Palau Guell 1886 to 88 Gaudi Barcelona Spain DSC01413 is a photograph by Greg Kluempers which was uploaded on December 31st, 2013.
Palau Guell 1886 to 88 Gaudi Barcelona Spain DSC01413
The Palau Güell (Catalan pronunciation: [pəˈɫaw ˈɣweʎ], English: Güell Palace) is a mansion designed by the architect Antoni Gaudí for the... more
Title
Palau Guell 1886 to 88 Gaudi Barcelona Spain DSC01413
Artist
Greg Kluempers
Medium
Photograph - Photography
Description
The Palau Güell (Catalan pronunciation: [pəˈɫaw ˈɣweʎ], English: Güell Palace) is a mansion designed by the architect Antoni Gaudí for the industrial tycoon Eusebi Güell. It is situated in the Carrer Nou de la Rambla, in the El Raval neighbourhood of the city of Barcelona in Catalonia, Spain. It is part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site "Works of Antoni Gaudí".
The home is centered on a main room for entertaining high society guests. Guests entered the home in horse-drawn carriages through the front iron gates, which featured a parabolic arch and intricate patterns of forged iron-work resembling seaweed and in some parts a horsewhip. Animals could be taken down a ramp and kept in the livery stable in the basement where the servants resided, while the guests went up the stairs to the receiving room. The ornate walls and ceilings of the receiving room disguised small viewing windows high on the walls where the owners of the home could view their guests from the upper floor and get a 'sneak peek' before greeting them, in case they needed to adjust their attire accordingly.
The main party room has a high ceiling with small holes near the top where lanterns were hung at night from the outside to give the appearance of a starlit sky.
In 2004, visits by the public were completely suspended due to renovations; some of the stone used in the original construction was weak and has cracked over the years causing structural problems within the building. As of 1 February 2008, Palau Güell was partially reopened to the public, with access to limited parts of the building only. It is currently completely open with all restoration work completed in April 2011.
It was used in Antonioni's film The Passenger as a backdrop for the first meeting between Jack Nicholson and Maria Schneider.
Uploaded
December 31st, 2013
Comments (3)
Jane Linders
Great shot. I know how difficult it was to get this shot. Love the description too!
Greg Kluempers replied:
Thanks Jane. For a lot of my images I got to Wikipedia and find some background/history information.