Domènech i Montaner, Lluis

b. 1850, Barcelona; d. 1923, Barcelona

   Architect

   Domènech i Montaner was the moving force behind Catalan Modernism, which has left such an important architectural heritage in contemporary Catalonia. The enormous influence that he exercised between 1880 and 1910 was due primarily to his work as an architect, but he also participated in the community life of his time as political leader, teacher and stimulator of Catalan cultural life. In his erudition and his forward-looking vision of the development of architecture in Catalonia, he was well ahead of his time. As early as 1878, at the age of 28, he published in the journal La Renaixansa the founding text of Catalan Modernism "In Search of a National Architecture". The three major themes of Domènech's thinking are: to maintain a creative contact with past traditions in the plastic arts of previous periods, to support technical progress and to invent new global forms which both embrace other artistic disciplines and adapt to changes in society. As Director of the Architecture School of Barcelona from 1901, Domènech was in a strong position to mould future generations of architects in accordance with his principles, and he trained a large number of pupils.

   His architectural work developed from an eclectic approach, with a strong mujédar (Moorish) influence, exemplified in the head office of the publishing firm Montaner i Simon (1880, Barcelona), towards a purer and more formally adventurous style. The best known of his creations is the Palau de la Musica (Barcelona Concert Hall, 1905–8), situated in the heart of the Gothic quarter of the city. Domènech intended the building, functional in design and innovative in construction, to be a demonstration of the "fusion of the arts", which made it a symbol of European Art at the dawn of the new century. The best artists and craftsmen of the day came together to decorate it with a great wealth of sculptures, paintings, mosaics, panelling, works in metal and especially glass, the centrepiece being a huge glass sculpture which dominated the recital hall. Domènech's influence is felt to this day, and determines the architectural character of several Catalan towns and cities, where he designed other buildings based on similar aesthetic principles, the most remarkable of them being the Casa Lleó Morera (1903–5, Barcelona), the Casa Navas (1901–7, Reus) and the Gran Hotel of Palma de Mallorca (1902–12). Other creations demonstrate a modern under-standing of the problems of town planning: the café-restaurant of the Parc de la Ciutadel·la (1888, Barcelona, now the Museum of Zoology), the Casa Fuster (1908, Barcelona) and in particular two large hospitals conceived as independent urban units, the Institut Pere Mata of Reus (1897–1919) and the Hospital de Sant Pau of Barcelona (1902–12).

   See also: architects; architecture

   Further reading

   - Loyer, F. (1991) L'art nouveau en Catalogne, Paris: Biblio. Arts, Le Septième Fou.

   - Moldoveanu, M. (1996) Barcelona: Architectures of Exuberance, Barcelona: Lunwerg (an overview of different periods and styles, richly illustrated with photographs by the author).

   MIHAIL MOLDOVEANU