JOIN JANE CONTINUING TO MAKE SENSE OF ART
And this month Jane is learning about the stained glass in Gaudi’s Sagrada Familia.
The Basilica de la Sagrada Familia is one of the most iconic buildings in Barcelona. It was designed by Antoni Gaudi and is the largest unfinished Catholic church in the world. Construction began in 1882, was opened in 2010 but still has several years of construction left. The exterior is extraordinary but quite overwhelming in the detail and symbolism and of course the views are marred by the presence of cranes as they continue to build the final towers.
However, nothing can prepare you for the interior – the grandeur of the stone pillars that create the internal forest and the colours that fill the vast space enhancing the forest theme.
The incredible stained glass enhances the forest theme with its array of colour – dominated by greens, yellows and browns. In the early days of construction Gaudi was assisted in the design of the stained glass by Darius Vilas and they wanted to combine Gothic and Art Nouveau styles. The first thing they decided to do was to turn upside down the typical colour gradations of the Gothic era to create as much light as possible. So the top windows are as clear/transparent as possible to allow maximum sunlight and the lower levels are, I suppose, the detail and substance of the glass – darker colours with a mass of Christian stories and symbols – all on a level that the visitor can see and read.
Following the retirement of Darius Vilas, Joan Vila-Grau took over the design and creation of the stained glass – until 1999. His remit was to produce the glass for the large group of windows on the Western facade. He studied the work and concepts of Gaudi and Vilas and managed to fulfil Gaudi’s vision whilst injecting his own personal style. He took the idea of maximum light to a new level, using 16 different types of white, transparent, translucid, grey and yellow glass – giving different layers of light.
The lower levels of glass use maximum colour contrast and also capitalize on the angles and direction of each window to get the maximum light intensity. These are rather more abstract than the early glass.
For me the most inspiring element of Vila-Grau’s work is how he marks the passing of the hours, creating the colours of the sky at different times of the day. It’s a gradient of colour starting with the yellows behind the altar which are illuminated by the early morning sun, This fades into the greens and blues on the east facade lit by the morning sun, going around to the oranges and reds on the west. I was there at 6pm and you can see above the effects created by the early evening sun – absolutely beautiful.
This Basilica is definitely a ‘must go back’ destination as it will need to be seen once it is finished – there are still several more years work to go!