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Primary sourceArtifact1883-1885

Casa Vicens

Antoni Gaudí · 1883-1885

Gaudí's first major commission, a Barcelona house built in an Orientalist, tile-covered style showing his early design language.

This house was Gaudí's first major commission, showing his early architectural style.

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Front facade of Casa Vicens, a colorful brick and tile house in Barcelona with striped checkered towers, red and white banding, brown stone-like panels, ornate wrought-iron balconies, and a blue sky above.
Antoni Gaudí, Casa Vicens, 1883-1885. Barcelona, Spain.

About this source

What it is

Casa Vicens is a house in Barcelona's Gràcia neighbourhood, built between 1883 and 1885 to designs Antoni Gaudí had drawn up a few years earlier. It was his first major project, built in an Orientalist style influenced by Islamic and Mudéjar architecture, with heavy use of ceramic tile, Moorish-style arches and brick columns.

Why it matters

The house marks the start of Gaudí's career and his 'orientalist period', when he drew on Near Eastern and Islamic art for inspiration before developing his later, more organic style. It caused a sensation when built and shows how a young, newly graduated architect could already be experimenting boldly. The house was later extended by Gaudí's protégé Joan Baptista Serra after Gaudí declined the commission himself.

Look closer

  • What features show the influence of Islamic or Asian art rather than traditional European styles?
  • Why might a young architect choose such an unusual style for his first big commission?
  • How might the use of ceramic tile have been both decorative and practical?

This artifact is part of the curated material that grounds the AI version of Antonio Gaudí on Humy.ai — when students ask about related events, the AI can quote it and cite it.

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