The name conjures images of swirling, dreamlike architecture, most often associated with Antoni Gaudí. But behind the Sagrada Família and Park Güell stands another giant of Catalan Modernism, Gaudí's teacher, the visionary architect Lluís Domènech i Montaner. We first discovered Lluis Domènech i Montaner’s work on our visit to the Palau de la Música in Barcelona. Domènech not only shaped Modernist architecture but he also championed Catalan identity through his art, his politics, and his writing.
On the centenary of his death in 2023, Lluís Domènech i Montaner, a key figure of Catalan Modernist architecture was celebrated in the Catalonian and Spanish-speaking world with symposiums, exhibitions, guided tours and many different activities. However, outside Spain and Catalonia, Lluis Domènech i Montaner, father of architectural modernism, is virtually unknown.
Two of his most famous buildings, the Palau de la Música Catalana and the Hospital de Santa Creu i de Sant Pau in Barcelona, have been designated UNESCO World Heritage Sites.
Part One - The Palau de la Música Catalana
The Barcelona-based architect, David Mackay, called the Palau de la Musica concert hall ‘… one of the most beautiful in the world (...) without exaggeration. It is one of Barcelona’s most important architectural treasures.” (Quoted in Carandell et al. 2006, 62)
To do justice to both, I have split this article in two.
Part One - The Palau de la Música Catalana.
Part Two - the Hospital de Santa Creu i de Sant Pau.
The enormous stained-glass skylight, in the form of an inverted bell, weighing one metric ton, depicts a circle of female angels forming a choir around the
The Palau de la Música, designed as a concert hall for the people, is a dazzling example of Domènech's mastery of light and space. The building is light and airy. A stunning confection of stained-glass. Daylight pours in through the pink glass creating a colourful inner world of openness and transparency, inspired by the windows of the
Domènech gave local artisans and craftsmen the creative freedom to produce the floral motifs and dynamic, flowing curves, that create the palace’s rich, decorative elements and fabulous ornamentation. In the Palau de la Música the applied arts of sculpture, mosaic and stained glass come together in perfect harmony.
The proscenium arch is alive with figures carved from pumice stone. On the left, an allegory of the flowers of May, represents popular music.
On the right, wild horses ridden by the Valkyries from Wagner's opera Die Walküre, race across the arch.
Behind the stage, a semicircular screen features eighteen muses, each playing a different musical instrument.
They seem to be peeping through the wall, their upper bodies sculpted, their lower bodies adorned with mosaic skirts, blouses, and headdresses.
Above the entrance to the Palau de la Música, a dramatic sculptural group towers over the street corner like the prow of a ship. The statue, carved in stone by Miquel Blay, La cançó popular catalana, (The Catalan Popular Song), symbolizes the cultural significance of Catalan music.
The central figure of a young woman represents a muse emerging from the earth, in the same way that music grows from the Catalan soil.
Columns on the main facade, with busts of the famous composers
Palestrina, Bach and Beethoven.
Photo by Matteo Vecchi.
Inaugurated in 1908, the Palau de la Música was financed by popular subscription as a home for the choir Orféo Català. The choir, renowned for its extraordinary musical quality, prided itself on bringing music to the people and needed a suitable venue in which to perform.
The Orféo was a leading force in the Catalan Renaixença, a cultural movement that sought to revive and promote the Catalan language and culture.
Famous names perform in the Palau concert hall every season, in symphonic concerts, chamber music, jazz and Cançó, (Catalan songs). Half a million concert goers attend the musical performances every year.
Imagine ascending this stunning staircase to the Sala Lluís Millet where the audience gathers during the intermission.
The windows of the Sala Lluís Millet are decorated with stained-glass. Step through the glass doors onto the balcony and you will find a double colonnade of Art Nouveau pillars topped with three-dimensional flowers, decorated with stunning mosaics full of imagery, in soft pastel colours: polka dots, stylized flowers, stripes and zigzags. The wall tiles are deeply textured, the window is decorated with a colourful painted surround.
Mosaic: Domènech revived the highly skilled technique of ceramic mosaic making. His craftsmen used marble, terracotta, ceramic or glass to create tesserae, cutting small pieces to fit the design. Faces and finer details were made with glass tesserae imported from Italy.
Building: Domènech built the Palau in record time. He used the innovative technique of a grid-like steel framed structure, stabilised by lateral buttresses hidden in the walls and columns. The glass curtain walls are supported by the wrought-iron frame, eliminating the need for a structural façade and creating more internal space.
To maintain artistic consistency, Domènech supervised the work of sculpture, mosaic, stained-glass and ceramics in one workshop. Despite the complexity of the ornamentation and the use of so many different craftsmen, the building was completed in three years.
Born in Barcelona in 1850, Domènech i Montaner completed his architectural studies at the University of Barcelona in 1873. On graduating, he took a teaching position at the newly established Escola d'Arquitectura, Barcelona’s School of Architecture. He became a professor two years later, and in 1900 was appointed director.
Domènech was director of the School of Architecture for 20 years. He exercised a considerable influence on what was to become Modernisme in Catalonia. Through his writing and teaching he inspired many of his pupils to develop their own style under the umbrella of Modernisme: Antoní Gaudí, Josep Puig i Cadafalch, Ignasi Oms Ponsa and Josep Maria Jujol.
Domènech was interested in politics from a young age. He cofounded two political parties Jove Catalunya and Unió Catalanista. Both proclaimed Catalonia as a sovereign country, with Catalan as the official language. The parties also demanded the re-establishment of the Catalan Parliament.
Les Bases de Manresa, the Unió Catalanista’s list of demands for Catalan autonomy are regarded as the birth of political Catalanism.
Domènech moved to Madrid for four years to represent the Lliga Regionalista party in Congress. He fought for Catalan parliamentary rights and autonomy but soon became disillusioned and returned to Barcelona to take a more behind-the-scenes approach to politics.
Domènech, one of the founders of the Catalan Renaixença, was always looking for proof of a distinctive Catalan national identity. He sought to define a unique Catalan architectural style, rooted in the region's medieval past.
His book, L’arquitectura romànica a Catalunya, documented and analyzed the medieval Romanesque monuments of Catalonia and established the existence of a Catalonian artistic tradition with its own characteristics, dating back to the 12th century. His studies of the churches highlighted the unique character of Catalan Romanesque art, its medieval cultural traditions, and its place within the European art movement of its time.
Lluís Domènech i Montaner's death in 1923 marked the end of an era, but his legacy endures in the Art Nouveau buildings that grace the city of Barcelona and parts of Catalonia.
Domènech won an award, in 1906, for his innovative design in transforming the neoclassical Casa Lleó-Morera on Passeig de Gràcia, in Barcelona. The house’s stained-glass window below is another stunning example of Catalan Modernism.
Between 1904 and 1905 he made several expeditions to the Vall de Boí in the Pyrenees where he discovered and documented the Romanesque heritage of Catalonia. ¹ He was the first to photograph, describe and draw plans of the nine forgotten churches of the Vall de Boí.
Domènech was more than just an architect. He was a visionary who wove together history, identity, and innovation to create a uniquely Catalan form of Modernism.
Gaudí may be better known but a closer look reveals the profound influence and artistic genius of Lluís Domènech i Montaner.
¹ For further details about the churches of the Vall de Boí, see my previous article ‘Stop Thief! The story of an early 20th century art theft’ - elysoun.substack.com - dated Jan 10th, 2025.
For more detailed information on the Palau de la Música see ‘The Most Beautiful Art Nouveau Concert Hall in the World’ by Guy St. Clair April 27, 2020. https:// guysblog.smr-knowledge.com/the-most-beautiful-art-nouveau-concert-hall-in-theworld/
For more great photos of the Palau de la Música from Turism Barcelona click on the following link https://artsandculture.google.com/story/palau-de-la-m%C3%BAsicacatalana-and-hospital-de-sant-pau-barcelona-spain-unesco/UQUB9Ek9ynPkJw?hl=en
A French AI translation (minus images) is available on request. Please let me know in the comments section if you would like a copy.
Hospital de la Santa Creu i Sant Pau
The origins of the Hospital de la Santa Creu i Sant Pau date back to 1401 when six Barcelona hospitals were formed into one large institution. Representatives of city of Barcelona and the Church, a body known as The Very Illustrious Administration, still govern the hospital today.
Domènech i Montanir was a visionary. A man ahead of his time. He used the beauty of nature to create a healing environment for the hospital’s patients.
Unlike the clinical, white hospitals of today, Domènech i Montaner’s Hospital de la Santa Creu i Sant Pau (The Hospital of the Holy Cross and St Paul), is a warm, colourful, healing space.
He designed the new hospital as a ‘garden city’ organized into independent pavilions, including a promenade lined with cypress, horse chestnut, and linden trees.
Patients could stroll around the garden to enjoy the orange, lime, and elm trees and flowerbeds filled with herbs that surrounded the pavilions: lemon verbena, sage, lavender, and rosemary.
Those who couldn’t go outdoors could look out of the enormous windows and enjoy the green spaces. Colourful stained glass, sculptures, paintings, mosaics and friezes were used to bring a garden feel into the hospital wards.
Inside the Sant Rafael Pavilion, the high, vaulted ceiling of the Patient’s Room gives the room a feeling of openness and space. The clerestory windows may be high up, but the pavilions were designed to face east west. This photo shows the windows catching the rays of the morning sun.
Before designing the hospital, Domènech travelled the world to study the latest trends in the most up-to-date hospitals. He planned a large hospital for 1,000 patients. Forty-eight pavilions in a garden setting.
The hospital was a self-contained world within the city. The buildings were arranged east west, with open spaces to maximize sunlight and ventilation. The contrast between the hospital complex and the city that surrounds it is notable. The pavilions are at right angles to the straight roads of the city grid. They face east west with plenty of open space for the gardens and the circulation of fresh air. The pleasant environment of the hospital contrasted strongly with the unhealthy, cramped conditions of the industrial city of the time.
Everything was carefully planned.
The pavilions were connected by underground corridors, to facilitate the movement of staff and patients between the buildings.
The Administration Pavilion was the main entrance into the hospital. The buildings formed four quadrants: north for infectious diseases, south for non-infectious diseases, east for men and west for women. The central pavilion, housing the convent, kitchen and pharmacy, occupied the intersection of the two main avenues. Patients were admitted in a pavilion disconnected from the rest of the hospital, to prevent contagion. The operating theaters in the surgical pavilion were designed to face north and make use of natural light. Every detail had been carefully thought out.
Pau Gil
At the end of the 19th Century, when the hospital outgrew its premises, Pau Gil, a wealthy Catalan banker living in Paris, stipulated in his will that his estate should be used to build a new charitable hospital for Barcelona’s poor. He also stipulated that the hospital was to be dedicated to Saint Paul.
The Hospital de la Santa Creu i Sant Pau was to incorporate the latest advances in architecture, technology and medicine. Gil’s generous bequest paid for the land and the first ten pavilions.
Building began in 1902 with Domènech i Montaner commissioned to oversee the building.
In 1922, the family of Rafael Rabell made a second donation, allowing work to begin on the colourful Sant Rafael Pavilion. Below are three different views of the Pavilion and its dome.
The Sant Rafael Pavilion looks more like a palace than a hospital. The tops of the red brick pillars supporting the dome are decorated with crosses alternating with Catalan flags, topped with hat-like roofs. Colourful tiles in intricate patterns, decorate the dome, which is crowned with decorative pinnacles and frogshaped gargoyles. The rooftop includes sculptures, flowers and leaves, carved to create a dynamic interplay of colours and textures.
There are twenty-seven pavilions. No two domes are alike. They are designed to be different, with the tiles of each dome laid in a unique pattern. The pavilion’s fantastical turrets reach for the sky.
When Domènech i Montaner died in 1923, the hospital was still unfinished. His son Pere Domènech i Roura took over. Pere had been working with his father for some time and understood his father’s vision. He oversaw the final phases of construction and completed the final six pavilions.
The Hospital de la Santa Creu i Sant Pau was inaugurated in January 1930, by King Alfonso XIII. The complex, with its twenty-seven pavilions covering nine city blocks, operated for a century before it was moved to a new facility in 2009. It is a landmark of Catalan modernism.
There are twenty-seven pavilions. For more photos of the domes and the intricate complexity of their towers, their tiling and their turrets, follow this link to Wikimedia’s many photos.
The mosaic frieze
A mosaic frieze, made up of sixteen panels, runs around the façade of the Administration Pavilion. The panels begin with the history of Catalonia and the independent counts of Barcelona. They then tell the story of the merger between the former medieval Hospital de la Santa Creu and the new hospital of San Pau.
One of the panels from the frieze. The burning and reconstruction of the original hospital of Santa Creu: ‘On the 4th of May in the year of the Lord 1638, the Hospital de la Santa Creu caught fire. The citizens of Barcelona supported efforts through charity, making it possible to have it completely rebuilt within a year.’
Plan of the mosaic frieze with handwritten notes by Domènech i Montaner.
For the full story of the historic mosaic frieze of the Hospital of Sau Pau with images, follow this link
The hospital’s most famous patient
In 1926, Antoni Gaudí died in the Hospital de Santa Creu i Sant Pau. He had been hit by a tram while crossing the road. Mistaken for a beggar due to his unkempt appearance, he was taken to the hospital for the poor, where he died of his injuries.
Second Renaixença
The Hospital de Santa Creu i Sant Pau served Barcelona’s poor for almost 80 years. But the facilities needed to be modernized. In 2009 a new hospital was opened on the same site, with five wings radiating from a central lobby. The equipment and contents of the original hospital were moved across to the new buildings.
Since then, the Art Nouveau buildings have been newly restored. The pavilions have found a new purpose in line with their founder’s original intention. They now house a museum and cultural centre, a healthcare centre, the headquarters of the World Health Organisation, the United Nations-Habitat, (a human settlements programme), and the non-profit Banco Farmacéutico or Medicines Bank, run by volunteers, that provides medicines donated by drug companies, to the poor.
The original Art Nouveau hospital, designed to uplift the poor, continues its altruistic work in a different way. A fitting end to an amazing project.
Enjoy this short video about the hospital
See the originals of the the beautiful images in these articles, and many more at Patrimoni Catalan.
Part Three - The Institut Pere Mata
Between 1897 and his death in 1923, Domènech i Montaner was a busy man. He had two major projects under development one after the other. The building of the Institut Pere Mata, the new hospital for the mentally ill, began in 1896, in Reus. It was followed by the Hospital de Santa Creu i Sant Pau in Barcelona, in 1902. At the same time, Domènech had a full-time job as Director of the Escola d'Arquitectura de Barcelona and undertook a private commission to renovate the Casa Lleó Morera.
Domènech i Montaner’s son, Pere Domènech i Roura, and Master Builder, Pere Caselles assisted him by supervising the building of Pere Mata.
Domènech i Montaner designed and oversaw the construction of the Institut Pere Mata, a psychiatric hospital, at the suggestion of local doctor, Emili Briansó. The Institut is considered another jewel of European Modernisme or Catalan Art Nouveau.
Dr Briansó had visited the old Casa del Desfrarat psychiatric hospital and found patients living in appalling conditions. He was horrified, and decided Reus needed a new hospital. He convinced the area’s wealthy citizens to acquire twenty hectares of land with a sea view, to build a modern psychiatric hospital. In its day, the Institut Pere Mata became a landmark in the field of psychiatric care.
The building of the Institut Pere Mata on the outskirts of Reus marked the beginning of a brilliant Catalan modernist era in the city of Reus. The Generalitat de Catalunya (the Government of Catalonia), has declared the Institut Pere Mata a Cultural Asset of National Interest.
Both the Institut Pere Mata and the Hospital de Santa Creu i Sant Pau were designed as a group of pavilions surrounded by gardens. The eighteen pavilions at Pere Mata, and the twentyseven in the grounds of the Hospital, were each designed to serve different purposes.
There are many similarities between the Institut and the Hospital. Both followed the same principle of creating a visually beautiful environment conducive to healing. The positive influence of beauty on the soul was considered an important part of a patient’s medical treatment.
At Pere Mata, the pavilions were allocated according to the sex and social class of the patients and their different types of mental illness. The design aimed to provide a therapeutic environment tailored to the specific needs of the different patient groups, based on the severity and type of their mental illness.
The Pere Mata site was divided into four distinct areas. The Institut entrance led to the administrative pavilion on the east-west axis. While the men and women’s pavilions were separated by the north-south axis.
Each pavilion had its own garden, in addition to the communal gardens. The general services building, with its huge thirty-metre-high water tower, was located at the intersection of the two axes.
Domènech’s unique architectural style was based on his studies of history, Catalan culture and folklore.
At a time when exposed brickwork was associated with industrial buildings, Domènech turned the organic texture of raw, exposed brick into a decorative feature. The contrast between the rough, red brick and the panels of turquoise ceramic tiles created by Hipólit Montseny of Reus, give the buildings a unique cultural identity.
Using the different artistic disciplines of mosaic making, stained glass, sculpture and painting Domènech created his own architectural style, grounded in his love for the natural world, bringing nature indoors to create a calming environment for the Institut’s patients.
Domènech had an eye for beauty and a passion for the creative arts. Flamboyant ornamentation was a fundamental element of his designs, and an integral part of the structure of his buildings.
Domènech surrounded himself with renowned artists, master craftsmen at the pinnacle of their careers: the sculptors Eusebi Arnau and Pau Gargallo, glassmakers Rigalt and Granell and ceramicists Josep Orriols and Modest Sunyol. The craftsmen interpreted his designs in his workshop, under his supervision, to ensure that the statuary, stained glass, ceramics, tiling and wrought iron followed the same theme and produced a harmonious whole.
Montaner’s great-grandson, architect Domènech Girbau, describes his great-grandfather as ‘essentially a great conductor. He surrounded himself with the finest of artisans, potters, sculptors and glaziers. He had a gift for seeking out the very best.’ ¹
In a magical synthesis of structure and ornamentation, both Pere Mata and the Hospital became masterpieces of Catalan Modernisme.
Completed in 1908, Pere Mata’s Pavilion Number Six, the Distinguished Pavilion, was designed to cater for members of the upper class and prominent society members who could afford the extravagance. In this pavilion, architecture, furniture, and decor were designed to complement each other, and work harmoniously together. The luxurious accommodation on the Pavilion’s upper floor, included private suites with elegantly tiled bathrooms, and custom-made Art Nouveau furniture.
With all the amenities of a luxury hotel, and their personal valets accommodated in adjoining rooms, the mentally disturbed lived comfortable lives in surroundings designed to help them forget they were in a hospital.
Opened at a time when society was still patriarchal, the Distinguished Pavilion was reserved for ‘Men Only.’ Women made do with more basic facilities in the other pavilions.
Who were these men? Why were they imprisoned in a golden cage? What unusual behaviour brought them to be institutionalized in the Distinguished Pavilion?
Sigmund Freud’s groundbreaking theories of psychology were just starting to emerge as the Institut opened its doors. What subconscious emotions were the inmates suppressing or denying? Were the Institut’s doctors trained to unearth them? Could the doctors improve their patient’s mental health by helping them resolve their internal conflicts? And, most importantly, did the sublime environment play a part in their patient’s healing, as intended?
In the heart of the Distinguished Pavilion lies the imposing great hall. The enormous, galleried hall is encircled by a balustrade of ambercoloured glass.
On the upper storey, light pours in through the huge stained-glass windows designed by Antoni Rigalt i Blanch, a prominent Catalan stained-glass artist.
Rigalt frequently collaborated with Domènech to ensure the stained-glass harmonized with the building’s architecture. Their collaboration elevated stained glass into an art form.
Rigalt’s use of vibrant colours, organic forms and intricate floral motifs in the Institut’s pavilions, contributed to the decorative richness of the buildings.
Decorated with the ‘Rose of Reus’, symbolic motif of the city, the brown ribs of the vaulted ceiling contrast with the pale blue background. Between the ribs, the ceiling is decorated with garlands of flowers and four peacocks tucked away in the corners.
Modernisme’s committment to hope and renewal was an attempt to find a sense of order and purpose in a world where traditional values had been eroded by industrial mass production, the movement of people to the cities, and the loss of religious connection.
Belle Époque in Paris and Vienna, Renaixença in Barcelona
The Institut Pere Mata opened its doors during the Belle Époque. (French for ‘The Beautiful Era’) — the interlude between the end of the Franco-Prussian War in 1871 and the start of the First World War in 1914. The Belle Époque was a time of peace, prosperity, and optimism. It was also a time of dynamic experimentation in the worlds of dance and painting, the decorative arts, and music.
In Paris, Diaghilev’s Ballets Russes revolutionized the world of ballet. The premier of Stravinsky’s Rite of Spring combined with Nijinsky’s choreography shocked the audience and almost caused a riot.
Did the shock waves of one of the most scandalous events in the history of classical music reach as far as Catalonia? Did the privileged classes embrace the novelty of the dissonant harmonies, or was Paris too far away?
The acoustics of the Institut’s great hall were made in heaven. On weekends when string quartets or chamber orchestras were invited to play, the pavilion was filled with joy of music.
What kind of music did the Institut provide as the weekend’s entertainment?
Many of the inmates came from Catalonia’s intelligentsia. They were cultured men with a sophisticated taste in music. Did they listen to compositions by Spanish composers Granados and Albeniz? The impressionist music of Debussy, Ravel, and Satie? Or Stravinsky’s avant-garde wildness and Schoenberg’s teeth-grinding dissonance?
It’s not hard to picture the gentlemen of the Belle Époque, gathered in the great hall, the air buzzing with laughter and conversation, crystal glasses clinking, while the lilting melodies of a string quartet played in the background.
When the tables in the hall were arranged for the gentlemen to play backgammon or piquet - a sixteenth century card game, popular at the timethe hall was transformed into a gentleman’s club.
Occasionally the hall would be converted into a ballroom. Female inmates and family members would have been delighted to receive an invitation and have an excuse to wear the latest Paris fashions to the ball.
Which of Johann Strauss’s 150 waltzes did they dance to, ‘The Blue Danube’ or ‘The Emperor’? Or did they dance to the syncopated rhythms of American ragtime - the ‘Two-Step’ and the ‘Cakewalk’ - which were taking Europe by storm?
If we leave the hall and walk through a pair of stained-glass doors, we reach the oak paneled billiard room with its vaulted ceiling and low hanging light. The room is filled with the ghosts of privileged gentlemen in formal evening dress.
Beneath the soft glow of the lowhanging lights, they are totally absorbed in a game of billiards. They lean over the table, as they carefully align their cues before taking a shot at the ball.
Picture those same gentlemen in the dining room. Then picture candlelight and white damask tablecloths. Crystal glasses sparkling, silver cutlery gleaming, delicious aromas wafting in from the kitchen tantalizing them with the promise of food.
Residents were offered a different menu every day. Typical Catalan cuisine made with vegetables, seafood, traditional sausages and other local ingredients.
For starters, Pa amb Tomàquet, bread rubbed with tomato, garlic and olive oil or Esqueixada de Bacallà, shredded salt cod salad with tomato, onion and olives. For the main course, Butiffara amb Mongetes, Catalan sausage with white beans or Suquet de Peix fisherman’s stew with monkfish, potatoes and seafood. For dessert Crema Catalana, a traditional Catalan custard like crème brûlée.
The dining room has the most ornate ceiling, and the most elaborate light fitting in the pavilion.
The complex decoration of the dining room walls is offset by the inlaid floor tiles.
Gaspar Homar i Mezquida
Every room in the Distinguished Pavilion was carefully designed to ensure, walls, floor tiles, windows, stained-glass, furniture and light fittings complemented each other. The furniture was handcrafted to suit the design of each room.
In the bedrooms, the headboards, wardrobes, bedside tables and chairs were inlaid with floral marquetry, adding another dimension of beauty and craftsmanship to the room’s design.
Homar’s designs were heavily influenced by natural motifs and incorporated intricate floral and geometric patterns. His furniture designs, commissioned by wealthy patrons in Barcelona, are considered masterpieces of Catalan Modernisme. Some pieces are preserved in Barcelona’s Museu del Modernisme Català.
Homar worked closely with Domènech to create the furniture and interior designs for the Institut, the Hospital and many of Domènech’s other projects. Homar was renowned for his exquisite marquetry work and superb craftsmanship.
Lluís Bru i Salelles
The mosaic artist Lluís Bru i Salelles was another vital member of Domènech’s creative team. No sooner had he established his workshop in Barcelona, in the year 1900, than Domènech commissioned him to create the mosaic work for the Institut Pere Mata, and the Hospital de Santa Creu i Sant Pau.
Bru worked with Domènech to create the mosaic frieze of the Hospital’s early history.
(See Part Two above, Hospital de la Santa Creu i Sant Pau). He also created the entire mosaic and trencadís (made of broken tiles) decoration in the Palau de la Musica as well as the mosaic fireplace surrounds, the floors, the walls and works of art for the dining room of the Casa Lleó Morera (see following chapter)
Josep Triadó i Mayol
The ceramic artist Josep Triadó i Mayol also collaborated with Bru to design ceramic tiles for Domènech’s Institut, decorating the outside of the pavilions with drawings, focused on the virtues of Faith, Hope, and Charity. In his masterpiece below, the dining room ceiling is decorated with oranges, meticulously handpainted on ceramic tiles.
The tiles on the pavilion’s staircase walls are decorated with clusters of pink flowers and interwoven greenery. Matching pink and green flowery stripes run along the ceiling. The risers are decorated with three-dimensional tiles in a soft shade of peach. Carefully planned, the design of the staircase has achieved a harmonious mix of pattern and colour.
The Institut Pere Mata is a vibrant testament to Lluís Domènech i Montaner's artistic genius and his belief in the healing power of beauty. Weaving together the talents of sculptors, glass makers, mosaicists and ceramicists, he orchestrated a vibrant symphony of colour, texture, and light to create an environment filled with beauty. It’s not hard to imagine strolling through the Distinguished Pavilion, with sunlight streaming through the stained-glass windows, illuminating the floor’s intricate floral mosaics and handcrafted furniture.
The Distinguished Pavilion, with its luxurious suites and echoes of Belle Époque elegance was planned with care for people struggling with mental health issues. It was more than just a place of healing. It was a sanctuary of beauty, a testament to the transformative power of art.
An enduring masterpiece of Catalan Modernisme, the Institut Pere Mata serves as a vivid reminder of the healing power of beauty.
The Distinguished Pavilion remained in use as part of the hospital until 1986. Today, it hosts cultural events and is open to tourists as part of Reus' Modernist Route.
Part Four - Casa Lleó Morera
Passeig de Gràcia. The words have a magical ring. In the Paseig, three of the most beautiful buildings in Barcelona compete for the title of ‘Most Beautiful’.
While the roof of Gaudí's Casa Batlló shimmers like a dragon's scales, and Casa Amatller speaks of Dutch gables, Casa Lleó Morera outdoes them both, with its tempietto reaching for the sky and its ornate double façade like the prow of a ship, leading the way forward.
Casa Lleó Morera forms part of the so-called ‘Block of Discord’ that features the works of Barcelona's top three Catalan Modernist architects. Another translation for ‘Block of Discord’ could be ‘Apple of Discord’, as it derives from the Greek mythological reference to Eris, the goddess of discord, who caused strife by presenting a golden apple at a banquet. ¹
Casa Lleó Morera and its tempietto on the far left. The stepped gable of Puig I Cadafalch’s Casa Amatller, with Gaudí’s Casa Battló to its right. The three architects created iconic works, powerful symbols of Catalonia's cultural pride.
In Catalan, Casa Lleó Morera forms part of the Illa de la Discòrdia, or in Spanish, Manzana de la Discordia, where ‘manzana’ means both ‘apple’ and ‘block,’ creating a pun that ties the mythological reference to the architectural competition between the buildings on this block of Passeig de Gràcia.
The colourful craziness and fluidity of Casa Battló’s mosaic façade, tiled roof, windows and mask-like balconies.
The more sober stepped roofline of Josep Puig i Cadafalch’s Casa Amettler built by a man whose fortune came from making chocolates on an industrial scale.
Casa Lleó Morera, with its richly decorated balconies and illuminated façade.
Between 1890 and 1914 Barcelona was a hotbed of creativity. Many wealthy Catalonians supported the arts and built beautiful houses. But how could the owners, Lleó Morera, Josep Battló i Casanovas, and Antoni Amettler afford the extravagance of building their hugely expensive masterpieces? Why were they so wealthy? Where did their money come from?
By the second half of the 19th century, Catalonia had become Spain’s main industrial region. Barcelona had become ‘Spain's factory.’ At the time, Barcelona was churning out cotton goods and amassing enormous wealth for its entrepreneurs. Barcelona's coastal location also facilitated trade and made it a natural hub for industry and commerce.
Industrialization had been sparked by the textile industry in 1832, with the introduction of Bonaplata, Catalonia’s first steam-powered factory.
The cotton industry began with the production of printed cloth, known as indianes. Textiles inspired by Indian patterns. Popular because of their vibrant colours, intricate floral motifs, paisley patterns and designs.
The Catalan textile industry grew significantly with the introduction of English spinning technology. Despite the high cost of raw materials, and competition from British textiles, Catalonia's industry thrived due to government protection and local demand.
In the 1860s, the city underwent significant transformation as Ildefons Cerdà expanded Barcelona beyond its medieval walls, creating the new grid-like suburb of Eixample.
Ten years later, the Spanish defeat in the 1898 Spanish-American War, with the loss of Cuba and the Philippines, came as a profound shock. Spain's colonial empire had been a cornerstone of its national identity for centuries.
The loss of Spanish territories led to the decline of Spain's colonial identity and the resurgence of Catalan and Basque nationalism. Initially focused on developing a cultural identity, Catalan nationalism later evolved into demands for greater political autonomy.
The loss of the Spanish colonies had an unexpected outcome. The capital previously invested in the colonies was repatriated, resulting in a shift from overseas expansion to local development. This influx of funds greatly benefited local industries and further enriched the city's elite.
The newly prosperous, nouveau-riche industrialists, known as indianos, who had made their fortunes by trading fabrics overseas, were eager to show off their new social standing. They showcased their new social status by building modernist masterpieces like Casa Lléo Morera, Casa Battló. and Casa Ametller.
Francesca Morera Ortiz’s family had made a fortune in the textile trade. In 1902, when she inherited Casa Rocamora from her uncle, Antoni Morera i Busó, she commissioned the famous architect Lluís Domènech i Montaner to redesign the interior of the forty-year-old
Francesca had intended a renovation, not a radical reconstruction. But on her untimely death two years later, her son, Albert Lleó i Morera inherited the house and instructed Domènech i Montaner do a more drastic renovation.
Domènech was asked to tear down the existing façade and rebuild it in the latest Modernist, Catalan Art Nouveau style, then refurbish the interior.
Casa Rocamora was built on a corner plot by Master Builder Joaquim Sitjas, in 1864. The building was asymmetrical, with two sides of different lengths. There are five small windows on the top floor’s left hand façade and seven on the right hand façade.
The façade of Casa Rocamora was very ordinary. Domènech made it memorable. Casa Rocamura, before its transformation into Casa Lleó Morera (below).
After a four-year renovation, the house became Francesca Morera Ortiz’s family home for the next forty years.
Domènech decided to draw attention away from the uneven length of the façades by emphasizing the vertical axis of the corner junction. He added a large bay window on the first floor, and two circular windows on either side of a split balcony on the floor above. To complete the look and draw the eye upwards, he capped the corner with a tempietto, (a small temple topped with a dome).
The split balcony on the corner junction with a circular window to the right, and seven small windows on the top floor.
When Albert LLeó Morera took over the building project from his mother, he was determined to create a masterpiece and a tribute to his family's legacy. Domènech ensured that the Lleó Morera family crest was subtly incorporated into the building's design. Lleó translates as lion, morera as mulberry. On the outside of the building mulberry leaves and regal lions are woven into the stonework. While the mulberry tree motif, symbol of the Morera family name, is a recurring decorative feature on the inside as well.
Domanech i Montaner’s redesign of Casa Lleó Morera was recognised as a masterpiece, winning Best Artistic Building of the Year in 1906.
The Tempietto with its detailed flourishes. The dome is decorated in turquoise, pink and white with mosaic flowers.
The elaborate mosaic detail hidden beneath the Tempietto’s dome.
The balconies of the façade were decorated by the sculptor Eusebi Arnau. His sculptured female figures, allegories of the four most notable inventions of the time, reflect Barcelona's embrace of the new century. Each figure represents a new modern development: electricity, photography, the phonograph, and the telephone.
Female figure holding up a light representing electricity.
Female figure holding a camera, representing photography.
Female figure representing the telephone.
Female figure holding a gramophone, an early form of phonograph.
The interior
Domènech i Montaner gathered over forty of the finest artists, artisans and craftsmen to work on the house. Each one was a master in his field. Their passion, commitment and creativity expressed itself in every minute detail. From the dazzling mosaics to the luminous stained glass, every item was meticulously crafted, pushing the boundaries of craftsmanship and artistic expression.
Entrance
The entrance into Casa Lleó Morera is breathtaking. The walls, the ceiling, even the risers on the stairs, are decorated in an extravagance of complementary patterns. Flowers are everywhere. Catalonia’s greatest craftsmen produced an entrance hall of incredible beauty, rich in detail, colour and texture.
The Lleó i Morera family lived on ‘la planta nobile’, the building’s main floor. But a common practice at the time was to rent out the rest of the building to other families. In the spirit of Barcelona’s Modernisme movement Albert insisted on all the latest modern conveniences. The residence, wired for electricity, had one of the earliest working lifts in the city installed in the vestibule, to carry tenants up to their apartments.
Ceiling of the entrance hall. In the Casa Lleó Morera the wall décor is produced by applying two or more layers of plaster in contrasting colours to a moistened surface, then scratching to reveal parts of the underlying layer. The incredibly labour intensive technique requires enormous skill.
Above the the entrance hall’s pink marble skirting, the walls are decorated with a floral mosaic in subtle blues and greens with complementary shades of brown, orange and mustard. The tiles have been laid in threes and create an eye-catching broken line above the mosaic. Above the tiles, the highly skilled artisan, Joan Paradís covered the walls in sgraffito, adding yet another layer of texture and detail. There are four layers of sgrafitti in the vestibule: the base colour overlaid with green, mushroom and tan, with a mosaic inlay of white flowers.
The word sgraffito is derived from the Italian word graffito, a drawing or inscription made on a wall or hard surface (graffito also gave us the word graffiti). Graffito is the past participle of sgraffire, which means ‘to scratch.’ So, the word sgraffito basically means to scratch and create a graphic or an image.
The original ground floor of Casa Lléo Morera in 1905.
When the building first opened, famous Cuban Catalan photographer Pau Adouard occupied the ground floor. His name can be seen in the beautiful Art Nouveau script on the ground floor windows. Adouard retained his photographic studio until 1915.
During the Spanish Civil War, (1936-39), Casa Lleo Morera’s tempietto was severely damaged by machinegun fire. It was only restored forty years later in the 1980s, by architect and historian, Oscar Tusquets.
In 1943, luxury leather goods company Loewe arranged to rent the ground floor of Casa Lleó Morera. To install the shop windows, the builders carelessly ripped out the existing windows and balconies The charming latticework balconies, with their elaborate stonework decoration were a great loss.
But the loss of the graceful figures, in their long, swirling skirts, elbows resting on the shallow planters, was a tragedy that could have been averted.
The building’s doorman (above), saved the heads and sold them to the artist Salvador Dalí who installed them on the patio of the Dalí Theatre-Museum in Figueres.
Loewe, a subsidiary of the luxury fashion brand LVMH, still occupies the same premises at 35, Passeig de Gràcia, over eighty years later.
In 2006, Casa Lleó i Morera was purchased by Grup Núñez i Navarro, an altruistic Spanish enterprise involved in construction, real estate development, sales, rentals, car parks, and warehouses. The group is actively involved in restoring Catalonia’s historic buildings. After the company acquired the house, it spent the next two years painstakingly restoring the famous Barcelona landmark.
The building used to be open for visits but has recently closed its doors. Despite not being open for visitors, the beauty of the house can still be appreciated from outside.
Casa Lleó Morera isn’t just a building, it is a testament to the artistic vision of Domènech i Montaner, and the many craftsmen involved in the creation of this magnificent Barcelona masterpiece of Catalan Modernisme.
Part Five – Interior of Casa Lleó Morera
Let us start with the dining room where eight exquisite mosaic panels depict rural scenes featuring members of the Lleó Morera family on a country picnic. The tranquil Catalan landscape is rendered in painstaking detail. The graceful figures of family members dressed in Edwardian costumes, are woven into the scene like figures in a pastoral painting.
Under Domènech i Montaner’s direction, Gaspar Homar i Mezquida brought together five masters of their craft to create these mosaic masterpieces.
The highly skilled artisans at the peak of their profession, created mosaic works of extraordinary beauty. Eight exquisite panels of mosaic and
Lluís Brú Salelles and Mario Maragliano made the mosaics, helped by decorator and painter Josep Pey i Farriol, sculptor Juan Carreras i Farré, and ceramicist, Antoni Serra i Fiter.
The low-relief porcelain hands and faces bring the figures to life. They were inspired by Homar’s studies of oriental kakemono, hanging scrolls displayed in Japanese homes - artworks painted on fabric, designed to flutter in the breeze.
These incredible artworks were made from small ceramic tesserae, obtained by grinding fragments of brick. Mosaic faces and flesh tones had previously been made with the vitreous enamels of Venetian mosaic. But here, Gustav Homar collaborated with the versatile sculptor Joan Carreras, and ceramist Antoni Serra to create the faces, hands, and feet out of porcelain. Carreras and Serra worked together to make the plaster models and moulds and fire the low-relief porcelain.
A floral marquetry frieze runs along the top of the dining room wall, with intricate carving on the dining room door and above, and floral marquetry on the lower wall panels.
Domènech i Montaner and the multi-talented Gaspar Homar worked closely together on the refurbishment of Casa Lleó Morera. Domènech commissioned Homar, who started out as a cabinetmaker, to decorate Alfred Lleó Morera’s apartment on the first floor. Homar designed the mosaics, curtains, upholstery, lamps, and lighting appliances for the house as well as the superb marquetry furniture, now housed in Barcelona’s Museum of Catalan Art, The Museu Nacional d'Art de Catalunya, MNAC.
A full view of the dining room with its mosaic panels, intricately patterned ceiling and floor.
An old photo of the furnished dining room. A marquetry cabinet on the back left wall, partly obscures one of the panels.
Dating from 1905, the cabinet was made to order for the dining room of Casa Lleó Morera. It is made of olive and walnut wood with different varieties of wood used for the marquetry.
Today the cabinet is displayed in Barcelona’s Museum of Catalan Art, Museu Nacional d’Art de Catalunya, MNAC.
A water-colour study for the mosaic panels.
Right: An old black and white photograph of the rotunda on the first floor with the original furniture and elaborate light fittings. The cockerels in the center of the window are clearly visible.
Facing page: Walk through the dining room door and you will find the spectacular curve of Antoni Rigalt i Blanch’s Tree of Life in the rotunda at the back of the house.
Antoni Rigalt, a master of stained glass, used the play of light and shadow to create an atmosphere of ethereal beauty. Sunlight shines through the panels, transforming the room into a sacred space where light itself has become a work of art.
Viewed from outside, the stainedglass rotundas at the back of the building form a column. Although some of the floors were due to be rented out, Albert insisted that all the floors have stained glass windows of the same high artistic standard.
The stained glass garden on the on the third floor of the rotunda.
The four curved stained-glass windows were produced in Barcelona’s Rigalt i Granell stainedglass workshop. The workshop established by Antoni Rigalt i Blanch and his partner Granell operated from 1903 to 1923 and was one of the most important stained-glass ateliers in Barcelona during the Art Nouveau period.
Rigalt i Granell collaborated with other notable artists and architects to create many stained-glass masterpieces. Other works by Rigalt i Granell can be seen in the Palau de la Musica Catalana, the Hospital de la Santa Creu i Sant Pau and in the Barcelona Cathedral chapel, designed by Enric Sagnier in 1909. A Rigalt i Granell Archive, housed in the Design Museum of Barcelona, contains documents, drawings, sketches, and photographs related to their stained-glass workshop
Leave the dining room at the back of the house and return to the entrance of Passeig de Gràcia, 35. (Described in more detail in the previous section, Part Four).
The stairs lead up to one of the first lifts to be installed in Barcelona.The tenants of the upper floor apartments could take the lift. Or, on occasions when the lift wasn’t working, they could take the stairs.
If tenants chose not to take the lift, they could walk up to their apartments, past a window decorated with red stained-glass flowers.
The doorway to the right of the second flight of stairs is carved with leaves, flowers and a tree of life. A mosaic pattern lies in front of the door like a welcome mat. The walls above the dado rail are decorated with dark pink on pale pink sgrafitto. Below the dado rail, ceramic medallions representing white mulberry flowers, stand out against a marbled background.
To honour the Morera surname (morera being the Catalan word for mulberry), Domènech i Montaner used the white mulberry flower motif throughout Casa Lleó Morera. Using artistic license, he reimagined the mulberry flower—known for its small, tightly clustered male or female blossoms without petals—into an elegant and decorative design. The humble mulberry flower became a symbolic, visually striking element of the house's intricate decor.
The entrance hall opens into two large drawing rooms. The windows of both salons, to left and right of the rotunda, look onto the Passeig de Gràcia, the busiest and most elegant street in the entire Eixample district.
The grand salon with some of its furniture. It is not hard to imagine the family sitting in comfort as they watch the comings and goings of their neighbours and acquaintances through the enormous windows and charming latticework balcony. The adjoining rotunda is visible at the back of the photo.
’Eixample’ means ‘extension’ in Catalan. Laid out by Ildefons Cerdà, in a grid of octagonal city blocks and broad streets, the suburb of Eixample was built in the 19th century to accommodate the city's growing population.
The Eixample’s Passeig de Gràcia boasts three renowned Catalan Art Nouveau buildings:
Domènech I Montaner’s, Casa Lleó Morera, Gaudí’s, Casa Battló and Puig i Cadafelch’s, Casa Amatller.
The emptiness of the grand salon bereft of furniture. brings into focus the carved ceiling, the wood paneling, the patterned decoration on the walls, and the parquet flooring.
Close-up of the grand salon’s coffered ceiling, with roses carved in circles, each circle inlaid with marquetry crosses or flowers.
Close up of the gold encrusted floral relief on the pink marble walls.
The second salon was used for leisure activities. It held a billiard table and was also used as a music room.
The two salons are divided by a smaller room with a central fireplace that opens onto the rotunda. The stained-glass partitions were a more recent addition. The fireplace creates a focal point between the two street-facing salons. The fireplace-surround in pink, turquoise and white mosaic is eye-catching. Enclosed by a deeply carved canopy and stained-glass partitions, the small space conveys warmth and intimacy.
The herringbone parquet of the two salons comes together in the shape of a kite, with two strips of inlaid flowers radiating from the central fireplace. With a bench on either side the family could huddle around the fire to get warm.
One of two other fireplaces with mosaic and carved wooden surrounds.
The beautifully decorated entrance hall and corridor lead to the apartment’s private rooms.
Eusebi Arnau’s stone sculptures are unique. His flat archways are designed to be decorative rather than supportive.
The entrance into the family’s private quarters is decorated with fluted ceiling panels. Their fabulous concave curves are painted with floral squares, alternating with lions rampant inside diagonal squares. The subtle colours, in shades of blue, yellow and grey with occasional hints of red, are complemented by the colours of the mosaic floor.
The elaborately patterned mosaic floor designed and executed by the mosaicist Mario Marignano.
The sculpted archway on the threshold of the private rooms represents St George, Catalonia’s patron saint, killing the dragon. The passageway, with its coffered ceiling, leads to the private family quarters.
The second sculptural archway represents a hunting scene. The flat sculpted archways continue down the passageway.
Eusebi Arnau’s archway sculptures were inspired by traditional nursery rhymes and one story in particular La dida del Infant Rei, The Nurse of the Child King.
The story is taken from an ancient legend. The Virgin Mary returned to life the infant king who had been burned to death after his wet nurse fell asleep. The tragic story with a happy ending was probably chosen by the new owners after the death of their newborn child.
This charming statue, a detail on one of the archways, shows the wet nurse feeding the infant king. Plaster models of the archways are preserved at the Domènech i Montaner house-museum in Canet de Mar.
The passageway with its ornate coffered ceiling, leads to the bedrooms with en suite bathrooms, and the domestic service area. Off the hallway, a four storey ventilation shaft gives light and circulates air into the building, an example of Modernism ’s concern for hygiene. Even the old wash house area, in the rear courtyard, is decorated with a large mulberry tree outlined on the wall in sgrafitto.
The interior of Casa Lleó Morera is one of the greatest examples of Catalan Art Nouveau, with Domènech i Montaner’s vision brought to life by a team of master artisans. From its intricate mosaics to its ethereal stained glass and sculptural details, the house embodies a harmonious blend of superb artistry and craftsmanship with meticulous attention to detail. Casa Lleó Morera is a timeless cultural treasure whose beauty will continue to inspire for generations to come.
Casa Lleó Morera speaks of another era. A time when wealthy industrialists not only supported the arts but used the arts to show off their wealth and good taste. At the time, they could afford to invest in the expensive time-consuming craftsmanship that produced the beauties of houses like Casa Lleó Morera. That era came to a close after the Second World War, when expensive ornamentation became an unaffordable extravagance.
Part Six – The brilliance of Gaspar Homar’s marquetry
When architect Domènech i Montaner took on the refurbishment of Casa Lleó Morera for Alfred Lleó Morera, he commissioned cabinetmaker Gaspar Homar i Mezquida ¹ to decorate the apartment.
Gaspar Homar designed the mosaics, curtains, upholstery, carpets, lamps, and lighting appliances for the house, as well as the superb marquetry furniture.
A man of many talents, he produced some of Catalan Art Nouveau’s most exquisite marquetry furniture.
His masterpiece was the green velvet settee with side cabinets designed for the grand salon of Casa Lleó Morera.
In this graceful scene on the cabinet’s central panel, a dark haired young woman holds a bunch of flowers in her left hand. She takes a single flower from the bunch and presents it to the woman on the right. What is the meaning of the image?
It is an allegorical scene. The muses have long been a source of inspiration for the arts. Homar’s allegorical imagery reflects the central themes of Art Nouveau and Modernism. The Nine Muses of classical mythology were the goddesses of the arts, literature, and science. They represent poetry, music, history, dance and astronomy and embody creativity, wisdom, and artistic achievement.
The image of one young woman handing a flower to another is a symbol of the sharing of wisdom, creativity, and artistic expression. One spirit nourishes another, ensuring that the cycle of inspiration continues unbroken.
In the same way that the muses bestow divine insight upon poets and artists, the flower is a symbol of purity and eternal inspiration. This simple exchange mirrors the way knowledge and creativity are passed from one soul to another in an act of creative kinship.
The green velvet settee is now housed, with other pieces of Gaspar Homar’s furniture, in the Museum of Catalan Art, The Museu Nacional d'Art de Catalunya, MNAC in Barcelona
Gaspar Homar is celebrated for the intricate designs and the expert craftsmanship of his marquetry furniture. But there are many steps involved in the making of such a complex piece of furniture. This settee with its side cabinets, deep carving, leaded glass, marquetry and finials was made in collaboration with Josep Pey and Joan Segarra.
Gaspar Homar often drew inspiration from Gothic and medieval furniture adapting it through the lens of Catalan Modernism. His design for the settee is a reinvention of a medieval style, a Modernist re-imagining of a Gothic, late 15th century high backed oak settle like the one below.
Gaspar Homar designed a similar settee for Casa Nabàs in Reus, fabricated in 1905. The images below show the original drawing for the Casa Nabàs settee and the water colour design for the marquetry. Both images show the marquetry was integral to the original design.
The watercolour sketch that inspired the marquetry panels of two different pieces of furniture. One in Casa Nabàs, (reversed), the other in Casa Lleó Morera. Homar and Josep Pey worked closely together on every aspect of the making of this piece. Pey interpreted Homar’s furniture and marquetry designs by preparing detailed drawings to scale and translating Homar’s artistic vision into workable designs.
With the watercolour as their inspiration, the artisans translated the background, the flowers and plants, the ribbons, the women’s hair and every minute detail of their clothing into small pieces of wood veneer. They drew the shapes and cut around the edges with fine bladed fret saws. If they needed many identical shapes, they stacked the veneers and used packet cutting. Or, for seamless joins, they used double bevel cutting to give perfectly fitting bevelled edges.
The execution was done by Joan Segarra i Fills, whose artisans specialized in the precision cutting of marquetry, its assembly, and application.
Homar may not have cut or applied the veneers himself, but he worked closely with Pey and Segarra to decide which veneers would achieve the effect he wanted. Which colours, textures and grains should they use to create the most visually interesting patterns? A watermarked or interlocked grain, a grain with a mottled or wavy pattern, the irregular swirls and curls of a burl or a veneer of lustrous black ebony.
Once the delicate pieces of wood veneer had been cut out, they were assembled like the pieces of a jigsaw puzzle and laid out on paper to make sure they fit together tightly. The marquetry pieces were not set into recessed grooves but glued onto the baseboard or onto the furniture’s wooden surface.
Once the marquetry had been pressed for a day, the surface was sanded with fine abrasive paper, then covered with a layer of wax or French polish, to create a smooth, seamless look. Depth and realistic shadows were added using sand shading, with intricate details engraved with ink.
This is the preparatory watercolour sketch for the cabinet’s left hand panel.
There are three marquetry panels on the green velvet settee. One panel above the seating area, and a panel on each side cabinet. As he had done for the dining room mosaics of Casa Lleó Morera, Homar used lowrelief porcelain for the figures’ hands and faces, with plaster models and moulds produced by ceramist Antoni Serra, and sculptor Joan Carreras.
The marquetry rendering of the panel rplicated the background detail in multiple colours and textures. The pale, slender trunks of silver birches on the left, a dark cyprus tree on the right, the foreground busy with a garland of flowers and ribbons
The central figure is captured in motion. She could be moving to join her companions on the central panel. With a flower in her dark hair, her porcelain face has a slightly quizzical expression.
The veneer of her dress has been carefully chosen to give an interesting mottled effect. Tassles dangle from her belt.
The marquetry around her dress’s collar and cuffs is finely detailed. The combined effect is a true masterpiece.
The image on the right hand panel is reversed. This figure is also moving to join the muses on the central panel. The folds of her gown are beautifully captured by the striped veneer.
Her lace collar threaded with ribbon is finely detailed. Her porcelain face is calm and serene, maybe slightly pensive. She is surrounded by flowers and ribbons. Another example of highly skilled marquetry.
Homar’s collaboration with Pey and Segarra, produced a piece of furniture that is visually stunning. The green velvet settee is one of Catalan Modernism’s finest pieces of furniture.
This black and white photo taken at the time shows Casa Lleó Morera’s grand salon fully furnished. The green velvet settee is positioned against the back wall, with a second cabinet to the left. An inlaid chair is positioned front left, with a small table and two chairs in the middle of the room. All these marquetry pieces, made in Gaspar Homar’s workshop, can be seen in the Museu Nacional d'Art de Catalunya.
The second cabinet also has three marquetry panels. It has an arched top decorated with a carved floral motif, and two leaded glass doors either side of a pair of central doors with elaborate brass hinges.
Close-up of the central marquetry panel, with carved wooden flowers, ornate metal hinges and leaded glass.
The preparatory watercolour sketch for the central marquetry panel.
The watercolour painting interpreted in the much more demanding medium of marquetry.
On the left-hand panel below, two women in conversation are seated next to a lake. A pair of graceful swans representing divine inspiration and harmony, swim nearby.
In front of a background of flowering trees, the Muse on the left, may be reading a poem to her friend from the paper she holds in her hands or passing on her wisdom. Her gown is striped. The grain near her elbow has been perfectly positioned to create a fold in the fabric. The pattern of her bodice and her hairstyle give her a medieval look.
The fabric of her friend’s gown is mottled and has a dramatic neckline. She is listening intently, with her left hand lifted in response.
The same watercolour painting inspired two different pieces of marquetry furniture. The left-hand panel of the Casa Lleó Morera cabinet and, with the image reversed, the settee for Casa Nabàs in Reus.
On the right-hand panel, the Muse of lyric poetry and music is playing a Greek lyra. Made from fine twisted metal, the strings of her instrument stand out from the marquetry inlay.
The Muse on the right is listening to the music with a rapt expression. The veneer of her dress gives a wonderfully mottled effect. The background is full of interest, the foreground full of flowers. Both panels are examples of exceptional craftsmanship.
Gaspar Homar i Mezquida
Gaspar Homar (1870 – 1953) was a cabinetmaker without equal. His marquetry designs were exceptional. He worked with forty different types of wood, using them according to their colours.
Dance of the fairies. Museu Nacional d'Art de Catalunya.
Nymphs dancing in a circle - preparatory watercolour.
The Nymphs Dancing in a Circle preparatory watercolour painting (page opposite) translated into a marquetry image. Homar was known to use images more than once, sometimes in reverse. This image of nymphs dancing in the forest found its way into many different pieces of furniture; not all of them in Casa Lleó Morera.
Josep Pey
Homar’s workshop was run by Josep Pey, whose duty was to coordinate the work of the many different craftsmen needed to create a piece like The Green Velvet Settee (period image on page opposite).
Once Pey had worked out the dimensions of a piece and acquired the materials needed to produce it, he allotted different tasks to his team of highly skilled cabinetmakers, woodcarvers, upholsterers, and metalworkers.
Pey’s task was to ensure that all the components came together seamlessly, before the final stages when the piece was varnished and polished. Once the settee was complete, Pey arranged for the seat to be upholstered, and covered with the patterned green velvet woven to Homar’s exact specifications.
Pey also coordinated the design and execution of Homar’s other works: light fittings, fabrics, upholstery, and the installation of mosaics. He was there to ensure the designs followed Homar’s vision and that everything leaving the workshop was of the highest artistic standard.
The making of the tour-de-force masterwork The Green Velvet Settee required cabinetmakers to put the piece together, woodworkers to work on the carving and finials, stained-glass workers to make the leaded glass, and a metalworker to make the cupboard’s locks and keys. Homar collected the finished marquetry panels from Joan Segarra i Fills and made sure they were properly attached to the main body of the cabinet.
Green velvet settee leaded glass detail
Textiles
Gaspar Homar's textile designs were another important part of his decorative repertoire. He supplied the curtains, upholstery, headboards, carpets and painted tapestries for many of his projects. The original velvet fabric on the armchair below, from the grand salon of Casa Lleó Morera, was hand printed with a floral design of roses interwoven with gold thread.
Homar’s fabric patterns printed on velvet, often feature sinuous ‘coup de fouet’ motif.
The ‘coup de fouet,’ also known as the ‘whiplash line’, is one of Art Nouveau’s defining motifs. Characterized by its sinuous, asymmetrical curves it evokes dynamism and movement. Right angles are eliminated in favour of flowing curves. Ornamental S-curves were inspired by the natural forms of plants and flowers: cyclamen stems, orchids, irises, thistles, and water lilies.
Homar’s fabric designs may have been manufactured by the Fills de Malvehí silkworks, a firm specializing in silk and fabric printing. They also may have been produced in Homar's own workshops. His workers were skilled specialists, who worked on all aspects of the decoration and furnishing of a home.
Gaspar Homar designed the woollen carpets for Casa Lleó
Morera. The carpets were woven in different shapes and sizes, according to the spaces they were meant to occupy. Homar made rectangular carpets to cover the main areas of the salon, and smaller pentagonal carpets to fit in front of the fireplaces. The carpet below, decorated with flowers, was made to fit the semicircular shape of the balcony’s rotunda.
Detail of woven fabric designed by Gaspar Homar.
Metalwork
As a young man, Gaspar Homar was apprenticed to Francesc Vidal Jevellí. Vidal’s factory employed 700 craftsmen who produced metalwork and casting, quality furniture and glasswork. Homar learned all the techniques of metalworking: repoussé, chiselling, polishing, and the patination of metals.
As soon as Homar established his own workshop, he started to design and make light fittings: lamps, chandeliers, and lanterns. As electric lighting became more common in the big cities, Homar adapted his gas lamps for electricity. His hanging lamp with dragonflies was made for Casa Lleó Morera from cast metal, gilding, and glass.
This lamp, with the figure of Michaelangelo's Adam and a plant motif of bunches of roses, was also designed and made by Gaspar Homar for the grand salon of Casa Lleó Morera. Made of repoussé brass and glass, it can be seen in the black and white photo of the grand
Gaspar Homar i Mezquida's contributions to Catalan Art Nouveau are a testament to his exceptional talent and artistry. His intricate marquetry showcases both his skilful craftsmanship and his ability to blend historical influences with modern design. Homar was a true ‘Renaissance man’ who excelled in many different artistic fields. His marquetry was unparalleled. His mosaics in the dining room of Casa Lleó Morera are breathtaking. His light fittings are imaginative masterpieces. His carpets and hand painted fabrics are exquisite. There was hardly a field of artistic endeavour he hadn’t mastered. His decorative works for Casa Lleó Morera are a highlight of Modernism and Catalonia’s rich cultural heritage.
Here today. Gone tomorrow. The 600 room
Gran Hotel Internacional, Barcelona –1888’s one-year wonder
In 1888, it took just under three months to build Barcelona’s 600-room Gran Hotel Internacional, but the hotel was knocked down less than a year later. What happened? How could such a huge hotel have been built so quickly and why was it knocked down?
By 1887 Barcelona had become Spain’s main industrial region, thanks to a vibrant cotton industry. To promote the city’s industrial, cultural, and artistic achievements, the Barcelona City Council decided to stage a Universal Exposition, the Exposicion Universal en Barcelona. The first event of its kind to be held in Spain, it catapulted Barcelona onto the world stage.
In August 1887, the City Council announced a public competition to design and build a large, temporary hotel, to accommodate the thousands of expected visitors.
Lluís Domènech i Montaner was already highly influential in Catalan architecture and politics when the idea of building a hotel was first mooted. In 1878, a few years after joining Barcelona’s Escola d'Arquitectura as a professor, Domènech had published an important article: ‘En busca d'una arquitectura nacional’, (In Search of a National Architecture). The article called for architects to develop a modern style, rooted in Catalan tradition. An architecture that would reflect the region's historical and cultural heritage.
Domènech's article was inspired by the Catalan Renaixença, a broad cultural and political movement which sought to revive the Catalan language, culture, and identity. His article contributed to the development of Catalan Modernisme a cultural and architectural movement that emphasized innovation, nationalism and traditional elements blended with modern technology.
Modernisme influenced many architects in Catalonia, with Antoni Gaudí, and Josep Puig i Cadafalch each finding their own way to express a uniquely Catalan identity in their work.
The competition to build the hotel was won by the developer Ricard Valentí. While Domènech’s innovative ideas made him the obvious choice to design the hotel.
Built on land temporarily ceded for the purpose by the Port of Barcelona, the hotel was designed to accommodate some of the thousands of visitors expected to attend during the nine-month exposition. The hotel would be pulled down when the exposition was over.
The Gran Hotel Internacional would be located on the newly constructed Passeig de Colom and would cover an area of one and a quarter acres, or 5,000 square meters. The hotel would accommodate 2,000 guests in 600 rooms and 30 family apartments. It would provide home comforts as well as luxury, in line with Swiss hotelier ¹ César Ritz’s revolutionary ideas about hospitality
César Ritz
Born in 1850 in Switzerland, César Ritz is often referred to as the ‘king of hoteliers and hotelier to kings’. Ritz revolutionized the hospitality industry with his innovative ideas. His motto was: ‘To see everything without looking. To hear everything without listening. To be attentive without being servile and to anticipate desires without being indiscreet.’ Ritz introduced one of hospitality's most enduring principles: ‘The customer is never wrong’. He believed in accommodating guests' requests, no matter how challenging.
In his hotels, Ritz introduced private bathrooms, fresh flowers, formal staff uniforms, intimate lobbies, and décor, tailored to the preferences of individual guests. Features that became hallmarks of luxury hospitality.
He partnered with legendary chef Auguste Escoffier to make à la carte dining central to the experience of staying in a luxury hotel.
Ritz made a point of remembering guests' names and tastes and created a personalized experience that was unprecedented at the time.
Why were so many buildings at the time being built only to be knocked down?
The early 1900s were often referred to as the ‘Age of Steel’. Scientific advances in metallurgy and steel production made steel affordable and widely available. Building design and construction were revolutionized. Large, impressive, spaces could be built quickly, and relatively cheaply. Prefabricated, modular structures were easy to build and easy to dismantle.
London’s Crystal Palace, built for the Great Exhibition of 1851, was demolished when the exhibition ended. When Paris’ 1889 Universal Exposition came to an end, the Eiffel Tower was also destined for demolition. It was only saved by the strong affection Parisians had developed for their unusual structure.
AI interpretation of the foundation’s structure.
Domènech designed a building that could be built quickly and could be easily dismantled.
The Gran Hotel Internacional was built on reclaimed land near the sea - on an embankment formed by the demolition of the sea wall. To build traditional foundations on such unstable ground would have been time-consuming and costly.
Domènech devised an ingenious system to provide the necessary stability. He sourced steel rails from the railways to make a metal grid. Rented for the duration of the exhibition, the rails would be returned when the building was demolished.
The grid of metal beams supported a series of inverted brick vaults, creating a continuous foundation slab. This saved construction time and would allow for easy dismantling after the exposition
Francesc Pau, the developer, was responsible for the onsite building work. To speed things up, he divided his workforce into specialized brigades, grouping his team of 650 masons and labourers, 100 carpenters, and 40 plasterers, according to their skills and specialisation.
Building began in mid-December, but by the middle of January the building was far behind schedule. The workers would have to work night and day to finish on time. Domènech introduced ten-hour shifts and brought in eighteen large electric lights to light the construction site at night.
Over five hundred of the workers were bricklayers, stonemasons, and general construction workers.
The one hundred carpenters worked on the framing, roofing, and finishing work, while the forty plasterers plastered the walls and ceilings and created the decorative plaster work.
Time was short. The deadline was tight. Domènech used a modular design to streamline the assembly process and reduce waste. Since the walls would be made of brick, room sizes were calculated to minimize the cutting of bricks and tiles.
There was great admiration at the time for the speed and efficiency with which the Gran Hotel Internacional was built. Careful planning, twenty-four-hour shifts and the deliberate allocation of labour meant the basic structure was built in the record time of 53 days. Begun in mid-December 1887, it was completed by mid-February 1888. The interior finishes and decoration were finished a month later. The hotel opened to guests at the end of March 1888, a week ahead of deadline. The Exposition opened to the public on the 8th of April.
Francesc Pau’s construction company hosted a celebratory banquet for the workers to show his appreciation for their hard work and celebrate the hotel’s completion.
The main staircase in the hotel courtyard.
The official opening of the Universal Exposition took place on the 20 May 1888, with Maria Christina, Queen Regent of Spain, acting on behalf of her son, King Alfonso XIII who was three years old at the time.
Twenty-seven countries took part in the Exposition, including China, Japan and the United States, while two million visitors travelled from the farthest reaches of the globe to explore the wonders of the Exposition.
The five storey Gran Hotel Internacional was built with a lift, access doors for pedestrians, a café, a restaurant, a shirt and glove shop, a tobacconist, a telegraph, a courtyard and large skylights to illuminate the corridors. By the time the hotel closed nine months later, it had accommodated 400,000 guests.
The hotel had always been intended as temporary accommodation for the duration of the Exposition. But by the time the Exposition closed, there was growing opposition to the hotel’s demolition.
Despite the lawsuits, the demolition order was confirmed by the Spanish Courts.
On the 1st of May,1889, just over a year after the hotel’s inauguration, the demolition began.
Stop thief!
The story of an early 20th century art theft
We first heard about the Romanesque churches of the Vall de Boí, when we were renting a house on the Spanish side of the Pyrenees. We visited the valley in autumn, when the greens were turning to rust at the approach of winter, the road twisting and winding through the spectacular mountain scenery.
Our first stop was to visit the most famous Romanesque fresco of all - the ‘Christ in Majesty’ of Sant Climent in Taüll. We would work our way back from the far end of the valley, to look at the other churches.
We arrived in Taüll at siesta time. Taüll boasts two churches. They were both closed, from one o’clock until four. We relaxed in the sun, sipping our drinks in a nearby café and admiring the views down into the valley.
As soon as the doors opened, we went in to look at Sant Climent’s famous fresco. We had admired many frescoes over the years. Most were faded or damaged, their plaster cracked or flaking.
This fresco could not be the original! The colours were bright and garish. It was too perfect.
The woman at the ticket desk told us the real ‘Christ in Majesty’ had been removed from the apse and taken to a museum in Barcelona. We couldn't believe it. Who had removed the fresco and why? Its removal seemed sacrilegious. Suddenly, a visit to the Museu Nacional d’Art de Catalunya in Barcelona became a priority.
How did the Romanesque churches of the Vall de Boí come to
be?
In the 11th century, Abbot Oliba was the driving force behind Catalonia’s new Romanesque style. He was responsible for the building of the Monastery of Santa Maria de Ripoll, the Abbey of Saint Michel de Cuixà and the Cathedral of Sant Pere de Vic. He employed nomadic stone masons known as Lombardi to build the churches, bell towers and cloisters. When their work was finished, the Lombard master-masons moved on to build the churches of the Vall de Boí.
The exterior of many of these otherwise simple churches was decorated with rounded arcading and reinforcing pilasters that projected slightly from the walls. The bell towers were square, crenelated and fortress-like, with window openings topped by semi-circular arches, divided in two or three by small columns.
Romanesque architecture found its apotheosis in the nine churches of Catalonia’s Vall de Boí.
You have probably heard of the 14th century Italian Renaissance, but did you know there was a Renaixença in Spanish Catalonia too? In the 19th century, Spanish Catalonia sought to restore its unique cultural identity by promoting the use of the Catalan language in art, theatre, literature and poetry.
In 1919, the architect and historian Lluís Domènech i Montaner made several expedition to the Pyrenees, to study the forgotten churches of the Vall de Boí. The discovery of these nine, isolated, perfectly preserved Romanesque churches, built by the Lords of Erill in the 11th and 12th century, was seen as an important addition to Catalonia’s patrimony.
A few years later, the publication of an illustrated article about this exciting discovery led to a series of unintended consequences.
The article showed reproductions of the frescoes of the church of Santa Maria de Mur and the imposing image of ‘Christ in Majesty’ that filled the church’s apse.
Ignasi Pollack, a Hungarian antiquarian art dealer, read the story and left immediately for Catalonia to negotiate the purchase of the frescoes from the church’s rector, Father Farràs.
What is al fresco painting and how is it done?
In the 11th century, when the stonework of a church was completed, the internal walls were plastered with a coarse lime mortar. The church wasn’t considered finished until the interior was given a coat of whitewash or the walls were painted with frescoes.
Fresco painting required teamwork. A tall scaffold would have to be erected to reach the apse and the top of the walls. Every morning, the artist and his assistant would climb the scaffolding with buckets of sand and slaked lime to make the mortar or intonaco. The assistant would mix the mortar and smooth a thin second layer of wet plaster over the area to be painted that day, the giornata.
The artist would outline the figures he was going to paint on the plaster surface. He would paint with pigments, ground to a fine powder by an assistant, mixed with water.
Most of the pigments were made from inorganic minerals found locally, in the Pyrenees.
Haematite for red, goethite, an iron oxide, for yellow ochre, carbon for black, calcite and gypsum for white and, most characteristic of the region, aerinite mixed with ochre, for blue and green. The azurite used for bright blues came from a copper mine in Chessy near Paris.
Expensive pigments were only used on rare occasions. Cinnabar for the colour red was imported from Al-Andalus (The Muslim-ruled area of the Iberian Peninsula). Lapis lazuli, most expensive of all, came from Afghanistan, and was reserved for mural painting in Papal Rome.
The Master of Sant Climent de Taüll painted in the traditional Byzantine style. Two-dimensional, full-frontal poses without perspective. Stylized, angular, flattened forms with sharp contours outlined in black.
The Master of Sant Climent had a unique style. In the ‘Christ in Majesty’ on the previous page, the pictorial technique he used for Christ’s cloak was closer to the traditional altar frontals (decorative panels that covered the front of the altar) than al fresco painting. The tones were graded to give a three-dimensional effect. Blue was overlayed on black to give the mantle depth, and haloes were painted white instead of gold.
Strappo is a highly skilled procedure. The fresco is covered with several layers of canvas dampened with water-soluble organic glue. By the time the layers have dried, the painting is glued to the canvas. Specialized tools are used to ensure that only the topmost layer of plaster, which has absorbed the pigments, comes away from the supporting wall.
Only after many years of experience was an apprentice considered skilled enough to paint al fresco. The mural painter worked within a limited time frame. The plaster couldn’t be too wet or too dry. He would mix his drypowder pigments with water and paint the image while the plaster was still damp. If the plaster was drying too quickly, his assistant would sprinkle the area with water. By the time the plaster dried, the colours of the pigments had been absorbed by the plaster and were permanently fixed. Some of the finer details could be added after the plaster was dry.
Removed from the wall, the canvas with its attached painting is rolled up and transported to its destination. When the time comes to transfer the fresco to a new support, the glue is diluted with hot water allowing the fresco to be separated from the canvas.
When the frescoes and plaster have bonded, how can they be removed from the wall without damage? Ignasi Pollack had the answer. There were Italian experts who could detach the fresco from the apse of Santa Maria de Mur using a technique known as strappo. .
Overleaf: Unlike miniature painting done by monks in an ecclesiastical setting, mural painting was done by laymen who traveled to undertake commissions. Mural painting required a thirteenyear apprenticeship. Apprentices began by drawing on wood, then graduated to painting stuccoed altar frontals.
Altar frontal from La Seu d’Urgell - Christ with the Apostles
The Catalans stole their own art to save it.
The arrival of the Italians shocked the Catalonian Museums Board into action. The Board tried to stop the sale and removal of the frescoes. But there was no law to prevent them being sold to an unscrupulous dealer and stripped from the church. The removal was perfectly legal. The Catalonian people were outraged. Their newly discovered patrimony was being stolen from under their noses and there was nothing they could do about it.
To pre-empt the theft of more frescoes, they decided on a drastic plan of action. They would beat the thieves at their own game by removing the frescoes from the churches of the Vall de Boí.
Pollack’s Italian experts remained in Catalonia for another three years. During that period, the valley’s frescoes were removed, one church at a time, and transferred to Barcelona’s Museu Nacional d’Art de Catalunya (MNAC).
Ignasi Pollack bought the frescoes for 7,500 pesetas and sold them to Luís Plandiura, an art collector from Barcelona, for 100,000 pesetas. Two years later, Plandiura sold the frescoes to the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston for $92,100. The frescoes were being traded for large sums of money. If nothing was done, there was a good chance many more frescoes would be stolen. The process of having the church declared a Historical Monument took too long to stop the Santa Maria de Mar frescoes from being taken out of the country. But the theft of the paintings galvanized the Catalonian authorities into protecting their heritage from further plundering.
The museum was an unexpected find as MNAC has one of the greatest collections of Romanesque and Medieval art in Europe. The museum is full of 11th, 12th and 13th century treasures, frescoes and altar frontals collected from churches all over Spanish Catalonia.
It is hard to believe paintings can be lifted from the walls of a church and moved to another location without damage. But the skill of the Italian restorers enabled them to painstakingly remove the frescoes and re-attach them onto full-scale replicas of the cupolas they had been taken from. The carpenters perfectly reconstructed the threedimensional vaults, the shape and curves of the domes.
Where a fresco had filled a curved vault, a curved vault was built to take it. The museum made no effort to hide the supporting structure. The carpentry that holds up the curved vaults is clearly visible at the back. The framework is considered part of the fresco’s history.
