SAGRADA FAMÍLIA (HOLY FAMILY CHURCH)
Posted on 06/05/2005 2:01:23 PM PDT by NYer
Barcelona, Jun. 03, 2005 (CNA) - The Church of the Holy Family in Barcelona, the unfinished work of Catalan architect Antoni Gaudi, will be ready for worship in 2008 and its construction will be finished in 20 to 30 years if projections are accurate.
In order for the church to open its doors in 2008, project leader Joan Rigol, recently named to the post by the Archbishop of Barcelona, explained that will be necessary to finish the roof over several parts of the church that remain uncovered. He said the project committee expects this stage to be completed in the next three years.
Rigol said one of the objectives of the project is to strengthen the ties between the church and the city. Already the church receives more than 250,000 local visitors each year. It’s also the most popular monument in the entire country of Spain, with more than two million visitors in 2004.
Archbishop Luis Martinez Sistach of Barcelona underscored that the Church of the Holy Family “is not only a great work of art,” but also “ a great catechesis in stone where one contemplates the entire life and mysteries of Jesus Christ,” in addition to being a “witness to the transcendence of God and of the Beyond.”
The archbishop also noted that the cathedral encompasses “three centuries of history,” and its author, Antoni Gaudi, was “a man a God who knew the Scriptures” and “understood things through prayer.” For him, “God was beauty and he could give shape to that in art.” “He was a great architect and a genius,” the archbishop said.
The chief architect of the church, Jordi Bonet, revealed a new work of art to be featured at the church, which will be a 196-foot statue of the ascension of Jesus, designed by Josep Maria Subirachs, a same sculptor who designed the façade that displays the mysteries of the Passion of Christ.
This is an astounding work! I have posted several links to the chief architect and contributing artists. Take your time visiting these ... there is so much to imbibe.
Crypt
Sagrada Familia (status as of December 2003).
PASSION FACADE
Thank you for that photo! Ping to my post #4 with more photos and links.
I dunno. I think I first saw a picture of the place 40 years ago, and my reaction then was what it still is: corncobs!
As one who has studied (at the amateur level) and been impressed - to tears, even! - by the uniqueness of the revolutionary (yet commonsensical) structural engineering and design methods explored by Gaudi, I'm very sorry to have to read this.
But of course, the Catholic Church from which much of this building is inspired has been viewed as a joke by insiders and outsiders alike for 2000 years, so I suppose it goes with the territory.
At least his architecture pays attention and builds upon classical forms, which is more than one can say about the edifice completed in LA and the one proposed for Oakland.
Sorry it doesn't pass muster.
I find it uncanny that it's designed by someone named "Gaudi". As if providence had this to be some type perfect Freudian slip and pun.
...we're marching for Christ our King...
***But of course, the Catholic Church from which much of this building is inspired has been viewed as a joke by insiders and outsiders alike for 2000 years, so I suppose it goes with the territory.***
No, I find great beauty in parts of the Catholic Church and its historic architecture.
But I found Gaudi's architecture too whimsical and outlandish to be an adequate vehicle for the conveyance of the majesty of Christian theology.
Especially the statuary.
I found the horrible, modernist figures to be like something ripped form the pages of the "Good News for Modern Man" translation of the Scriptures.
The modernist style has the effect of de-historicizing the historic figures of the Scriptures, of turning the living breathing men and women of the Scriptures into disembodied "forces" or wraiths.
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My goodness, are those a part of this structure? They look like something out of a Pink Floyd nightmare.
***My goodness, are those a part of this structure?***
Yes.
(and greetings to you...)
If I remember correctly, these are the controversial Passion Facade sculptures of Josep Maria Subirachs, who is not a contemporary of Gaudi. Some people decry his work as overly abstract and modernistic. I agree, but....
A modernist interpretation of the Passion is so fitting, for it will be emblematic to future generations the painful passion of modernism that plagued the Church in the 20th and 21st centuries. Probably a reading unintended by the sculptor - maybe even a stretch - but an appropriate one.
Now I just hope that his interpretation of the Ascension is a little bit (or a lot) less stark. Or that he is replaced with another sculptor.
Gloria in excelsis Deo, et in terra pax hominibus bonae voluntatis.
Jesus, Mary, Joseph
If you don't like the Passion Facade (and you have every right not to), enter through the east doors.
See post 17 for more worthless thoughts.
Gaudi died (run down by a trolley, poor man!) before he had finished the designs for the western facade. Therefore the Passion facade designs are an "interpretation" of his work, and yes, obviously they were colored by modernism, which isn't to everyone's taste. However, having been to the cathedral, I can honestly report that these raw, angular sculptures are MUCH better in person. In photos, they can look too rough and unfinished. In person, their size and angular design give them a majesty that does not show up well in photos. Again, if you are ever anywhere near Barcelona, do take the opportunity to view the cathedral and judge for yourself.
My favorite work of Gaudi's is his Casa Mila, an apartment building which incorporates natural forms such as seashells, as well as fantastic forms, like the chimney pots on the roof that are said to be the inspiration for George Lucas's Startrooper helmets. My favorite part of that building is, of all things, the attic! As I recall, it was made to be used by the building's laundry, but the arches and design are incredibly beautiful. Walking through the attic is like being inside something constructed by intelligent insects. (The attic has since been converted into a museum of his work.) Here's a shot of the attic: 
And a shot of the chimney pots, etc. on the roof of that building. 
When asked why he decorated the tops of the towers when nobody could see them, he replied "The angels will see them".
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