At the start of the 20th century, Eusebi Güell tried to establish a garden city in the hills of Barcelona where residents could escape the impact of industry and enjoy nature and the associated health benefits. Catalan architect Antoni Gaudí worked on the construction of Park Güell between 1900 and 1914, moving his home there in 1906 and living there until 1925, just before his death.
As I am passionate about nature, I was fascinated to find that Gaudí had ensured that the architecture of the park was integrated with nature as you can see from my photographs. His home was a show-house for the Park Güell residential development, and in 1963, it was opened to the pubic as the Gaudí House Museum, and dedicated to his memory.
I thought the Park intriguing, and that the structures resembled gingerbread homes, beautifully decorated with mosaics. Being a “lizard” fan, my special favourite was not the buildings but the spectacular mosaic fountain, variously thought of as either a salamander or a dragon. Known to locals as “el drac” (the dragon) it was restored after being tragically damaged by vandals in 2007. The fountain is such a beautiful work of art and it has inspired me to create more paintings of our wonderful Western Australian lizards.
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- “El drac” mosaic fountain
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- Organic forms and “gingerbread house”.
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- Gaudí’s home in Park Güell.
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- Organic furniture designed by Gaudí.
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- Exterior decoration on Gaudí’s home.