Sagrada Familia, Barcelona
I am jumping ahead since today is so fresh in my mind. Some of these images are just too detailed so they may be off the page a bit. I also stole the image of the altar because I wanted to share a good image of it. It’s my blog so I can do that. Today was our first full day in Barcelona. We have been here a few times so we both decided that walking around the city and checking out the progress on La Sagrada Familia, Gaudi’s vision for a Catalonian Cathedral. The word gaudy comes from the name of the artist, Antonin Gaudi. If you were not a fan of Gaudi I think you would say anything like: If it’s worth overdoing, it can be ridiculously overdone. Like a lot of art, the world needed to catch up to the artist.
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| Painting with light |
Gaudi was a deeply religious man who devoted his entire life to the glory of God. He had some other amazing commissions but the cathedral became his raison d'être. Upon his accidental death, he was honored by the city and buried in the crypt of the work site. Knowing the church would never be finished in his lifetime, he prepared detailed plans for the completion of the project. Unfortunately, most of the plans were destroyed during the civil war. Well, it was impossible to re-imagine his vision so they decided to use a complimentary style with no similarities.
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| View of the palm trees |
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| The ceiling of interlocking palm trees |
Gaudi’s passion and inspiration for the church was the glory of God through nature. The entire structure is more or less a metaphor for life. Nature is central theme.
Although the church was started over 100 years ago, they have picked up the pace. They expected it to be completed by 2026. I remember tearing up when I saw what was essentially a worksite 15 years ago. The Passion side as well as the tree of life sides of the church were more or less complete but the interior required imagination. Much of the current work is being done on the immense spires on the outside of the church so the scene within is closer to completion.
We entered the from the Tree side and notices a few small details before entering the church. Walking inside we were greeted with light and tears. We both started to cry. How can something be this beautiful? We were both overcome with what could best be described as a whiff of ecstasy. You do not know what to think, what to say, or what to do. You are just overwhelmed. The ceiling and columns are interlocking palm trees. We saw how this was going to done but not the execution. The stained glass created large soft swaths of colored light throughout the church. It was so moving. I also discovered being 50 has its privileges. When I shush, people listen. It is like like a polite STFU. We are in a soul-touching expression of God and people are loudly prattling on. While we are at it, Daisy Dukes have no place in any church. Yes, I’m that old.
On our last visit the altar was a construction site. This time, the altarpiece was in place. I can’t comprehend envisioning the design but it was also no surprise. It is a hoop-like structure floating over the altar. It has hanging lights and vines with grapes. There is a medieval English Christmas tradition of building something somewhat similar from greenery. It seemed to float in place. In the photos it appears to tilt but that is only an illusion. The ring is parallel to the ground.
On the outside they have added more spires and will ultimately have one in the middle that planes may hit. It will be huge. Perhaps I will live to see it completed in 2026. I should be here but do we ever know?
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