Life after Gaudi, the people of Barcelona proclaimed him as a ‘saint’1. Although it took some time for people to come around and appreciate Gaudi`s work, there was a period after his death where his work got neglected by the citizens of Barcelona2. A little while after his death there was great commotion. Not the kind of commotion where Gaudi`s work got attacked, but the kind of commotion where his work got recognized. Not even anti- Catholic’s stirred up attacks on his work3.
Gaudi died when he was hit by a push train. He was not recognized when someone picked up his body and brought it to the hospital. He ended up being dead at the scene of the train accident. He died at the age of 744. After he was noticed, more than half of Barcelona citizens dressed in black to remember him, and all the creativity he brought to Barcelona5. As he died in 1926, people only started talking about Gaudi and his work around 1950. After 1950 all accusations of Gaudi started coming out into the media, and word started to spread that he was God`s architect. About 50 years later at the beginning of the 20th century the Sagrada Familia became iconic to Barcelona, just like how the Eiffel tower is to Paris6.
After Gaudi`s death his legacy has been made into books, and audio stories. There have been people; in particular Kenji Imai, a Japanese man, has travelled to Barcelona to see all of his work, he later converted from his previously religion to Catholicism. Kenji and a friend travelled the long flight to Barcelona with one of his friends/ coworker, to admire Gaudi`s work. With the fascination, and overwhelming religious view, that Gaudi has put into his work, was enough for Kenji and his friend to convert religious views7. People were getting a little obsessed with his work, when Gaudi`s name came out into the streets.
Now most of his major works have been declared as world heritage sites. An overwhelming amount of people go to the historic city of Barcelona to pay respect, pay money to see the views that Gaudi`s envisioned, and to him in the Sagrada Familia Cathedral. Although the Sagrada Familia is not fully finished masses are being held in the cathedral on every Catholic holiday8. Today his work is being finished only upon the donations of the public.
1http://www.sacredarchitecture.org
2http://www.wikipedia.org, information found in the ‘Legacy’ tab.
3http://www.sacredarchitecture.org
5http://www.barcelona-life.org
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