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Exhibition "Gaudí & trencadís"

SPACE 2 Evolution of Trencadís in Gaudí’s Work. Step by Step. Construction by Construction

The Entrance Pavilions of Torre Güell in Les Corts (Barcelona, 1884-1887). The Decomposition of Regular Geometry

This complex was the first commission received by Gaudí from Eusebi Güell. The well-known dragon iron gate connects two buildings: the keeper’s residence and the stables. Gaudí used trencadís for the first time due to Mudejar influence, still combining regular geometric pieces and always using low-cost ceramic materials.

The Entrance Pavilions of Torre Güell in Les Corts (Barcelona, 1884-1887). The Decomposition of Regular Geometry

This complex was the first commission received by Gaudí from Eusebi Güell. The well-known dragon iron gate connects two buildings: the keeper’s residence and the stables. Gaudí used trencadís for the first time due to Mudejar influence, still combining regular geometric pieces and always using low-cost ceramic materials.

«A true artist manages to make beauty emerge from the rubble itself.»

(Reference to the chimneys of the Palau Güell, La Vanguardia, 1890)

Fragmented ceramics have become an identifying element of Gaudí’s work. The historical itinerary of this architectural “skin” began in the Les Corts Pavilions, where pottery was used in fragments for the first time. In previous constructions, Casa Vicens in Barcelona (1883-1888) and El Capricho in Comillas (1883-1885), an orderly grid of ceramic tiles on the facing of the brick wall still prevailed.

From the roofs of the Güell Pavilions (1887) to the final construction, the Sagrada Família (1926), the trencadís was transformed by incorporating different materials that were either unusual or made from recycled rubble. This became the colour of the undulating forms in Gaudi’s architecture.

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