Casa Calvet () is a building, designed by
Antoni Gaudí for a textile manufacturer which served as both a commercial property (in the basement and on the ground floor) and a residence. It is located at
Carrer de Casp 48,
Eixample
The Eixample (; ) is a district of Barcelona between the old city ( Ciutat Vella) and what were once surrounding small towns ( Sants, Gràcia, Sant Andreu, etc.), constructed in the 19th and early 20th centuries. Its population was 262,000 ...
district of
Barcelona
Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within ci ...
. It was built between 1898 and 1900.
Gaudí scholars agree that this building is the most conventional of his works, partly because it had to be squeezed in between older structures and partly because it was sited in one of the most elegant sections of Barcelona. Its symmetry, balance and orderly rhythm are unusual for Gaudí's works. However, the curves and double gable at the top, the projecting oriel at the entrance — almost baroque in its drama, and isolated witty details are ''modernista'' elements.
Bulging balconies alternate with smaller, shallower balconies. Mushrooms above the oriel at the center allude to the owner's favorite hobby.
Columns flanking the entrance are in the form of stacked
bobbins — an allusion to the family business of textile manufacture. Lluís Permanyer claims that "the gallery at ground level is the façade's most outstanding feature, a daring combination of wrought iron and stone in which decorative historical elements such as a cypress, an olive tree, horns of plenty, and the
Catalan coat of arms can be discerned".
Three sculpted heads at the top also allude to the owner: One is Sant Pere Màrtir Calvet i Carbonell (the owner's father) and two are patron saints of
Vilassar, Andreu Calvet's home town.
Between 1899 and 1906, the Arts Building Annual Award (Concurso annual de edificios artísticos) awarded modernist pieces, like the Casa Calvet, the
Casa Lleó Morera and the
Casa Trinxet
Casa Trinxet was a building designed by the Catalan Modernisme architect Josep Puig i Cadafalch (also architect of Casa Amatller) and built during the years 1902–1904, officially considered completed in 1904. It was located at the crossroa ...
.
References
Bibliography
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See also
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List of Modernisme buildings in Barcelona
The following is a partial list of the main '' Modernista'' (Catalan art nouveau) buildings located in Barcelona
Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community ...
{{World Heritage Sites in Catalonia
Houses completed in 1904
1900s architecture
Buildings and structures in Barcelona
Architecture of Barcelona
Palaces in Barcelona
Barcelona
Catalonia
Modernisme architecture in Barcelona
Modernisme architecture
Modernisme
Antoni Gaudí buildings
Antoni Gaudí
World Heritage Sites in Catalonia
Eixample
Art Nouveau houses
Houses in Catalonia
Houses in Spain
World Heritage Sites in Spain