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Antoni Plàcid Guillem Gaudí i Cornet (Catalan pronunciation: [ənˈtɔni gəwˈði]; 25 June 1852 – 10 June 1926) was a Spanish[3] architect who worked during the Modernisme (Art Nouveau) period but became famous for his unique and highly individualistic designs regarded as beyond the scope of Modernisme.[4] He is sometimes referred to, in English, by the Spanish translation of his name, Antonio Gaudí.

Gaudí was a devout Catholic, to the point that in his later years he abandoned secular work and devoted his life to Catholicism and his Sagrada Família. He designed it to have 18 towers, 12 for the 12 apostles, 4 for the 4 evangelists, one for Mary and one for Jesus. One of his closest family members – his niece Rosa Egea – died in 1912, only to be followed by a "faithful collaborator", Francesc Berenguer Mestres, two years later. After these tragedies, Barcelona fell on hard times economically. The construction of La Sagrada Família slowed; the construction of La Colonia Güell ceased altogether. Four years later in 1918, Eusebi Güell, his patron, died.

Perhaps it was because of this unfortunate sequence of events that Gaudí changed. He became reluctant to talk with reporters or have his picture taken and solely concentrated on his masterpiece, La Sagrada Família.[11] He spent the last few years of his life living in the crypt of the "Sagrada Familia".