The Sagrada Familia by Gijs van Hensbergen

Author:Gijs van Hensbergen
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: BLOOMSBURY PUBLISHING

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Gaudí’s untimely death might well have sounded the death knell for the costly Sagrada Família. It was a project that appeared as if it might never end. Its guiding spirit and inspiration, its driving force and unflagging source of energy and optimism, even during the darkest of days, was no longer there to light the way. After the eulogies to Gaudí had been read and his genius proclaimed, reality and the cold facts had to be faced. Over the years the Sagrada Família had occasionally run into financial difficulties. Again and again the project was saved at the last minute by donations that kept the deliveries of materials coming in and the builders on site. Who can now judge whether these acts of charity had been in part a reward for Gaudí’s dogged perseverance and the recognition of his genius, rather than a passionate devotion to the Sagrada Família per se?

It would be wrong not to remember and acknowledge the uncomfortable fact that Gaudí and the Modernista style were rapidly falling out of fashion. Decorative detailing and obsession with overfussy ornament was distinctly passé and depressingly reminiscent of the dark days of the nineteenth century. Nevertheless, there were still some who were prepared to swim against the tide and the seductive allure of fashion, and celebrate the unique qualities of Gaudí’s vision and style. The multitudes who had attended Gaudí’s funeral offered a genuine outpouring of their emotions in tribute to his extraordinary contribution and his central position in the formation of a Catalan cultural identity which celebrated the sacred trinity of craft, creativity and Catholicism. The danger of recognising Gaudí, however, as the true apotheosis of Catalan genius, was that without him nothing could ever be the same. With Gaudí gone, who was there to pick up the mantle?

It is perhaps all too easy to play the game of ‘What if?’ The long autumn of 1926, following Gaudí’s death, offered ample time for reflection. Not just time to measure Gaudí’s legacy and his originality but also to see whether the Sagrada Família could continue without his peculiar charisma, driving dedication and the loyalty of his team. Gaudí’s death offered a legitimate chance to take stock and totally rethink a build that had been swallowing up funds while moving forward at a painfully slow pace. It would not be the first time that a governing board like the Asociación’s Junta de Obras would use a fortuitous moment to totally change direction or even pull the plug. Was this perhaps a great opportunity for the bishopric of Barcelona to capitalise on the confusion and impose their wishes on this private body? Were the Devotion and the Sagrada Família still in tune with the larger picture of Vatican policy, or had the catastrophe of the Great War dramatically changed its priorities? Finally, might the Vatican now get involved with the Sagrada Família in a more proactive way?

These were issues that needed thinking through, but there were also more pressing and practical considerations to take into account.

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