Antoni Gaudí, perhaps more than any other architect, represents the triumph of genius. Not because his designs are better than anyone else’s (though some might argue they are), but because they are so utterly idiosyncratic yet so monumentally visible in the city of Barcelona. Gaudí’s intensely personal vision prevailed in a field that, because of its visibility, has a tendency toward conformity. Gaudí, though, is not just tolerated but celebrated — indeed, funded, in the case of Sagrada Familia’s continuing construction.
Here’s a stroll through his greatness.