Today, Google is honoring Spanish architect Antoni Gaudí, best known as the leader of the Catalan Modernism movement. He was born in Reus, in Spain’s Catalonia region in 1852.
Today’s Doodle is pretty abstract, as some people who visit the Google homepage today are surely doing a double-take. The Doodle celebrates what would we the artist’s 161st birthday. He died in 1926 after being struck by a tram.
Much of Gaudí’s work exists in Barcelona, including the Casa Vicens, Park Güell, Güell Pavilions, Palau Güell, Casa Calvet, Casa Batlló, and last but not least, the Sagrada Familia. He also has works in Tangier, León, and Sitges.
Casa Milà in Barcelona
Antoni Gaudí’s most famous work has to be the Basílica i Temple Expiatori de la Sagrada Família, better known as simply the Sagrada Família, a giant Roman Catholic church in the middle of Barcelona. Gaudí worked on the church nearly his entire career, beginning in 1883. The church is actually incomplete – when Gaudí died in 1926 it was less than 1/4th finished.
Sagrada Família was consecrated and made a minor basilica by Pope Benedict back in 2010. It is also a UNESCO World Heritage Site, one of seven total designed by Gaudí.
Sagrada Família in Barcelona
