We are delighted to welcome Antoni Gaudí to our Embellished Manuscripts Collection!
Antoni Gaudí was a Spanish architect who was known as a leading figure in Modernism. His style is characterized by the depiction of organic forms and extraordinary mosaics.
Gaudí rarely drew detailed plans of his works, instead preferring to create them as three-dimensional scale models and moulding the details as he conceived them. As such Gaudí left very few written documents, many of which were destroyed during the Spanish Civil War (1936–1939).
Reproduced here is the Manuscrito de Reus (Manuscript of Reus), the only remaining written document of Gaudi’s, alongside mosaics from his iconic salamander sculpture and an image of the Basílica de la Sagrada Familia, Gaudí’s architectural masterpiece.
The notebook is a kind of student diary in which he collected diverse impressions of architecture and decorating, putting forward his ideas on the subject. Included are an analysis of the Christian church and of his ancestral home, as well as a text about ornamentation and comments on the design of a desk. The manuscript is now kept at Reus Museum in his native Catalonia.
This cover allows one to experience the genius that was Gaudí and hold a piece of his vision in their own hands.
Gaudi, The Manuscript of Reus is available as hardcover journal, document folder, and bookmark.
