When I plucked the new Anthropologie catalog from my mailbox, I
immediately recognized the cover's backdrop as Barcelona's Park
Güell. Designed by Catalan architect Antoni Gaudí, the park and
its organic shapes and colorful mosaic work reflect his playful,
visionary style. Born in 1852, Gaudí is the best known architect
of "Modernisme," a movement associated with the search for
Catalan national identity in Spain which paralleled the Art Deco
period elsewhere. Gaudí infused his passion for nature into his
craft as a highly creative and technically gifted architect.
Especially later in his career, you'll see few straight lines or
sharp corners in the parks, homes, and churches he designed —
instead, his walls, balconies, and roofs undulate. The shapes
are reminiscent of seashells, waves, tree canopies, and animal
scales. Gaudí was also skilled in his use of stained glass and
mosaics, and his highly ornamental creations are interesting
down to the last detail. Gaudí's other passion, for his Roman
Catholic faith,