The diploma thesis deals with the Catalan architecture in the years around 1900 that vitally shaped the image of the region and its capital – the city of Barcelona. The constructional principles of the Modernisme movement (Catalan: Modernisme, Spanish: Modernismo), which were contemporary with Art Nouveau, correspond to the principles of the Arts and Crafts. The main initiatives grew from the industrial development in the times of intensifying nationalist movements and the Catalan Renaissance. Both factors contributed to innovative designs expressed by rich symbolic decorations. Gothic and Mudéjar elements appeared as a manifestation of the return of the already established constructional solutions. Simultaneously, the key element of the Modernisme movement – the search for national expression – grew in significance. These common endeavours united the architects in the core of their artistic expression. The aforementioned specific cultural-historical context constituted grounds for the rise of monuments that are formally dissimilar, yet united by their principles. Here, we comment them on the examples of buildings of the leading Catalan architects – Antoni Gaudí, Lluís Dom?nech i Montaner and Josep Puig i Cadafalch.
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