Antoni Gaudí i Cornet was a Catalan architect and designer from Spain, widely known as the greatest exponent of Catalan Modernisme. Gaudí's works have a sui generis style, with most located in Barcelona, including his main work, the Sagrada Família church.
Gaudí's work was influenced by his passions in life: architecture, nature, and religion. He considered every detail of his creations and combined crafts such as ceramics, stained glass, wrought ironwork forging, and carpentry. He introduced new techniques in the treatment of materials, such as trencadís which used waste ceramic pieces.
Influenced by neo-Gothic art and Oriental techniques, Gaudí became part of the Modernista movement, which peaked in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. His work eventually transcended mainstream Modernisme, developing into a unique style inspired by natural forms. Gaudí rarely drew detailed plans, preferring to create three-dimensional scale models and mold the details as he conceived them.
Gaudí's work enjoys global admiration and ongoing study. His masterpiece, the still-incomplete Sagrada Família, is the most-visited monument in Spain.