Saturday, May 30, 2009

Barcelona: The Complete Tour of La Sagrada Familia

Photos of sections of the cathedral in an exhibition outside the inner construction

Artists at work on pieces of the cathedral

One of Gaudi's sculptures on the Nativity Facade

An Exterior View

One of the doors inside the sanctuary, sculpted in many languages

Inside the main area, where Gaudi designed columns to represent the forrest canopy

Only two major stained glass window areas are done, the rest are just covered in clear glass right now. I can't imagine how incredible the light inside will be when they are all paneled in geometrical color shapes.

The cubist Crucifixion Scene on the exterior was designed after Gaudi died


Architects, carpenters, designers, plasterers, sculptors, masons, and visionaries have been constructing Gaudi's vision of La Sagrada Familia for 127 years. 

The Eiffel tower took 2 years. The Great Pyramid of Giza took 20 years. The Statue of Liberty took 9 years.

And La Sagrada Familia is only half finished.

Imagine the details on a monarch butterfly's wing, inside an orchid, running through an agate. Gaudi's vision is of a church which glorifies God with details this fine in every tiny element. 

As Juliana mentioned to me as we walked through the sanctuary with a couple of hundred other visitors, what a pleasant feeling of job security the artists and workers engaged on the project must have...

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

This is one of my favorite posts of the year. Thank you for all parts of it. Love, mom