The Sagrada Familia: The Astonishing Story of Gaudí's Unfinished Masterpiece (Hardcover) (ISBN-13: 9781632867810)

An illuminating biography of one of the most famous--and most famously unfinished--buildings in the world, the Sagrada Familia of Barcelona.

The scaffolding-cloaked spires of Antoni Gaudí's masterpiece, the Sagrada Familia, dominate the Barcelona skyline and draw in millions of visitors every year. More than a century after the first stone was laid in 1882, the Sagrada Familia remains unfinished, a testament to Gaudí's quixotic ambition, his religious devotion, and the sensuous eccentricity of his design. It has defied the critics, the penny-pinching accountants, the conservative town-planners, and the devotees of sterile modernism. It has enchanted and frustrated the citizens of Barcelona. And it has passed through the landmark changes of twentieth-century Spain, surviving two World Wars, the ravages of the Spanish Civil War, and the "Hunger Years" of Franco's rule.

Gijs van Hensbergen's The Sagrada Familia explores the evolution of this remarkable building, working through the decades right up to the present day before looking beyond to the final stretch of its construction. Rich in detail and vast in scope, this is a revelatory chronicle of an iconic structure, its place in history, and the wild genius that created it.

Author: Gijs Van Hensbergen
ISBN-10: 1632867818
ISBN-13: 9781632867810
Publisher: Bloomsbury USA
Language: English
Published: 07/25/2017
Pages: 224
Format: Hardcover
Weight: 0.83lbs
Size: 8.30h x 5.40w x 0.90d

Review Citation(s):
Kirkus Reviews 03/01/2017
Publishers Weekly 03/20/2017
Shelf Awareness 07/28/2017