BY: DAVID CRICKS

Antoni Gaudi

Birth Antoni Plàcid Guillem Gaudí Cornet was born

on Wednesday, June 25, 1852, at nine-thirty AM in Baix Camp, in the province of Tarragona. Some historians say that he was born in "Mas de la Calderera," his family's country home almost exactly halfway between Reus and Riudoms. Others say he was born in Reus. The truth is that nobody has definitive evidence.

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AntoniGaudi’s Siblings

Childhood From the time he was small, he had a rheumatic

problem that prevented him from playing with other children his age, and required him to move about on a donkey or stay at home, because the pain kept him from walking. It also made him miss lots of class, which allowed him to spend many hours observing animals, plants and stones. This sickness was with him throughout his life, and doctors recommended a vegetarian diet and occasional strolls; this may be the reason that, when he was older and lived in Barcelona, he walked every evening to the church of Sant Felip Neri, where he stayed for awhile to pray.

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Sorry I could not find any childhood pics

Youth In order to pay for his education, his father had

to sell a family property, and Gaudí himself had to work for some Barcelona builders. As a student, his first projects were drafting for Professor Francisco de Paula Villar, working on the apse and niche of the church of the Monastery of Montserrat; with builder Fontseré, on the Ciutadella; and precision-drafting the machines of the Padrós i Borrás company.

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One of Gaudi’s firstDrafts

Education Antoni was an architectural student at the Escola

Tècnica Superior d'Arquitectura in Barcelona form 1873 to 1877, Gaudí was not excellent, but did outstanding in his “Trial drawings and projects”. After five years of work, he was awarded the title of architect in 1878. The newly-named architect immediately began to plan and design and would remain affiliated with the school his entire life. The majority of his work can be found in Barcelona. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antoni_Gaud%C3%AD#Higher_education

Gaudi’sHigh school

Gaudi’s Collage

Military Service He fulfilled his military service requirement from

1874-77. His file reveals that he was a draftsman, but doesn't mention his place of birth. He enlisted at the age of 22 (July 7, 1874) and was assigned to the Army Infantry in Barcelona, where he continued in December, 1876, as assistant in Military Administration. He paid 37.25 pesetas for the uniform. He was declared Benemérito de la Patria ("Glorious Son of the Motherland") at the end of the carlist civil war, even though he was never in combat.

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What Gaudi would of looked like before entering the military.

Popularity Gaudí's originality was at first ridiculed by his

peers. Indeed, he was first only supported by the rich industrialist Eusebi Güell. His fellow citizens referred to the Casa Milà as La Pedrera ("the quarry"), and George Orwell, who stayed in Barcelona during the Spanish Civil War, admittedly loathed his work. As time passed, though, his work became more famous. He stands as one of history's most original architects.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antoni_Gaud%C3%AD#In_popular_culture

One of Gaudi’sMost famous works

Later Years Gaudí was a devout Catholic, to the point that in his

later years he abandoned secular work and devoted his life to Catholicism and his Sagrada Família. He designed it to have 18 towers, 12 for the 12 apostles, 4 for the 4 evangelists, one for Mary and one for Jesus. Soon after, his closest family and friends began to die. His works slowed to a halt, and his attitude changed completely about architecture.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antoni_Gaud%C3%AD#Later_years

The Sagrada Família

Death In his old age, Gaudí was a man that was conformed

with little and dressed without much care; so much so that the day of his accident nobody recognized him as he lay on the ground. On June 7, 1926, at the age of 74 he was run over by a train at the intersection of Carrer de Bailén and the Gran Vía, and the taxi drivers refused to take a poor vagabond to the hospital (the municipal police fined them later for not assisting an injured man). He did not seek out contact with journalists and he avoided cameras, so there are few photographs of the architect.

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Gaudi at a very old age

The End