The Casa Lleó Morera () is a building designed by noted

modernisme ''Modernisme'' (, Catalan for "modernism"), also known as Catalan modernism and Catalan art nouveau, is the historiographic denomination given to an art and literature movement associated with the search of a new entitlement of Catalan cultur ...

architect

Lluís Domènech i Montaner Lluís Domènech i Montaner (; 21 December 1850 – 27 December 1923) was a Spanish architect who was highly influential on '' Modernisme català'', the Catalan Art Nouveau/Jugendstil movement. He was also a Catalan politician. Born in Barcelon ...

, located at Passeig de Gràcia 35 in the

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 c ...

. In 1902 Francesca Morera assigned

to remodel ancient "casa Rocamora", built in 1864. She died in 1904, and the building was named after her son, Albert Lleó i Morera. The building is located on the corner of Carrer del Consell de Cent, and is one of the three important buildings of Barcelona's

Illa de la Discòrdia The Illa de la Discòrdia () or Mansana de la Discòrdia — "Block of Discord"; es, Manzana de la Discordia — is a city block on Passeig de Gràcia in the Eixample district of Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. The block is noted for havin ...

("Block of Discord"), and it is the only building of the block awarded Barcelona's town council's Arts Building Annual Award (Concurso anual de edificios artísticos), obtained in 1906. The building lost some of its most representative elements, such as the ''tempietto'' on its top (now restored) and the ground floor and mezzanine's architectural sculpture. The building is also known as the residence of

Cuban Cuban may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Cuba, a country in the Caribbean * Cubans, people from Cuba, or of Cuban descent ** Cuban exile, a person who left Cuba for political reasons, or a descendant thereof * Cuban citizen, a pers ...

Catalan Catalan may refer to: Catalonia From, or related to Catalonia: * Catalan language, a Romance language * Catalans, an ethnic group formed by the people from, or with origins in, Northern or southern Catalonia Places * 13178 Catalan, asteroid #1 ...

photographer

Pau Audouard Pau AudouardThe first name is sometimes given as "Paul" (especially in French publications) or as "Pablo" (in some Spanish works); the last name is sometimes also given as "Adouard". (1857–1918)FotoCultura.com: Diccionario de Fotografia, Fo ...

The building

The building was not only the result of an architectural project, but —common practice in Catalan modernism architecture—, several artists collaborated with

Domènech i Montaner Domènech () is a common Catalan surname. Its variants are Domènec, Domenech and Doménech. It can also be found sometimes as a given name. People As surname *Adrián Domenech, a retired Argentine football player and former coach of Argentinos ...

so as to make a complete artwork, inspired in natural and organic motifs: Lluís Bru and Mario Maragliano were responsible of the mosaic work, Eusebi Arnau made the sculptures, Antoni Serra i Fiter elaborated the ceramics, and Gaspar Homar designed the decoration and the furniture. Illustration of the entrance. It has been considered that Morera's family wanted to leave trace of their lineage with the continuous references to their family name (''Morera'', which means ''mulberry tree'' in English) in the decoration. Some examples are the mulberry tree found in the patio, the mulberry motifs of the door handles or the portraits made by Antoni Serra in the second floor. The façade and ground floor of the building were decorated with big and varied modernist ornaments, with some outstanding sculptures by Eusebi Arnau surrounding the entrance, which represented two couples of feminine figures holding vases. Those sculptures were installed on double pairs of columns made of

pink marble Pink is the color of a namesake flower that is a pale tint of red. It was first used as a color name in the late 17th century. According to surveys in Europe and the United States, pink is the color most often associated with charm, politeness, ...

, and under the gallery of the first floor, other feminine heads could be found. On the first floor, aside the windows, two couples of feminine figures can also be found, showing several objects related to the technological improvements made in that period, such as the

phonograph A phonograph, in its later forms also called a gramophone (as a trademark since 1887, as a generic name in the UK since 1910) or since the 1940s called a record player, or more recently a turntable, is a device for the mechanical and analogu ...

electricity Electricity is the set of physical phenomena associated with the presence and motion of matter that has a property of electric charge. Electricity is related to magnetism, both being part of the phenomenon of electromagnetism, as describe ...

telephone A telephone is a telecommunications device that permits two or more users to conduct a conversation when they are too far apart to be easily heard directly. A telephone converts sound, typically and most efficiently the human voice, into e ...

and

photography Photography is the art, application, and practice of creating durable images by recording light, either electronically by means of an image sensor, or chemically by means of a light-sensitive material such as photographic film. It is emplo ...

. Barcelona's official chronicler Lluís Permanyer stated that this building is like "a scaled

Palau de la Música Catalana Palau de la Música Catalana (, en, Palace of Catalan Music) is a concert hall in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. Designed in the Catalan '' modernista'' style by the architect Lluís Domènech i Montaner, it was built between 1905 and 1908 for ...

." The building has been considered one of the best examples of

modernisme architecture ''Modernisme'' (, Catalan for "modernism"), also known as Catalan modernism and Catalan art nouveau, is the historiographic denomination given to an art and literature movement associated with the search of a new entitlement of Catalan culture ...

, but

Noucentisme Noucentisme in Catalonia (, ''noucentista'' being its adjective) was a Catalan cultural movement of the early 20th century that originated largely as a reaction against Modernisme, both in art and ideology, and was, simultaneously, a perception ...

supporters performed several modifications to the original structure. In 1943, Raimon Duran i Reynals signed a refurbishing project for the ground floor, designed by Francisco Ferrer Bartolomé according to an assignment by Loewe so as to open a store. This project included the disappearance of the modernist windows and the ground floor feminine modernist plant boxes made by Eusebi Arnau, which were destroyed on the sidewalk using picks. The building caretaker later recovered the feminine heads, which were sold to

Salvador Dalí Salvador Domingo Felipe Jacinto Dalí i Domènech, Marquess of Dalí of Púbol (; ; ; 11 May 190423 January 1989) was a Spanish Surrealism, surrealist artist renowned for his technical skill, precise draftsmanship, and the striking and bizarr ...

, who installed them in Figuere's Teatre-Museu Dalí's patio. In the mid-1980s, architect

Òscar Tusquets Oscar Tusquets Blanca, (born 1941 in Barcelona) is a Spanish architect. Selected works ;Urbanism: * Del Liceu al Seminari, 1980-81 * Convent dels Àngels area, 1983 * Avinguda de la Catedral, 1986 * Olympic Village An Olympic Village is an a ...

was commissioned to restore the building. The

pinnacle A pinnacle is an architectural element originally forming the cap or crown of a buttress or small turret, but afterwards used on parapets at the corners of towers and in many other situations. The pinnacle looks like a small spire. It was mainly ...

s and the tempietto at the top of the structure, severely damaged by

machine gun A machine gun is a fully automatic, rifled autoloading firearm designed for sustained direct fire with rifle cartridges. Other automatic firearms such as automatic shotguns and automatic rifles (including assault rifles and battle rifles) a ...

s during the

Spanish civil war The Spanish Civil War ( es, Guerra Civil Española)) or The Revolution ( es, La Revolución, link=no) among Nationalists, the Fourth Carlist War ( es, Cuarta Guerra Carlista, link=no) among Carlists, and The Rebellion ( es, La Rebelión, lin ...

were restored, and the ground floor damage was partially recovered. The building underwent another restoration process in 1992, and was bought by Grupo Núñez y Navarro in 2006, responsible for another restoration operation. In 2007 the building was put on the Art Nouveau European Route. In April 2012 the most recent restoration project was completed, focused on the ground floor. Several elements such as the carriage entrance, several columns and some mosaics were recovered.

Gallery

File:DiM-LleoMorera-0116.jpg, Sculpture by Eusebi Arnau, holding a

File:Casa Lleó Morera - 003.jpg, Third floor gallery File:Casa Lleó Morera - 005.jpg, Second floor balcony File:Casa Lleó Morera 01.jpg, Tempietto at the top of the building File:DiM Lleo Morera 9824.jpg, Mosaic in the ceiling of the Tempietto File:126 Saló del pis principal de la casa Lleó Morera.jpg, Main Floor Saloon by Gaspar Homar, conserved at

Museu Nacional d'Art de Catalunya The Museu Nacional d'Art de Catalunya (, English: "National Art Museum of Catalonia"), abbreviated as MNAC, is a museum of Catalan visual art located in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. Situated on Montjuïc hill at the end of Avinguda de la Reina Ma ...

. File:Casa Lleo i Morera Primer Pis.JPG, Stained glass gallery, first floor File:Casa Lleo i Morera.JPG, vestibule

References

Bibliography

External links

Barcelona Tourist Guide: Casa Lleó-Morera
{{DEFAULTSORT:Casa Morera Buildings and structures in Barcelona Lluís Domènech i Montaner buildings Eixample Passeig de Gràcia Art Nouveau houses Houses completed in 1906 Houses in Catalonia Modernisme architecture in Barcelona 1906 establishments in Spain

The building

Gallery

See also

References

Bibliography

External links