Antoni Gaudi (1852-1928) was a builder by instinct and by practice, fanciful and baroque in his sensibility, in love with the bright colours and plastic forms of the Mediterranean tradition. Despite his considerable contributions, Gaudi was an isolated figure in the architecture of the modern era. Critics were slow to recognize the prophetic value of his work, owing to the difficulty in reconciling it with the development of the Modern Movement. Gaudi invented a new form of modernism that combined elements of art nouveau, Catalan nationalism, Gothic Revival and his own relentlessly original imagination. His eclectic experience was made possible by special historical circumstances such as the economic prosperity of Barcelona and the existence of highly skilled craftsmen in Catalonia. This volume covers Gaudis work in systematic fashion, from the Gu"ell Palace to the park of the same name, and finally to his unfinished masterpiece, the church of the Sagrada Familia. Author Juan Jose Lahuerta devotes an attentive critical re-examination of the architects work through a thorough analysis of his designs and writings.