Artigas Gardens
Encyclopedia
The Artigas Gardens are a park in Lillet
, province of Barcelona, Spain
. Built between 1905 and 1906, and were designed by the modernist
architect
Antoni Gaudí
.
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In 1905, Gaudí travelled to Lillet to build the chalet of Catllaràs, a mountain refuge for the engineers of the coal mine that supplied the Asland cement plant in the nearby municipality of Castellar de n'Hug
. The cement plant was owned by Eusebi Güell
, a rich industrialist
who was Gaudí's principal patron
. While in Lillet, Gaudí stayed in the house of the textile magnate, Joan Artigas i Alart, who had an estate named Font de la Magnèsia, on the Llobregat
river. As thanks for the hospitality of Mr. Artigas, Gaudí designed these gardens for him.
Gaudí had done a similar project, although on a smaller scale, at Park Güell
which he was then building in the Gràcia
District of Barcelona
. He sent some of Park Güell's workers to Lillet, and the resulting stylistic and structural similarities between the two locations are obvious. As he did with Parc Güell, Gaudí designed the Artigas Gardens fully integrated with the surrounding natural environment. He also built an artificial grotto, a typical Gaudí hallmark, like the one he had designed for the cascade of the Parc de la Ciutadella
.
Gaudí designed the garden for the visitor, with a path highlighting several places of interest:
As with so many others of his works, Gaudí filled the gardens with Christian symbols. For these gardens, he took the symbols from the four gospel
s. Tetramorph
images are found throughout the park: the angel
of Saint Matthew
at la Cascada; the eagle
of Saint John
at the Coix arch bridge, which crosses the Llobregat river; the lion
of Saint Mark
at la Pèrgola; and the bull
of Saint Luke
at the Bull Fountain. These four images are situated in the form of a cross
.
By the end of 1971, the gardens were practically abandoned when an article about the Gardens was published which brought Gaudí's authorship to light. In 1992, they were restored under the supervision of the Reial Càtedra Gaudí. The current sculptures are the work of Ramon Millet i Domènech. The gardens are now owned by the municipality and are open to the public.
La Pobla de Lillet
La Pobla de Lillet is a municipality in the comarca of the Berguedà inCatalonia. It is located in the upper valley of the Llobregat river and is linked to Guardiola de Berguedà by Road B-402....
, province of Barcelona, Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
. Built between 1905 and 1906, and were designed by the modernist
Modernism
Modernism, in its broadest definition, is modern thought, character, or practice. More specifically, the term describes the modernist movement, its set of cultural tendencies and array of associated cultural movements, originally arising from wide-scale and far-reaching changes to Western society...
architect
Architect
An architect is a person trained in the planning, design and oversight of the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to offer or render services in connection with the design and construction of a building, or group of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the...
Antoni Gaudí
Antoni Gaudí
Antoni Gaudí i Cornet was a Spanish Catalan architect and figurehead of Catalan Modernism. Gaudí's works reflect his highly individual and distinctive style and are largely concentrated in the Catalan capital of Barcelona, notably his magnum opus, the Sagrada Família.Much of Gaudí's work was...
.
History and description
Castellar de n'Hug
Castellar de n'Hug is a municipality in the comarca of the Berguedà inCatalonia. It is situated on the southern slopes of the pyrenean range of the Creueta. TheLlobregat river has its source on the territory of the municipality...
. The cement plant was owned by Eusebi Güell
Eusebi Güell
Eusebi Güell i Bacigalupi, 1st Count of Güell was a Catalan entrepreneur who profited greatly from the industrial revolution in Catalonia in the late 19th century...
, a rich industrialist
Business magnate
A business magnate, sometimes referred to as a capitalist, czar, mogul, tycoon, baron, oligarch, or industrialist, is an informal term used to refer to an entrepreneur who has reached prominence and derived a notable amount of wealth from a particular industry .-Etymology:The word magnate itself...
who was Gaudí's principal patron
Patronage
Patronage is the support, encouragement, privilege, or financial aid that an organization or individual bestows to another. In the history of art, arts patronage refers to the support that kings or popes have provided to musicians, painters, and sculptors...
. While in Lillet, Gaudí stayed in the house of the textile magnate, Joan Artigas i Alart, who had an estate named Font de la Magnèsia, on the Llobregat
Llobregat
The Llobregat is the second longest river in Catalonia, Spain. It originates in Castellar de n'Hug at an altitude of 1,259 meters in the Serra del Cadí, and ends in the Mediterranean Sea, in the municipality of El Prat de Llobregat, near Barcelona...
river. As thanks for the hospitality of Mr. Artigas, Gaudí designed these gardens for him.
Gaudí had done a similar project, although on a smaller scale, at Park Güell
Park Güell
Park Güell is a garden complex with architectural elements situated on the hill of El Carmel in the Gràcia district of Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. It was designed by the Catalan architect Antoni Gaudí and built in the years 1900 to 1914...
which he was then building in the Gràcia
Gràcia
Gràcia is a district of the city of Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. It comprises the neighborhoods of Vila de Gràcia, Vallcarca i els Penitents, El Coll, La Salut and Camp d'en Grassot i Gràcia Nova. Gràcia is bordered by the districts of Eixample to the south, Sarrià-Sant Gervasi to the west and...
District of Barcelona
Barcelona
Barcelona is the second largest city in Spain after Madrid, and the capital of Catalonia, with a population of 1,621,537 within its administrative limits on a land area of...
. He sent some of Park Güell's workers to Lillet, and the resulting stylistic and structural similarities between the two locations are obvious. As he did with Parc Güell, Gaudí designed the Artigas Gardens fully integrated with the surrounding natural environment. He also built an artificial grotto, a typical Gaudí hallmark, like the one he had designed for the cascade of the Parc de la Ciutadella
Parc de la Ciutadella
The Parc de la Ciutadella is a park in Ciutat Vella, Barcelona, Spain. After its establishment during the mid 19 century, it was for decades the only green area in the city, and hitherto of the most popular...
.
Gaudí designed the garden for the visitor, with a path highlighting several places of interest:
- La Glorieta, situated in a higher location, functioning as an overlook
- La Cova, original site of the Font de la Magnèsia, where Gaudí used catenaryCatenaryIn physics and geometry, the catenary is the curve that an idealised hanging chain or cable assumes when supported at its ends and acted on only by its own weight. The curve is the graph of the hyperbolic cosine function, and has a U-like shape, superficially similar in appearance to a parabola...
archArchAn arch is a structure that spans a space and supports a load. Arches appeared as early as the 2nd millennium BC in Mesopotamian brick architecture and their systematic use started with the Ancient Romans who were the first to apply the technique to a wide range of structures.-Technical aspects:The...
es, one of his most common construction elements - La Cascada, a stone fountain in the shape of a typical Gaudi "trencadísTrencadísTrencadís is a type of mosaic created from broken tile shards. The technique is also called pique assiette.This mosaic is done thanks to broken pieces of ceramic like tiles and cups, for instance.Antoni Gaudí was the first to use this technique...
", decorated with plant motifs made of steel reinforced concrete - El Berenador, at the side of the Arch Bridge, which has two human forms, one male and the other female. Also featured on the Glorieta path are the forms of entwined snakes made of conglomerateConglomerate (geology)A conglomerate is a rock consisting of individual clasts within a finer-grained matrix that have become cemented together. Conglomerates are sedimentary rocks consisting of rounded fragments and are thus differentiated from breccias, which consist of angular clasts...
.
As with so many others of his works, Gaudí filled the gardens with Christian symbols. For these gardens, he took the symbols from the four gospel
Gospel
A gospel is an account, often written, that describes the life of Jesus of Nazareth. In a more general sense the term "gospel" may refer to the good news message of the New Testament. It is primarily used in reference to the four canonical gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John...
s. Tetramorph
Tetramorph
A tetramorph is a symbolic arrangement of four differing elements, or the combination of four disparate elements in one unit. The term is derived from the Greek tetra, meaning four, and morph, shape....
images are found throughout the park: the angel
Angel
Angels are mythical beings often depicted as messengers of God in the Hebrew and Christian Bibles along with the Quran. The English word angel is derived from the Greek ἄγγελος, a translation of in the Hebrew Bible ; a similar term, ملائكة , is used in the Qur'an...
of Saint Matthew
Matthew the Evangelist
Matthew the Evangelist was, according to the Bible, one of the twelve Apostles of Jesus and one of the four Evangelists.-Identity:...
at la Cascada; the eagle
Eagle
Eagles are members of the bird family Accipitridae, and belong to several genera which are not necessarily closely related to each other. Most of the more than 60 species occur in Eurasia and Africa. Outside this area, just two species can be found in the United States and Canada, nine more in...
of Saint John
John the Apostle
John the Apostle, John the Apostle, John the Apostle, (Aramaic Yoħanna, (c. 6 - c. 100) was one of the Twelve Apostles of Jesus. He was the son of Zebedee and Salome, and brother of James, another of the Twelve Apostles...
at the Coix arch bridge, which crosses the Llobregat river; the lion
Lion
The lion is one of the four big cats in the genus Panthera, and a member of the family Felidae. With some males exceeding 250 kg in weight, it is the second-largest living cat after the tiger...
of Saint Mark
Mark the Evangelist
Mark the Evangelist is the traditional author of the Gospel of Mark. He is one of the Seventy Disciples of Christ, and the founder of the Church of Alexandria, one of the original four main sees of Christianity....
at la Pèrgola; and the bull
Bull
Bull usually refers to an uncastrated adult male bovine.Bull may also refer to:-Entertainment:* Bull , an original show on the TNT Network* "Bull" , an episode of television series CSI: Crime Scene Investigation...
of Saint Luke
Luke the Evangelist
Luke the Evangelist was an Early Christian writer whom Church Fathers such as Jerome and Eusebius said was the author of the Gospel of Luke and the Acts of the Apostles...
at the Bull Fountain. These four images are situated in the form of a cross
Cross
A cross is a geometrical figure consisting of two lines or bars perpendicular to each other, dividing one or two of the lines in half. The lines usually run vertically and horizontally; if they run obliquely, the design is technically termed a saltire, although the arms of a saltire need not meet...
.
By the end of 1971, the gardens were practically abandoned when an article about the Gardens was published which brought Gaudí's authorship to light. In 1992, they were restored under the supervision of the Reial Càtedra Gaudí. The current sculptures are the work of Ramon Millet i Domènech. The gardens are now owned by the municipality and are open to the public.