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Primary sourceArtifact1878

Sketch of the Comella Display Case

Antoni Gaudí · 1878

A quick pencil-and-ink sketch by Antoni Gaudí from 1878, drawn on the back of a visiting card, showing his early design work.

An early sketch drawn by Gaudí himself, showing his design practice at age 26.

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Pencil and ink sketch on paper with three drawings of a display case: on the left a front elevation of an ornate case with a canopy and a figure inside, in the center a side elevation, and on the right a plan view with a diamond-shaped grid pattern. A label reads 327 in the upper right corner.
Antoni Gaudí, sketch of the Comella display case, 1878.

About this source

What it is

This is a small sketch made by Antoni Gaudí in 1878, drawn on the reverse of one of his own visiting cards. It shows three views of a display case: a front elevation with a canopy and figure, a side elevation, and a plan view with a diamond grid pattern.

Why it matters

Gaudí was only in his mid-twenties when he made this drawing, early in his career before his famous buildings. It shows how he thought through design problems from several angles at once, and how ordinary objects, like a visiting card, could become a surface for his ideas.

Look closer

  • Why might Gaudí have sketched on a visiting card instead of regular paper?
  • What do the three different views tell you about how he worked out his designs?
  • What does this sketch suggest about Gaudí's attention to detail, even in small commissions?

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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