CASA AMATLLER

Description

Essentials about Casa Amatller in brief

Casa Amatller (Amatller House) is one of the most famous houses in Barcelona. Built in 1875 on the boulevard Passeig de Gràcia, the residential and commercial building was rebuilt at the end of the 19th century by the famous architect Josep Puig i Cadafalch in the style of Catalan Art Nouveau (Modernisme) and since then has become one of the most interesting and important buildings in Barcelona in terms of cultural history.

The Block of Discord

The fact that the Casa Amatller is one of the most photographed houses in Barcelona is also due to the fact that right next to it are two other houses by famous Catalan architects from the Modernist period: Casa Batlló by Anton Gaudí and Casa Lleó Morera by Lluís Domènech i Montaner. Because of their competition and the different styles of the three star architects, the ensemble of buildings is often referred to as the “Block of Discord” or the “Apple of Discord.” To this day, architects and architecture enthusiasts argue over which of the three houses is the most beautiful.

The history of Casa Amatller

In the second half of the 19th century, the Passeig de Gràcia developed into a noble boulevard and became the preferred address of wealthy families. With luxurious city residences, the Catalan bourgeoisie wanted to express its strengthened self-confidence after the Industrial Revolution had brought about a great economic upswing in Barcelona. Modernism seemed to be an appropriate means of expression for many wealthy bourgeois families, as it was particularly typical for Catalonia and linked modernity with the ideals of the Catalan Renaissance.

Antoni Amatller i Costa, a well-traveled owner of a chocolate company with an interest in art, also bought an entire apartment building on Passeig de Gràcia in 1898. However, since the building was rather plain in design, Amatller had it lavishly remodeled by architect Puig i Cadafalch in the Modernist style. Under the architect’s direction, some 50 artisans were involved in the remodeling, including some of the most outstanding artists in Catalonia at the time.

The architecture of Casa Amatller

Cadafalch had the entire facade of the existing house demolished and replaced with a horizontally asymmetrical, tripartite facade. The three façade sections all have different heights and each floor has a different number of windows/doors in the alternating sequence odd/even.

The first floor appears forbidding due to largely undecorated Montjuïc stone. The impression is softened by a sculptural group reproducing the legend of Sant Jordi, the dragon slayer. Cadafalch placed a square façade decorated with ocher-colored sgraffiti in front of the four residential floors, which is intended to be reminiscent of a piece of chocolate. The symmetry of the square is deliberately broken by a small balcony on the second floor and by the large, neo-Gothic Beletage bay window. On the middle three windows of the Beletage, animal sculptures refer to Antoni Amatller’s profession and hobbies, for example, rats with a camera. On the roof of the bay window there are chimeras, as known from Gothic churches. Also the letter A as the initial of the last name of the house owner can be recognized. For the attic, Cadafalch chose a stepped pediment decorated with tiles, reminiscent of the architecture of Flanders. At the same time, the triangular shape once again suggests the initial A.

From 2009 to 2014, the building was extensively restored and the Beletage, which Amattler occupied with his daughter, was largely restored to its 1900 condition. Since 2015, the Beletage can be visited for the first time as a museum apartment. The upper floors of the house are home to the Amattler Foundation, which takes care of the administration of Amattler’s estate. In the left part of the first floor there is a café and a museum store selling Amatller chocolate. In the right part of the first floor is the store of Bagués-Masriera, one of the most traditional jewelers of Barcelona, since 1950.