was more visible than today. The porch has three large flared arches, built of ashlar and separated by sloping buttresses. The structure is supported by columns with decorated capitals and by ribbed vaults on pointed arches, and topped with Mudejar-style merlons. Gaudí resigned from the project in 1893, at the death of Bishop Grau, due to disagreements with the Chapter, and it was finished in 1915 by Ricardo García Guereta. It currently houses a museum about the Way of Saint James, which passes through Astorga.


title: Antoni Gaudí

text: Another of Gaudí's projects outside of Catalonia was the Casa de los Botines, in León (1891–1894), commissioned by Simón Fernández Fernández and Mariano Andrés Luna, textile merchants from León, who were recommended Gaudí by Eusebi Güell, with whom they did business. Gaudí's project was an impressive neo-Gothic style building, which bears his unmistakable "modernista" imprint. The building was used to accommodate offices and textile shops on the lower floors, as well as apartments on the upper floors. It was constructed with walls of solid limestone. The building is flanked by four cylindrical turrets surmounted by slate spires, and surrounded by an area with an iron grille. The Gothic façade style, with its cusped arches, has a clock and a sculpture of Saint George and the Dragon, the work of Llorenç Matamala. As of 2010 it was the headquarters of the Caja España.


title: Antoni Gaudí

text: In 1892 Gaudí was commissioned by Claudio López Bru, second Marquis of Comillas, with the Franciscana Catholic Missions for the city of Tangier, in Morocco (at the time a Spanish colony). The project included a church, hospital and school, and Gaudí conceived a quadrilobulate ground-plan floor structure, with catenary arches, parabolic towers, and hyperboloid windows. Gaudí deeply regretted the project's eventual demise, always keeping his design with him. In spite of this, the project influenced the works of the Sagrada Família, in particular the design of the towers, with their paraboloid shape like those of the Missions.


title: Antoni Gaudí

text: In 1895 he designed a funerary chapel for the Güell family at the abbey of Montserrat, but little is known about this work, which was never built. That year, construction finally began on the Bodegas Güell, the 1882 project for a hunting lodge and some wineries at La Cuadra de Garraf (Sitges), property of Eusebi Güell. Constructed between 1895 and 1897 under the direction of Francesc Berenguer, Gaudí's aide, the wineries have a triangular end façade, a very steep stone roof, a group of chimneys and two bridges that join them to an older building. It has three floors: the bottom one for a garage, an apartment and a chapel with catenary arches, with the altar in the centre. It was completed with a porter's lodge, notable for the iron gate in the shape of a fishing net.


title: Antoni Gaudí

text: In the township of Sant Gervasi de Cassoles (now a district of Barcelona), the widow of Jaume Figueras commissioned Gaudí to renovate the Torre Bellesguard (1900–1909), former summer palace of King Martin I the Humane. Gaudí designed it in a neo-Gothic style, respecting the former building as much as possible, and tried as always to integrate the architecture into the natural surroundings. This influenced his choice of local slate for the construction. The building's ground-plan measures 15 x 15 meters, with the corners oriented to the four cardinal points. Constructed in stone and brick, it is taller than it is wide, with a spire topped with the four-armed cross, the Catalan flag and the royal crown. The house has a basement, ground floor, first floor and an attic, with a gable roof.


title: Antoni Gaudí

text: During this period Gaudí perfected his personal style, inspired by the organic shapes of nature, putting into practise a whole series of new structural solutions originating from his deep analysis of ruled geometry. To this he added a great creative freedom and an imaginative ornamental style. His works acquired a great structural richness, with shapes and volumes devoid of rational rigidity or any classic premise.


title: Antoni Gaudí

text: Commissioned by the company Hijos de Pedro Mártir Calvet, Gaudí built the Casa Calvet (1898–1899), in Barcelona's Carrer Casp. The façade is built of Montjuïc stone, adorned with wrought iron balconies and topped with two pediments with wrought iron crosses. Another notable feature of the façade is the gallery on the main floor, decorated with plant and mythological motifs. For this project, Gaudí used a Baroque style, visible in the use of Solomonic columns, decoration with floral themes and the design of the terraced roof. In 1900, he won the award for the best building of the year from Barcelona City Council.


title: Antoni Gaudí

text: A virtually unknown work by Gaudí is the Casa Clapés (1899–1900), at 125 Carrer Escorial, commissioned by the painter Aleix Clapés, who collaborated on occasion with Gaudí, such as in decorating the Palau Güell and the Casa Milà. It has a ground floor and three apartments, with stuccoed walls and cast-iron balconies. Due to its lack of decoration or original structural solutions its authorship was unknown until 1976, when the architect's signed plans by Gaudí were discovered. In 1900, he renovated the house of Dr. Pere Santaló, at 32 Carrer Nou de la Rambla, a work of equally low importance. Santaló was a friend of Gaudí's, whom he accompanied during his stay in Puigcerdà in 1911. It was he who recommended him to do manual work for his rheumatism.


title: Antoni Gaudí

text: Also in 1900, he designed two banners: for the Orfeó Feliuà (of Sant Feliu de Codines), made of brass, leather, cork and silk, with ornamental motifs based on the martyrdom of San Félix (a millstone), music (a staff and clef) and the inscription "Orfeó Feliuà"; and Our Lady of Mercy of Reus, for the pilgrimage of the Reus residents of Barcelona, with an image of Isabel Besora, the shepherdess to whom the Virgin appeared in 1592, work of Aleix Clapés and, on the back, a rose and the Catalan flag. In the same year, for the shrine of Our Lady of Mercy in Reus, Gaudí outlined a project for the renovation of the church's main façade, which ultimately was not undertaken, as the board considered it too expensive. Gaudí took this rejection quite badly, leaving some bitterness towards Reus, possibly the source of his subsequent claim that Riudoms was his place of birth. Between 1900 and 1902 Gaudí worked on the Casa Miralles, commissioned by the industrialist Hermenegild Miralles i Anglès; Gaudí designed only the wall near the gateway, of undulating masonry, with an iron gate topped with the four-armed cross. Subsequently, the house for Señor Miralles was designed by Domènec Sugrañes, associate architect of Gaudí.


title: Antoni Gaudí

text: Gaudí's main new project at the beginning of the 20th century was the Park Güell (1900–1914), commissioned by Eusebi Güell. It was intended to be a residential estate in the style of an English garden city. The project was unsuccessful: of the 60 plots into which the site was divided only one was sold. Despite this, the park entrances and service areas were built, displaying Gaudí's genius and putting into practice many of his innovative structural solutions. The Park Güell is situated in Barcelona's Càrmel district, a rugged area, with steep slopes that Gaudí negotiated with a system of viaducts integrated into the terrain. The main entrance to the park has a building on each side, intended as a porter's lodge and an office, and the site is surrounded by a stone and glazed-ceramic wall. These entrance buildings are an example of Gaudí at the height of his powers, with Catalan vaults that form a parabolic hyperboloid. After passing through the gate, steps lead to higher levels, decorated with sculpted fountains, notably the dragon fountain, which has become a symbol of the park and one of Gaudí's most recognised emblems. These steps lead to the Hypostyle Hall, which was to have been the residents' market, constructed with large Doric columns. Above this chamber is a large plaza in the form of a Greek theatre, with the famous undulating bench covered in broken ceramics ("trencadís"), the work of Josep Maria Jujol. The park's show home, the work of Francesc Berenguer, was Gaudí's residence from 1906 to 1926, and currently houses the Casa-Museu Gaudí.


title: Antoni Gaudí

text: During this period Gaudí contributed to a group project, the Rosary of Montserrat (1900–1916). Located on the way to the Holy Cave of Montserrat, it was a series of groups of sculptures that evoked the mysteries of the Virgin, who tells the rosary. This project involved the best architects and sculptors of the era, and is a curious example of Catalan Modernism. Gaudí designed the First Mystery of Glory, which represents the Holy Sepulcher. The series include a statue of Christ Risen, the work of Josep Llimona, and the Three Marys sculpted by Dionís Renart. Another monumental project designed by Gaudí for Montserrat was never carried out: it would have included crowning the summit of El Cavall Bernat (one of the mountain peaks) with a viewpoint in the shape of a royal crown, incorporating a high Catalan coat of arms into the wall.


title: Antoni Gaudí

text: In 1901 Gaudí decorated the house of Isabel Güell López, Marchioness of Castelldosrius, and daughter of Eusebi Güell. Situated at 19 Carrer Junta de Comerç, the house had been built in 1885 and renovated between 1901 and 1904; it was destroyed by a bomb during the Civil War. The following year Gaudí took part in the decoration of the Bar Torino, property of Flaminio Mezzalana, located at 18 Passeig de Gràcia; Gaudí designed the ornamentation of el Salón Árabe of that establishment, made with varnished Arabian-style cardboard tiles (which no longer exist).


title: Antoni Gaudí

text: A project of great interest to Gaudí was the restoration of the Cathedral of Santa Maria in Palma de Mallorca (1903–1914), commissioned by the city's bishop, Pere Campins i Barceló. Gaudí planned a series of works including removing the baroque altarpiece, revealing the bishop's throne, moving the choir-stalls from the centre of the nave and placing them in the presbytery, clearing the way through chapel of the Holy Trinity, placing new pulpits, fitting the cathedral with electrical lighting, uncovering the Gothic windows of the Royal Chapel and filling them with stained glass, placing a large canopy above the main altar and completing the decoration with paintings. This was coordinated by Joan Rubió i Bellver, Gaudí's assistant. Josep Maria Jujol and the painters Joaquín Torres García, Iu Pascual and Jaume Llongueras were also involved. Gaudí abandoned the project in 1914 due to disagreements with the Cathedral chapter.


title: Antoni Gaudí

text: Among Gaudí's largest and most striking works is the Casa Batlló (1904–1906). Commissioned by Josep Batlló i Casanovas to renovate an existing building erected in 1875 by Emili Sala Cortés, Gaudí focused on the façade, the main floor, the patio and the roof, and built a fifth floor for the staff. For this project he was assisted by his aides Domènec Sugrañes, Joan Rubió and Josep Canaleta. The façade is of Montjuïc sandstone cut to create warped ruled surfaces; the columns are bone-shaped with vegetable decoration. Gaudí kept the rectangular shape of the old building's balconies—with iron railings in the shape of masks—giving the rest of the façade an ascending undulating form. He also faced the façade with ceramic fragments of various colours ("trencadís"), which Gaudí obtained from the waste material of the Pelegrí glass works. The interior courtyard is roofed by a skylight supported by an iron structure in the shape of a double T, which rests on a series of catenary aches. The helicoidal chimneys are a notable feature of the roof, topped with conical caps, covered in clear glass in the centre and ceramics at the top, and surmounted by clear glass balls filled with sand of different colours. The façade culminates in catenary vaults covered with two layers of brick and faced with glazed ceramic tiles in the form of scales (in shades of yellow, green and blue), which resemble a dragon's back; on the left side is a cylindrical turret with anagrams of Jesus, Mary and Joseph, and with Gaudí's four-armed cross.


title: Antoni Gaudí

text: In 1904, commissioned by the painter Lluís Graner, he designed the decoration of the Sala Mercè, in the Rambla dels Estudis, one of the first cinemas in Barcelona; the theatre imitated a cave, inspired by the Coves del Drac (Dragon's Caves) in Mallorca. Also for Graner he designed a detached house in the Bonanova district of Barcelona, of which only the foundations and the main gate were built, with three openings: for people, vehicles and birds; the building would have had a structure similar to the Casa Batlló or the porter's lodge of the Park Güell.


title: Antoni Gaudí

text: blacksmiths who worked for Gaudí on several of his works, such as the Batlló and Milà houses, the Park Güell and the Sagrada Família. Located at 278 Carrer Nàpols, it was a simple stone building. Around that time he also designed hexagonal hydraulic floor tiles for the Casa Batlló, they were eventually used instead for the Casa Milà; they were a green colour and were decorated with seaweed, shells and starfish. These tiles were subsequently chosen to pave Barcelona's Passeig de Gràcia.


title: Antoni Gaudí

text: Also in 1904 he built the Chalet de Catllaràs, in La Pobla de Lillet, for the Asland cement factory, owned by Eusebi Güell. It has a simple structure though very original, in the shape of a pointed arch, with two semi-circular flights of stairs leading to the top two floors. This building fell into ruin when the cement works closed, and when it was eventually restored its appearance was radically altered, the ingenious original staircase being replaced with a simpler metal one. In the same area he created the Can Artigas Gardens between 1905 and 1907, in an area called Font de la Magnesia, commissioned by the textile merchant Joan Artigas i Alart; men who had worked the Park Güell were also involved on this project, similar to the famous park in Barcelona.


title: Antoni Gaudí

text: In 1906 he designed a bridge over the Torrent de Pomeret, between Sarrià and Sant Gervasi. This river flowed directly between two of Gaudí's works, Bellesguard and the Chalet Graner, and so he was asked to bridge the divide. Gaudí designed an interesting structure composed of juxtaposed triangles that would support the bridge's framework, following the style of the viaducts that he made for the Park Güell. It would have been built with cement, and would have had a length of and a height of ; the balustrade would have been covered with glazed tiles, with an inscription dedicated to Santa Eulàlia. The project was not approved by the Town Council of Sarrià.


title: Antoni Gaudí

text: The same year Gaudí apparently took part in the construction of the Torre Damià Mateu, in Llinars del Vallès in collaboration with his disciple Francesc Berenguer, though the project's authorship is not clear or to what extent they each contributed to it. The style of the building evokes Gaudí's early work, such as the Casa Vicens or the Güell Pavilions; it had an entrance gate in the shape of a fishing net, currently installed in the Park Güell. The building was demolished in 1939. Also in 1906 he designed a new banner, this time for the Guild of metalworkers and blacksmiths for the Corpus Christi procession of 1910, in Barcelona Cathedral. It was dark green in colour, with Barcelona's coat of arms in the upper left corner, and an image of Saint Eligius, patron of the guild, with typical tools of the trade. The banner was burned in July 1936.


title: Antoni Gaudí

text: Another of Gaudí's major projects and among his most admired works is the Casa Milà, better known as La Pedrera (1906–1910), commissioned by Pere Milà i Camps. Gaudí designed the house around two large, curved courtyards, with a structure of stone, brick and cast-iron columns and steel beams. The façade is built of limestone from Vilafranca del Penedès, apart from the upper level, which is covered in white tiles, evoking a snowy mountain. It has a total of five floors, plus a loft made entirely of catenary arches, as well as two large interior courtyards, one circular and one oval. Notable features are the staircases to the roof, topped with the four-armed cross, and the chimneys, covered in ceramics and with shapes that suggest mediaeval helmets. The interior decoration was carried out by Josep Maria Jujol and the painters Iu Pascual, Xavier Nogués and Aleix Clapés. The façade was to have been completed with a stone, metal and glass sculpture with Our lady of the Rosary accompanied by the archangels Michael and Gabriel, 4m in height. A sketch was made by the sculptor Carles Mani, but due to the events of the Tragic Week in 1909 the project was abandoned.


title: Antoni Gaudí

text: In 1907, to mark the seventh centenary of the birth of King James I, Gaudí designed a monument in his memory. It would have been situated in the Plaça del Rei, and would have also meant the renovation of the adjacent buildings: new roof for the cathedral, as well as the completion of its towers and cupola; placement of three vases above the buttresses of the Chapel of Santa Àgada, dedicated to the Litany of the Blessed Virgin Mary, as well as the figure of an angel on top of the chapel's tower; finally, the opening of a large square next to the walls (now the Plaça Ramon Berenguer el Grand). The project was not executed because the city council disliked it.


title: Antoni Gaudí

text: In 1908 Gaudí devised a project for a skyscraper hotel in New York City, the Hotel Attraction, commissioned by two American entrepreneurs whose names are unknown. It would have been high (taller than the Empire State Building), with a taller parabolic central section, topped with a star, and flanked by four volumes containing museums, art galleries and concert halls, with shapes similar to the Casa Milà. Inside it would have had five large rooms, one dedicated to every continent.


title: Antoni Gaudí

text: The final project for his great patron Eusebi Güell was the church for the Colònia Güell, an industrial village in Santa Coloma de Cervelló (1890–1918). The project began in 1890, and the factory, service buildings and housing for the workers were constructed. What would have been the colony's church was designed by Gaudí in 1898, though the first stone was not laid until 4 October 1908. Unfortunately only the crypt (known today as Crypt of the Colònia Güell) was built, as Güell's sons abandoned the project after his death in 1918. Gaudí designed an oval church with five aisles, one central aisle and two at either side. He conceived it as fully integrated into nature. A porch of hyperbolic paraboloid vaults precedes the crypt, the first time that Gaudí used this structure and notably the first use of paraboloid vaults in the history of architecture. In the crypt the large hyperboloid stained glass windows stand out, with the shapes of flower petals and butterfly wings. Inside, circular brick pillars alternate with slanted basalt columns from Castellfollit de la Roca.


title: Antoni Gaudí

text: During the last years of his career, dedicated almost exclusively to the Sagrada Família, Gaudí reached the culmination of this naturalistic style, creating a synthesis of all of the solutions and styles he had tried until then. Gaudí achieved perfect harmony between structural and ornamental elements, between plastic and aesthetic, between function and form, between container and content, achieving the integration of all arts in one structured, logical work.


title: Antoni Gaudí

text: The first example of his final stage can be seen in a simple but very ingenious building, the Sagrada Família schools, a small school for the workers' children. Built in 1909, it has a rectangular ground plan of , and contained three classrooms, a vestibule and a chapel. It was built of exposed brick, in three overlapping layers, following the traditional Catalan method. The walls and roof have an undulating shape, giving the structure a sense of lightness but also strength. The Sagrada Família schools have set an example of constructive genius and have served as a source of inspiration for many architects, such is their simplicity, strength, originality, functionality and geometric excellence.


title: Antoni Gaudí

text: In May 1910 Gaudí paid a short visit to Vic, where he was tasked to design the lampposts for the city's Plaça Major, in commemoration of the first centenary of the birth of Jaume Balmes. They were obelisk-shaped lamps, with basalt rock bases from Castellfollit de la Roca and wrought iron arms, topped with the four-armed cross; they were decorated with vegetable themes and included the birth and death dates of Balmes. They were demolished in 1924 due to poor maintenance.


title: Antoni Gaudí

text: The same year, on the occasion of Eusebi Güell's obtaining the title of count, Gaudí designed a coat of arms for his patron. He devised a shield with the lower part in a catenary shape typical of Gaudí. He divided it into two parts: the lantern of Palau Güell features a dove and a gear-wheel on the right in allusion to the Colònia Güell in Santa Coloma de Cervelló ("coloma" is Catalan for dove), with the phrase "ahir pastor" (yesterday Shepherd). On the left is an owl perched on a half-moon—symbol of prudence and wisdom—with the words "avuy senyor" (today Lord). The shield is surmounted by a helmet with the count's coronet and the dove symbol of the Holy Spirit.


title: Antoni Gaudí

text: In 1912 he built two pulpits for the church of Santa Maria in Blanes: the pulpit on the Gospel side had a hexagonal base, decorated with the dove of the Holy Spirit and the names in Latin of the four evangelists and the seven Gifts of the Holy Spirit; the pulpit of the Epistle side had the names of the apostles who wrote epistles (Saint Peter, Saint Paul, Saint John the Evangelist, Saint Judas Thadeus and Saint James the Great), with the three theological virtues and the flames of Pentecost. These pulpits were burned in July 1936.


title: Antoni Gaudí

text: From 1915 Gaudí devoted himself almost exclusively to his magnum opus, the Sagrada Família, a synthesis of his architectural evolution. After completion of the crypt and the apse, still in Gothic style, the rest of the church is conceived in an organic style, imitating natural shapes with their abundance of ruled surfaces. He intended the interior to resemble a forest, with inclined columns like branching trees, helicoidal in form, creating a simple but sturdy structure. Gaudí applied all of his previous experimental findings in this project, from works such as the Park Güell and the crypt of the Colònia Güell, creating a church that is at once structurally perfect, harmonious and aesthetically satisfying.


title: Antoni Gaudí

text: The Sagrada Família has a cruciform plan, with a five-aisled nave, a transept of three aisles, and an apse with seven chapels. It has three façades dedicated to the birth, passion and glory of Jesus, and when completed it will have eighteen towers: four at each side making a total of twelve for the apostles, four on the transept invoking the evangelists and one on the apse dedicated to the Virgin, plus the central tower in honour of Jesus, which will reach in height. The church will have two sacristies adjacent to the apse, and three large chapels: one for the Assumption in the apse, and the Baptism and Penitence chapels at the west end; also, it will be surrounded by a cloister designed for processions and to isolate the building from the exterior. Gaudí used highly symbolic content in the Sagrada Família, both in architecture and sculpture, dedicating each part of the church to a religious theme.


title: Antoni Gaudí

text: During Gaudí's life only the crypt, apse and part of the Nativity façade were completed. Upon his death his assistant Domènec Sugrañes took over the construction; thereafter it was directed by various architects. Jordi Bonet i Armengol assumed responsibility in 1987 and continued as of 2011. Artists such as Llorenç and Joan Matamala, Carles Mani, Jaume Busquets, Joaquim Ros i Bofarull, Etsuro Sotoo and Josep Maria Subirachs (creator of the Passion façade) have worked on the sculptural decoration. Completion is not expected until at least 2026.


title: Antoni Gaudí

text: During the last years of his life, apart from his devotion to the Sagrada Família, Gaudí participated only in minor projects, which were not completed: in 1916, on the death of his friend bishop Josep Torras i Bages, he designed a monument in his honour, which he wanted to place in front of the Passion façade of the Sagrada Família. He made a sketch of the project, which ultimately was not carried out, and made a plaster bust of the bishop, the work of Joan Matamala under the instruction of Gaudí. It was put in the Sagrada Família, where it would have formed part of the church, but it was destroyed in 1936. Another commemorative monument project, also not carried out, was dedicated to Enric Prat de la Riba, which would have been situated in Castellterçol, birthplace of this Catalan politician. The project dates from 1918, and would have consisted of a tall tower with two porticos and a spire topped with an iron structure flying the Catalan flag. The sketch of the project was done by Lluís Bonet i Garí, Gaudí's assistant.


title: Antoni Gaudí

text: In 1922 Gaudí was commissioned, by the Franciscan Padre Angélico Aranda, to construct a church dedicated to the Assumption in the Chilean city of Rancagua. Gaudí apologised and said that he was occupied exclusively with the Sagrada Família, but sent some sketches of the Assumption chapel which he had designed for the apse of the Sagrada Família, which more or less coincided with what Padre Aranda had asked for. Unfortunately this project was not carried out, though there are currently plans by the Chilean architect Christian Matzner to take up the project. The President of Chile, Michelle Bachelet, has announced that building will begin in 2015, with an expected completion in 2017 and at a cost of $7 million. Once completed it will become the first of Gaudí's works to be constructed in the Americas.


title: Antoni Gaudí

text: The same year Gaudí was consulted about the construction of a monumental train station for Barcelona (the future Estació de França). Gaudí suggested an iron structure in the form of a large suspended awning, a solution quite ahead of its time; perhaps for this reason, it put the head engineers off, and they declined Gaudí's offer. The last known projects by the architect are the chapel for the Colónia Calvet in Torelló, of 1923, and a pulpit for Valencia (the exact location is unknown), of 1924. From then on, Gaudí worked exclusively on the Sagrada Família until his death.


title: Antoni Gaudí

text: The enormous task which Gaudí faced, not in terms of the number of works, but in terms of their complexity, required the collaboration of a large number of assistants, artists, architects and craftsmen. Gaudí always led the way, but allowed expression of the individual abilities of all of his collaborators. A test of his expertise both in his field and in interpersonal communication was demonstrated in bringing together a large number of diverse professionals and creating an integrated team.


title: Antoni Gaudí

text: Gaudí was run down by a tram, and died on 10 June 1926. He is buried in the Sagrada Familia. After his death, Gaudí's works suffered a period of neglect and were largely unpopular among international critics, who regarded them as baroque and excessively imaginative. In his homeland he was equally disdained by "Noucentisme", the new movement which took the place of "Modernisme". In 1936, during the Spanish Civil War, Gaudí's workshop in the Sagrada Família was ransacked, and a great number of his documents, plans and scale models were destroyed.


title: Antoni Gaudí

text: Gaudí's reputation was beginning to recover by the 1950s, when his work was championed not only by Salvador Dalí but also by architect Josep Lluís Sert. In 1952, the centenary year of the architect's birth, the Asociación de Amigos de Gaudí (Friends of Gaudí Association) was founded with the aim of disseminating and conserving his legacy. Four years later, a retrospective was organised at the Saló del Tinell in Barcelona, and the Gaudí Chair at the Polytechnic University of Catalonia was created with the purpose of deepening the study of Gaudí's works and participating in their conservation. These events were followed in 1957 by Gaudí's first international exhibition, held at the Museum of Modern Art in New York City. In 1976, on the 50th anniversary of his death, the Spanish Ministry of Foreign Affairs organised an exhibition about Gaudí and his works that toured the globe.


title: Antoni Gaudí

text: Between 1950 and 1960, research and writings by international critics like George R. Collins, Nikolaus Pevsner and Roberto Pane spread a renewed awareness of Gaudí's work, while in his homeland it was admired and promoted by Alexandre Cirici, Juan Eduardo Cirlot and Oriol Bohigas. Gaudí's work has since gained widespread international appreciation, such as in Japan where notable studies have been published by Dr. Hiroya Tanaka (Gaudi Prize winner), Kenji Imai and Tokutoshi Torii. International recognition of Gaudí's contributions to the field of architecture and design culminated in the 1984 listing of Gaudí's key works as UNESCO World Heritage Sites. Gaudí's style have subsequently influenced contemporary architects such as Santiago Calatrava and Norman Foster.


title: Antoni Gaudí

text: Due to Gaudí's profoundly religious and ascetic lifestyle, the archbishop of Barcelona, Ricard Maria Carles proposed Gaudí's beatification in 1998. In 1999, American composer Christopher Rouse wrote the guitar concerto "Concert de Gaudí", which was inspired by Gaudí's work; it went on to win the 2002 Grammy Award for Best Classical Contemporary Composition. On the occasion of the 150th anniversary of Gaudí's birth, a number of official ceremonies, concerts, shows and conferences were held, and several books were published. On 24 September of the same year, the musical "Gaudí" had its premiere in the Palau dels Esports de Barcelona. The authors of the piece were Jordi Galceran, Esteve Miralles and Albert Guinovart. In 2008 the Gaudí Awards were launched in his honour, organised by the Catalan Film Academy to award the best Catalan films of the year. An Iberia Airbus A340-642, EC-INO is named after Gaudí.


title: Antoni Gaudí

text: Japanese manga artist Takehiko Inoue wrote and illustrated a travel memoir on the life and architecture of Gaudí, titled "" and published in 2013.


title: Antoni Gaudí

text: Several of Gaudí's works have been granted World Heritage status by UNESCO: in 1984 the Park Güell, the Palau Güell and the Casa Milà; and in 2005 the Nativity façade, the crypt and the apse of the Sagrada Família, the Casa Vicens and the Casa Batlló in Barcelona, together with the crypt of the Colònia Güell in Santa Coloma de Cervelló.


title: Antoni Gaudí

text: The declaration of Gaudí's works as World Heritage aims to recognise his outstanding universal value.


title: Antoni Gaudí

text: A sainthood guild interested in canonization for Gaudí began their efforts in earnest in 1992. By 2003, the cause was officially opened by the bishops of Catalonia, occasioning for Gaudí the title "Servant of God".


title: Marshawn Lynch

text: Marshawn Terrell Lynch (born April 22, 1986) is an American former football running back who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 12 seasons. Nicknamed "Beast Mode", he spent the majority of his career with the Seattle Seahawks. Lynch played college football at UC Berkeley, where he earned first-team All-American honors and became the school's second all-time career rusher. He was selected by the Buffalo Bills in the first round of the 2007 NFL Draft and played three full seasons before joining Seattle during the 2010 season.


title: Marshawn Lynch

text: Playing for the Seahawks from 2010 to 2015, Lynch was voted to four consecutive Pro Bowls, made one first-team All-Pro selection, and twice led the league in rushing touchdowns. He also helped the team win their first Super Bowl title in Super Bowl XLVIII. His Beast Quake touchdown during the 2010–11 NFL playoffs, which saw him rush for 67 yards while breaking nine tackles, is considered one of the greatest NFL runs. Lynch retired in 2015 following an injury-plagued year, but returned to the NFL in 2017 with the Oakland Raiders. After two seasons, Lynch retired a second time until he reunited with the Seahawks in 2019 for their last regular season game and playoff run. Since retiring for a third and final time, he has co-owned the Beasts of Fan Controlled Football (FCF) and the Bay Area Panthers of the Indoor Football League (IFL).


title: Marshawn Lynch

text: Lynch grew up in Oakland, California with three older siblings. He was raised by his mother Delisa, who once held a 200-meter track record at Oakland Technical High School, the school that Marshawn later attended. Lynch started playing youth football in Oakland at a young age.


title: Marshawn Lynch

text: At Oakland Tech, Lynch was a four-sport star for the Bulldogs football, basketball, track, and wrestling. In his 2003 season, Lynch amassed 1,722 rushing yards and 23 touchdowns in only eight regular season games and an additional 375 rushing yards and 10 touchdowns in two postseason games. He was voted a PrepStar and SuperPrep All-American and was also voted the San Francisco East Bay Player of the Year. In basketball, he played on the Oakland Tech's team alongside future Cal star Leon Powe. Lynch helped lead his team to the state semi-finals. As an athlete in the Bay Area, Lynch befriended and often played against film director and writer Ryan Coogler; who also grew up in the same part of Oakland as Lynch.


title: Marshawn Lynch

text: In addition to football, Lynch excelled in track and field, where he competed mainly as a sprinter, but also in jumping events. He recorded a personal-best time of 10.94 seconds in the 100-meter dash as a senior, while also posting top-leaps of 1.94 meters (6 ft, 4 in) in the high jump and 6.38 meters (20 ft, 10 in) in the long jump.


title: Marshawn Lynch

text: Lynch was a versatile athlete on the football field. He played defensive back and also played quarterback, wide receiver, and linebacker in high school. The "Rivals.com" recruiting network had him ranked #2 in the nation at running back behind Adrian Peterson.


title: Marshawn Lynch

text: Lynch attended the University of California, Berkeley, and played for the California Golden Bears football team. He majored in social welfare. Lynch was nicknamed "Money" in college.


title: Marshawn Lynch

text: As a true freshman in 2004, Lynch was the primary backup to senior J. J. Arrington. In his collegiate debut against Air Force in the regular season opener, he had seven carries for 92 yards and a touchdown in the 56–14 victory. On November 13, in the 42–12 victory over Washington, he had nine carries for 121 rushing yards and two rushing touchdowns to go along with a 29-yard touchdown reception. One week later, against Stanford, Lynch had 122 rushing yards and one rushing touchdown. In addition, he threw a 20-yard touchdown pass to Burl Toler in the 41–6 victory. Overall, Lynch carried the ball 71 times for 628 yards with eight rushing touchdowns and 147 yards on 19 receptions and two receiving touchdowns in his freshman season.


title: Marshawn Lynch

text: In 2005, Arrington had graduated and Lynch became the starting running back. Lynch wore jersey No. 24 his freshman year but switched to No. 10, his high school number. This switch placed him in sequence with his cousins Virdell Larkins, who wore No. 9, and Robert Jordan, who wore No. 11. Lynch and his cousins were teammates at Cal. Lynch started off the season strong with 24 carries for 147 rushing yards and a rushing touchdown in the 41–3 victory over Sacramento State. Almost a month later, on October 1, he had 107 rushing yards and a rushing touchdown in a 28–0 victory over Arizona. The next week, he had 135 rushing yards and a rushing touchdown in the 47–40 loss to UCLA. On October 22, against Washington State, he had 160 rushing yards and a rushing touchdown in the 42–38 loss. In the next game, a 27–20 loss to Oregon, he had 189 rushing yards and two rushing touchdowns. In the regular season finale against the Stanford Cardinal, he had 123 rushing yards and a rushing touchdown in the 27–3 victory. In the 2005 Las Vegas Bowl, Lynch ran for 194 yards and three touchdowns on 24 carries and was named MVP against BYU. Even though he missed two games due to a hand and finger injury, he still amassed 1,246 rushing yards with 10 rushing touchdowns on 196 carries and 125 receiving yards on 15 receptions. He finished fifth in the Pac-10 in rushing yards and sixth in rushing touchdowns.


title: Marshawn Lynch

text: In the 2006 preseason, Lynch earned a spot on the watchlist for the Maxwell Award, was named 8th best player in the nation by "Sports Illustrated", and earned several preseason All-American accolades. In the spring, he joined the Cal Track & Field team, and he competed in the 60-meter dash, recording a personal-best time of 6.98 seconds at the 2006 MPSF Championships.


title: Marshawn Lynch

text: On July 22, 2006, the Cal football program officially launched the campaign for Lynch to win the 2006 Heisman Trophy with the opening of the website Marshawn10.com, featuring Lynch's highlights from 2004 to 2006.


title: Marshawn Lynch

text: In the second game of the season, against Minnesota, Lynch had 139 rushing yards and two rushing touchdowns in the 42–17 victory In the next game against Portland State, he finished with 112 rushing yards and a touchdown in the 42–16 victory. In the following game against Arizona State, he had 17 carries for 124 yards in the 49–21 victory. In the next game, against Oregon State, he posted his fourth consecutive 100-yard game with 106 yards and a touchdown in the 41–13 victory. After a 50-yard performance in the 45–24 victory over the Oregon Ducks, he had 152 rushing yards and two touchdowns in the 21–3 victory over Washington State. In the next game against Washington, he had another stellar game with 150 rushing yards and two touchdowns, including the game-winning overtime touchdown, in the 31–24 victory. He later called the run his favorite career highlight, after which Lynch spontaneously drove around the football field in an injury cart, pretending to ghost ride. Lynch was named to the 2006 All-Pac-10 team First-team for his performance in the 2006 season. Lynch was also named the Pac-10 Offensive Player of the Year in 2006 and an AFCA (Coaches') All-America in 2006.


title: Marshawn Lynch

text: In his final game for Cal, Lynch ran for 111 yards and two touchdowns in the 45–10 victory over Texas A&M in the Pacific Life Holiday Bowl on December 28, 2006. He shared the Co-Offensive Player of the Game award with teammate, quarterback Nate Longshore. He finished his final season with Golden Bears with a Pac-10 leading 1,356 rushing yards, 11 rushing touchdowns, 34 receptions, 328 receiving yards, and four receiving touchdowns.


title: Marshawn Lynch

text: On April 28, 2007, Lynch was selected by the Buffalo Bills with the 12th overall pick in the first round of the NFL Draft, the second running back taken. He agreed with the Bills to a six-year, $18.935 million contract. The deal included a $3 million signing bonus and contained $10.285 million in total guarantees.


title: Marshawn Lynch

text: Lynch entered the NFL as the starter at running back for the Bills. In his first career regular season game on September 9, he gained 90 yards on 19 carries and scored his first touchdown in a 14–15 loss to the Denver Broncos. His breakout game came on November 4 against the Cincinnati Bengals. Lynch's success on the ground was instrumental in keeping the touted Cincinnati offense on the sidelines, as he rushed 29 times for 153 yards, including a 56-yard touchdown run. Lynch also completed a touchdown pass to tight end Robert Royal, the first touchdown pass completed by a Bills non-quarterback since running back Joe Cribbs in 1981.


title: Marshawn Lynch

text: Lynch injured his ankle the following week against the Miami Dolphins and missed the next three games. He returned to play on December 9 for the Bills' second game against the Miami Dolphins that season, rushing for 107 yards and fumbling for the first time in his NFL career. The game marked the first time the Bills' offense produced two 100-yard rushers since 1996, as Fred Jackson also rushed for 115 yards. Lynch went over the 1,000-yard rushing mark on December 23 against the New York Giants, scoring a touchdown in the 21–38 loss, which resulted in the Giants clinching a playoff berth. This made Lynch the fourth Bills rookie to break the 1,000-yard mark, and the first since Greg Bell in 1984. He closed out the regular season with 105 rushing yards and 22 receiving yards against the Philadelphia Eagles. He finished a successful rookie season with 1,115 total rushing yards and seven touchdowns. He was named to the NFL All-Rookie Team for the 2007 season.


title: Marshawn Lynch

text: Lynch was expected to be more involved in Buffalo's passing game in 2008, his second season as a professional. The Bills' new offensive coordinator Turk Schonert had stated a number of times that he anticipated Lynch "being in on third down a lot more" this season, citing Lynch's inexperience as a reason he was not very involved in the 2007 season.


title: Marshawn Lynch

text: Lynch started the 2008 season with four rushing touchdowns in his first three games against the Seattle Seahawks, Jacksonville Jaguars, and Oakland Raiders. He was held to a season low of 16 yards rushing in a Week 9 matchup against the New York Jets on November 2. He did not break 100 yards rushing in a game until November 17 on a "Monday Night Football" matchup against the Cleveland Browns, when he rushed for 119. The game also marked his first receiving touchdown. Two weeks later on November 30, Lynch posted a season-high 134 rushing yards against the San Francisco 49ers. Lynch went over the 1,000-yard mark for the season on December 14 in a rematch against the Jets when he rushed for 127 yards. He was able to stay healthy until injuring his shoulder in the second half of a Bills victory on December 21 against the Denver Broncos, during which he rushed for his eighth touchdown of the season. The injury kept him out of the Bills' season finale against the New England Patriots. Lynch finished the 2008 season with 1,036 yards rushing and eight rushing touchdowns. He posted 300 receiving yards on 47 receptions, including a receiving touchdown, compared to 184 yards on 18 receptions for the 2007 season. Lynch was selected to his first Pro Bowl, replacing injured Tennessee Titans running back Chris Johnson. This made him the first Bills running back to head to the Pro Bowl since Travis Henry in 2002. Lynch was initially the first alternate.


title: Marshawn Lynch

text: Following his guilty plea on misdemeanor weapons charges during the 2009 off-season, Lynch met with NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell for a disciplinary hearing. Lynch had been arrested in Culver City, California, for having a gun in his backpack in the trunk of a car he was occupying, a crime in California. On April 9, the NFL announced that Lynch would be suspended for the Bills' first three games for violations of the NFL's personal conduct policy. Lynch appealed the league's suspension on May 14 in an attempt to have it reduced or nullified, only to have it upheld by Goodell later on August 3. When interviewed on the topic, Lynch has said that he was not surprised when the suspension was upheld and that he loves playing too much and will try to keep himself out of situations in which there is a risk of being suspended.


title: Marshawn Lynch

text: Lynch played his first game of the 2009 season against the Miami Dolphins and played the rest of the season. Beginning November 29, he was replaced as the Bills' starting running back by Fred Jackson, who had the first 1,000-yard rushing season of his career. Lynch finished the season with 450 yards on 120 carries with two rushing touchdowns and did not break 100 rushing yards in a single game for the first time in his career.


title: Marshawn Lynch

text: Lynch suffered an ankle sprain in the Bills' preseason opener against the Washington Redskins and was expected to be out for three to four weeks. He started three games for the Bills before being traded to the Seattle Seahawks on October 5 for two draft picks, a fourth-round pick in the 2011 NFL Draft and a conditional pick in the 2012 NFL Draft, which would become a fifth-round pick.


title: Marshawn Lynch

text: Lynch then reunited with former Cal roommate and fellow running back Justin Forsett, a seventh-round draft pick of the Seahawks in 2008. Lynch scored his first touchdown of the season and with the Seahawks on October 17 on a 1-yard run against the Chicago Bears. On December 5, he scored three touchdowns against the Carolina Panthers. Lynch had 202 carries for 737 rushing yards and six rushing touchdowns during the 2010 season.


title: Marshawn Lynch

text: In his first career playoff game, against the New Orleans Saints on January 8, 2011, Lynch had a 67-yard touchdown run in which he broke nine tackles and with one arm threw Saints cornerback Tracy Porter to the ground. This run has become known locally in Seattle as the "Beast Quake". The play gets its name from Marshawn Lynch's nickname, "Beast Mode", and the fact that, during and after the play, movement from fans jumping in celebration was so intense that it registered on a seismograph 100 yards from the stadium. In the Divisional Round against the Chicago Bears, he was limited to four carries for two yards in the 35–24 loss.


title: Marshawn Lynch

text: Lynch started 15 games in 2011, missing only one regular season game, on November 23 due to back problems. Lynch rushed for 1,204 yards and 12 touchdowns, both career bests and posting his first 1,000-yard season since 2008. On December 1, against the Philadelphia Eagles, he was observed receiving Skittles from a trainer to celebrate his touchdown. Fans later threw Skittles onto the field after Lynch scored.


title: Marshawn Lynch

text: On November 6, against the Dallas Cowboys, Lynch had 135 rushing yards and a touchdown. On December 1, he had his best rushing game of the season with 148 rushing yards and two rushing touchdowns against the Philadelphia Eagles. On December 18, he set the franchise record for consecutive games with a touchdown by scoring in his tenth straight game. The previous record of nine was set by Shaun Alexander in 2005. Lynch would reach 11 consecutive games scoring a touchdown before the streak ended against the Arizona Cardinals in Week 17. Lynch led the NFL in rushing yards over the final nine weeks of the season. On January 24, 2012, Lynch was added to the NFC Pro Bowl roster to replace San Francisco 49ers running back Frank Gore. He was ranked 94th by his fellow players on the NFL Top 100 Players of 2012.


title: Marshawn Lynch

text: In the second game of the 2012 season, Lynch had 122 rushing yards and a rushing touchdown in the 27–7 victory over the Dallas Cowboys. On September 30, against the St. Louis Rams, he had 118 rushing yards and touchdown in the 19–13 loss. In Weeks 7–10, he posted four consecutive games with at least 100 rushing yards and three consecutive games with a rushing touchdown. In Week 14, in a 58–0 victory over the Arizona Cardinals, he had 128 rushing yards and three rushing touchdowns. In the next game, a 50–17 victory over the Buffalo Bills, he had 113 rushing yards and a rushing touchdown. In the penultimate game of the regular season, he had 111 rushing yards and a touchdown in a 42–13 victory over the San Francisco 49ers. The Seahawks finished with an 11–5 record and made the playoffs in the 2012 season. In the against the Washington Redskins, he finished with 132 rushing yards and a rushing touchdown in the 24–14 victory. In the against the Atlanta Falcons, he had 46 rushing yards, one rushing touchdown, and 37 receiving yards in the 30–28 loss.


title: Marshawn Lynch

text: Overall, Lynch started all 16 regular season games, as well as the two playoff games the Seahawks were in. He accumulated 1,590 yards rushing on 315 attempts. He scored 11 touchdowns, his longest being a 77-yard touchdown run. He averaged 19.7 attempts per game and 99.4 yards per game, and over the course of the season, Lynch had an average of 5.0 yards per carry. He fumbled 4 times, and lost two of them. Lynch was named as a First-team All-Pro and was elected into the 2013 Pro Bowl as a reserve. He was ranked as 24th best player in the league among his peers on the NFL Top 100 Players of 2013.


title: Marshawn Lynch

text: In Week 2 of the 2013 season against the San Francisco 49ers, Lynch had 98 rushing yards and two rushing touchdowns in the 29–3 victory. In a 34–28 loss to the Indianapolis Colts on October 6, he had 102 rushing yards. On November 3 against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, he had 125 rushing yards in the 27–24 victory. He followed that up with 145 rushing yards and a touchdown against the Atlanta Falcons. In the next game against the Minnesota Vikings, he added two more rushing touchdowns and a receiving touchdown. Overall, he was a significant contributor for the Seahawks in the 2013 season, rushing for 1,257 yards and 12 touchdowns, and recording three 100-yard games. He tied with Jamaal Charles for the league lead in rushing touchdowns. The Seattle Seahawks finished with a 13–3 record and earned a first-round bye in the playoffs. In the against the New Orleans Saints, he had 140 rushing yards and two rushing touchdowns in the 23–15 victory. In the against the San Francisco 49ers, he had 109 rushing yards and a touchdown in the 23–17 victory. He was voted to the Pro Bowl for the third straight year, but had to decline the appearance due to his participation in Super Bowl XLVIII. He ended up rushing for 39 yards on 15 carries during that game, including a one-yard rushing touchdown, resulting in the team's first Super Bowl victory by defeating the Denver Broncos by a score of 43–8. He was ranked 14th on the NFL Top 100 Players of 2014.


title: Marshawn Lynch

text: On July 24, 2014, former Seahawks fullback and good friend Michael Robinson announced on NFL Network's Inside Training Camp, that Lynch would hold out of Training Camp while he waited for a restructured contract from the Seahawks. Lynch and the Seahawks quickly agreed to new terms for the season, and Lynch served as the starting running back for the team, ahead of backups Robert Turbin and Christine Michael.


title: Marshawn Lynch

text: In the 2014 season opener, Lynch had 110 rushing yards and two rushing touchdowns in a 36–16 victory over the Green Bay Packers. During Week 3 against the Denver Broncos, he completed the first overtime drive by rushing for a touchdown, giving the Seahawks a 26–20 victory over Denver in a Super Bowl rematch. On November 2, against the Oakland Raiders, he had 67 rushing yards, two rushing touchdowns, and 76 receiving yards. In the next game against the New York Giants, he had a stellar performance with 140 rushing yards and four rushing touchdowns in the 38–17 victory. He scored 24 total points in the game, which was tied with Jonas Gray for the most by any player in a single game in the 2014 season. He continued his successful string of games with 124 rushing yards against the Kansas City Chiefs in a loss the following week.


title: Marshawn Lynch

text: Lynch had a career-long 79-yard touchdown run against the Arizona Cardinals in Week 16, similar to his "Beast Quake" 67-yard scoring run in the 2011 Wild Card Round against the New Orleans Saints. Four days later, Lynch was fined $11,050 by the NFL for his celebration of the score; falling back while extending the ball behind his head and grabbing his crotch. The league considered his celebration an "obscene gesture" to constitute unsportsmanlike conduct. Lynch shared the league lead in rushing touchdowns for the second consecutive season, this time sharing with DeMarco Murray.


title: Marshawn Lynch

text: The Seahawks finished with a 12–4 record and earned a first round bye. He was named to the Pro Bowl for the fifth time in his career. In the against the Carolina Panthers, he had 59 rushing yards in the 31–17 victory. He contributed heavily to a late comeback in the NFC Championship against the Green Bay Packers in a rematch of the season-opener, catching a 26-yard pass to set up one touchdown and later scoring a touchdown of his own on a 24-yard run. The Seahawks won 28–22 in overtime after trailing 19–7 with less than four minutes remaining in the game. His 157 rushing yards in the game were a career postseason high for Lynch, as were his 183 total yards from scrimmage.


title: Marshawn Lynch

text: Lynch made headlines at Super Bowl XLIX Media Day on January 27, 2015, when he held a five-minute press conference, only answering "I'm just here so I won't get fined" to every question. He has a history of unwillingness to talk to the media.


title: Marshawn Lynch

text: In Super Bowl XLIX, where the Seahawks lost 28–24 to the New England Patriots, Lynch had 24 carries for 102 yards and a touchdown, plus a catch for 31 yards. Late in the fourth quarter on a potential game-winning drive, Lynch ran the ball from the five yard line but was tackled by Dont'a Hightower at the one-yard line. On the next offensive play of the game, the Seahawks chose to pass the ball at the one-yard line instead of running it with Lynch, and Russell Wilson's pass was intercepted. Lynch was visibly upset by the decision and left the Seahawks locker room without addressing the media. He stated in a later interview with Conan O'Brien that he was "expecting the ball" prior to the play. He was ranked ninth by his fellow players on the NFL Top 100 Players of 2015.


title: Marshawn Lynch

text: On March 6, 2015, the Seahawks and Lynch agreed to a 2-year, $24 million contract extension. Lynch struggled to pile up yardage early in the season but starred in Week 7 in a 20–3 win over the rival San Francisco 49ers, against whom he racked up 122 yards and a touchdown on 27 carries. Midway through the 2015 season, Lynch needed to have sports hernia surgery. Lynch's backup, undrafted rookie Thomas Rawls, had a 209-yard game against the 49ers in Week 11.


title: Marshawn Lynch

text: Ahead of the Seahawks matchup against the Minnesota Vikings, Lynch was anticipated to make his return, but decided to stay behind in Seattle, stating that he felt that he could not play. Seattle went on to win, 10–9. Lynch made his return from injury against the Carolina Panthers in the , carrying only six times for 20 yards, and caught two passes for 15 yards in the 31–24 loss.


title: Marshawn Lynch

text: On February 7, 2016, the day of Super Bowl 50, Lynch announced his retirement via Twitter by posting a picture of his football cleats hanging from a telephone wire. He subsequently became a mentor to the current college football players at Cal.


title: Marshawn Lynch

text: After his retirement, rumors circulated about Lynch returning to the NFL. In early April 2017, after sitting out the 2016 season, it was reported Lynch had agreed to terms with his hometown Oakland Raiders and that the Seahawks, who retained his rights even after retirement, would trade him. Lynch said he was inspired to come out of retirement by the team's impending move to Las Vegas saying that he wanted children currently growing up in Oakland to be able to see a home-grown football star play for the Raiders before the team is gone.


title: Marshawn Lynch

text: On April 26, 2017, Lynch officially passed his physical and was traded to the Oakland Raiders along with Seattle's sixth-round draft pick for Oakland's fifth-round selection in the 2018 NFL Draft. Lynch signed a two-year, $9 million contract with a maximum of $16.5 million; it had a $2 million bonus for 1,000 rushing yards for the season.


title: Marshawn Lynch

text: In the Raiders' regular season opener on the road against the Tennessee Titans, Lynch finished with 18 carries for 76 rushing yards along with one reception for 16 yards in a 26–16 win. On September 14, Lynch was fined $12,000 for doing an obscene gesture. In Week 2 against the New York Jets, he had his first touchdown as a Raider, which was a two-yard rush in the second quarter, in the 45–20 victory. During "Thursday Night Football" against the Kansas City Chiefs in Week Seven, Lynch was ejected for running onto the field and shoving an official following a hit by Chiefs cornerback Marcus Peters on Raiders quarterback Derek Carr. The next day, the NFL suspended Lynch for one game. Lynch attempted to appeal, but the suspension was upheld. During "Sunday Night Football" against the Dallas Cowboys in Week 15, Lynch confronted officials about Derek Carr not scoring while a fumble and touchback occurred; on December 21, Lynch was fined $24,309.