Leaving Only Pristine Fragrance to Fill the World - A Brilliant Pilgrimage to Gaudí's Architectural Legacies in Barcelona, Spain

For Barcelona, Antoni Gaudí (1852-1926) is no less than Vincent van Gogh (1853-1890) for Arles, or Paul Cézanne (1839-1906) for Aix-en-Provence. Both Arles and Aix are tiny towns, yet widely renowned, and with the backing of these masters, they have undoubtedly gained fame and stood out among their peers. Barcelona, also a small place, is described as “a city overflowing with people, bustling with a hundred markets, surrounded by the red dust of the world, and connected by clouds and smoke.” Known worldwide and bolstered by a famous figure, it is bound to be even more splendid and extraordinary.

Barcelona nestles along the northeastern coast of Spain by the Mediterranean Sea, with mountains at its back and the sea at its front—a truly strategic location. It is both a port city, the largest port in Spain, and a capital, the seat of Catalonia. “Lamplight and moonlight interweave, melodies follow one after another, flourishing just as before in peaceful times.” Thus, it is prosperous, thriving for generations, looking down upon its surroundings and even outshining the capital of the kingdom, Madrid.

Antoni Gaudí was a native genius architect. His architectural works are imbued with many elements, such as Oriental Islamic Moresque style, Modernism, and Naturalism, presenting the world with an almost bizarre visual impact. Yet this does not diminish the fact that seventeen of his works are Spanish National Historical Relics, and seven are inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List.

At the same time, Gaudí was deeply attached to Barcelona, living there until his death at a ripe old age. Thus, his major works were completed here, immediately captivating the world’s attention and drawing endless streams of visitors. For Barcelona, Gaudí himself achieved a “great feat and extraordinary merit, immortal even after death.”

In June 2018 (the month of榴月 in the lunar calendar), pomegranate flowers were about to burst into flame, summer trees were lushly green, so much so that midsummer was stunning and late summer was beautiful. On the Iberian Peninsula, Barcelona was already “courtyard moss thick with green, pond lotuses wet with red. Tall locust trees begin to chirp with cicadas, their melodious sound echoing in the clear sky.”

Although rich and prosperous, and proud and unruly, Catalonia is crucial and indispensable to Spain’s politics and economy. As its capital, Barcelona cannot be taken lightly. Therefore, the Kingdom of Spain grants it a high degree of autonomy and tolerance. However, Catalonia has always held itself in high regard, dismissing others, and eagerly seeking to start afresh, making the kingdom feel as if a thorn is stuck in its back, deeply troubled.

Yet, setting aside historical reasons, Catalonia is indeed outstanding in its strength, believing that “once the red sun rises, it will still be as high as the sky.” Barcelona always “displays pearls and jade in the markets, households are filled with silk and brocade, competing in luxury,” and it is not without “the clear beauty of layered lakes and peaks, with osmanthus in autumn and lotus in summer.” It embraces Gaudí’s enduring architectural works and dazzling attractions, gathering like mist and clouds, a feast for the eyes. Gaudí’s many masterpieces make Barcelona “adorned with beautiful hair, fragrance already filling the road,” drawing people from all over to flock there, crossing paths on the way.

Strolling leisurely, I walked out of La Rambla, crossed Plaça de Catalunya, and turned into the bustling, prosperous Passeig de Gràcia.

Passeig de Gràcia stretches through the center of Barcelona, running from southeast to northwest. It is always bustling, never lacking in activity, with “gold and green against the blue sky, flowers bright, curtain shadows red” throughout the four seasons. Along the street stand two of Gaudí’s masterpieces: Casa Batlló and Casa Milà, facing each other at a short distance.

To be fair, Gaudí was more than just an architectural expert; he was also a master of architectural philosophy. Through his architectural concepts, Gaudí conveyed his deconstruction of local traditional architecture. Through his designs, he enriched the city’s inner heart and adorned its outer appearance, stunning the ages. His core philosophy—“The straight line belongs to man, the curved line belongs to God” (La línea recta es del hombre, La curva pertenece a Dios)—is fully and thoroughly embodied throughout his lifelong works, forming his glorious label, unique and resounding, adding brilliance to Barcelona.

Viewed from afar, the exterior walls of Casa Batlló are all decorated with porcelain, with blue and green interwoven, and interspersed with yellow, purple, and other colors—a surprising combination. Examined closely, they are harmonious and balanced. Hence, the famous painter Salvador Dalí (1904-1989) once likened it to “a calm lake,” which is apt and not at all an exaggeration!

In this “calm lake,” the overall appearance of Casa Batlló is bizarre, as if recreating the legend of Saint George and the Dragon: the balconies resemble skulls, the columns like animal bones, the tile roof covered with scales, and the arched scales like a dragon’s back. The tower with a cross is Saint George’s sword for slaying the dragon. The design is innovative and distinctive, with profound and enduring symbolism.

At the same time, the interior of Casa Batlló also avoids edges and corners, prioritizing roundness. Thus, doors, handles, windows, roofs, terraces, and so on all exhibit curves with large radians—this is Gaudí’s lifelong obsession.

Casa Milà, less than 1,600 feet away, features curves with smaller radians. Compared to Casa Batlló, it appears more moderate, restrained, and cautious. The exterior walls are built with rough rock, showing a raw white color and a wavy form, with few right angles in the entire building.

Most commendable is the sense of unity between the roof and the walls. The roof is piled with突兀 objects—chimneys and ventilation ducts of the building—high and low, some like soldiers, some like monsters, some like large bells. The walls are undulating, with winding curves and rich dynamism, like waves surging on the vast sea. This uniquely shaped building “echoes the diverse mountains surrounding Barcelona,” soaring high. The rough stone material yet gives a sense of solidity; its plain appearance yet retains solemnity.

Casa Batlló and Casa Milà are works from the early last century, both possessing weird characteristics in their curved forms. Park Güell, slightly earlier than these two works, is permeated with the naturalism that Gaudí advocated.

Park Güell lies hidden on a slope in the northern part of the city, covering an area of twenty hectares. It is filled with buildings like fairy tales and decorated with colorful mosaics, where rustic charm and childlike innocence intertwine and overflow.

Particularly striking are the park’s viewing platform and the Hecatonstylon (Hall of a Hundred Columns) below it. The pillars supporting the hall number only eighty-six, yet they bear great weight, supporting the structure. If “the boundless fine rain is as fine as sorrow,” water can be channeled from the pillars to the nearby woods. If “the wind drives the urgent rain onto the high city,” then the chameleon—Catalonia’s palladium—and the large lizard—Catalonia’s badge—at the park entrance, decorated with colorful porcelain tiles, will spout pearls and jade, spraying the rainwater that flows down from the hall.

Meanwhile, the pillars are made of rough stone, wrapped in fragments of ceramic tiles and glass shards, taking the forms of animals and plants. Thus, there are elephant legs, palm trees, and the like—various and miscellaneous, rough and simple on the outside, yet expressing emotions within. Though man-made, they seem like creations of nature.

On top of the hall is a vast open circus, “a boundless scene refreshed as if new.” From here, under the blue sky, one can have a close view of Barcelona’s urban landscape and a distant view of the boundless azure of the Mediterranean. Gaudí called it the “Teatro Griego” (Greek Theater), because the design adapts to the terrain, forming elements and spectacles similar to those of most Greek theaters.

The square is bordered by long stone chairs at the edge, integrated with the wall, decorated with scattered colored porcelain tiles. They look like undulating waves, winding around the four sides endlessly. The design of the stone chairs includes single seats or lovers’ seats, all of which ingeniously use the curvature of the backrest to fit human mechanics. Thus, their inherent hardness is completely dissipated in the comfort brought by the exquisite design.

Looking around, within arm’s reach are mushroom towers, blue and white; stone houses, shaped like candy; long stone chairs, winding on and on. Under the bright clear sun, one feels dreamlike and ethereal, as if truly transported into a fairy tale world.

The elevated corridor with slanted columns in the park is also captivating. The corridor is supported by rough stone pillars in their original state, unadorned, thus retaining pure flavor, as if suddenly rising from the wilderness, with a long history. The corridor has two levels: the upper is a path, the lower an arcade. When the weather is fine, people walk on the upper path or lower corridor; when it rains, they take the lower corridor.

The Basílica i Temple Expiatori de la Sagrada Família is Gaudí’s magnum opus and his unfinished swan song. Construction began over a hundred years ago, with intermittent progress and little advancement, and it still proceeds with difficulty. However, the Spanish government has announced that the Sagrada Família is nearing completion, expected by the mid-2020s.

Even as an unfinished church, relying only on Gaudí’s design drawings and fragments of architecture, it is enough to be earth-shattering, making onlookers “shudder in awe,” and all who see it eagerly await its completion to feast their eyes.

Magnificent in scale, the Sagrada Família’s immense volume, paired with its revolutionary design, is unique and exquisite. “Rising abruptly from the ground, startling the weak, with a sword thrust sharply into the blue clouds,” it breaks away from the monotonous traditional style of Christianity. Gaudí was an untamable horse, “matching name with reality, exceeding others by far!”

Deeply rooted in Christian tradition, the church’s exterior is arranged with three arched facades: the Nativity façade to the east, the Calvary (Passion) façade to the west, the Resurrection façade to the south, and a semicircular apse façade to the north. From afar, the façade looks like an ant nest, full of holes.

Each of the three facades bears four towers, totaling twelve, symbolizing the twelve disciples. Another six towers stand in the center, representing the authors of the four Gospels, the Virgin Mary, and Jesus Christ. The tower representing Jesus rises in the center, with a height no other surpasses, reaching over 170 meters, only slightly lower than Barcelona’s Montjuïc. This was done intentionally by Gaudí, as he dared not surpass God’s creation.

Out of reverence for Christianity, Gaudí worked day and night on the Sagrada Família project, revising the design multiple times and personally overseeing the construction. The Sagrada Família is an asymmetrical church, imbued with Gothic style. Its plane is rectangular, its facades are irregularly multi-columned; five halls and three flank halls form the main body of the church. The church’s columns, beams, walls, and domes were all designed by Gaudí as a “forest”: the columns are tree trunks, gradually climbing upward, branching out at the top to support the domes, creating a forest-like sensation.

The stained-glass windows inside the church are also praiseworthy. Gaudí endowed these dazzling objects in the church with the simple emotions of human nature. From the Nativity façade in the east to the Passion façade in the west, the tones of the stained glass shift from warmth to coldness, subjectively or objectively portraying the life and death of Jesus: sunlight shines through the eastern windows, tinted tangerine, indicating brightness and warmth, mixed with the joy of Jesus’ birth; the western windows are completely opposite, with sunlight entering in a solemn, cold tone, mingled with the sadness of Jesus’ passion.

The complexity of the Sagrada Família’s exterior and the delicacy of its interior all manifest Gaudí’s piety and fervor for religion, as well as his awe and worship of nature. For all people, whether believers or ordinary folk, upon stepping into the Sagrada Família’s hall, they will inevitably be stunned, then filled with reverence, and ultimately “moved in heart and ear, with lingering resonance.”

This has nothing to do with religion, but rather with the grandeur of architecture and Antoni Gaudí’s divine interpretation and expression of humaneness and beauty, prompting the exclamation: “Such music should only exist in heaven; how often can it be heard in the mortal world?”

2022.02.22.