Confidant from the Batlló House Facts for Kids

Quick facts for kids Confidant from the Batlló House

Artist	Antoni Gaudí
Year	1904-1906
Type	ash wood
Dimensions	104.5 cm × 167 cm × 75.5 cm (41.1 in × 66 in × 29.7 in)
Location	Museu Nacional d'Art de Catalunya, Barcelona

The Confidant from Casa Batlló is a special piece of furniture. It's also called the Double Sofa or Two-seater bench. The famous architect Antoni Gaudí designed it.

This unique bench was first made for the dining room of Casa Batlló. Casa Batlló is a famous building in Barcelona, Spain. Today, you can see the original Confidant at the Museu Nacional d'Art de Catalunya and the Gaudí House Museum. You can also find copies of it at Casa Batlló and Casa Milà, which are other buildings Gaudí designed.

What is the Confidant?
Who was Antoni Gaudí?
Gaudí's Furniture Designs
Casa Batlló and the Confidant
After Casa Batlló
What is Art Nouveau?
More of Gaudí's Work
See also

What is the Confidant?

Even though it's called a bench, the Confidant isn't like a normal long bench. It's actually made of several parts. It has two separate seats, with a shared armrest in the middle. Each seat is slightly angled outwards.

Because of this angled design, the Confidant has three legs in the front. The middle front leg is shared by both seats. But it only has two legs in the back. It's made from ash wood in the Casas i Bardés workshops. The seats and backrests have curved, natural shapes. These shapes are meant to fit the human body perfectly when someone sits down. There isn't much decoration, which lets you see the beautiful natural wood.

Who was Antoni Gaudí?

Antoni Gaudí (born June 25, 1852 – died June 10, 1926) was a Spanish architect. He was a very important person in a style called Catalan Modernism. Gaudí's buildings and designs are very unique. Most of his famous works are in Barcelona. His most well-known project is the Sagrada Família church.

Gaudí's work showed his four main passions: architecture, nature, religion, and his love for Catalonia. He paid attention to every small detail in his designs. He used many different crafts in his buildings. These included ceramics, stained glass, wrought ironwork, and carpentry. He even created new ways to use materials. For example, he used trencadís, which is a type of mosaic made from broken ceramic pieces.

Gaudí's early work was influenced by old styles. But soon, he became part of the Catalan Modernista movement. This style was very popular in the late 1800s and early 1900s. His designs went beyond typical Modernisme. He created a natural, organic style inspired by nature. Gaudí often didn't draw detailed plans for his buildings. Instead, he preferred to make 3D models. He would shape the details as he worked.

Gaudí's work is famous all over the world. Many people study his architecture. Today, architects and the public love his designs. The Sagrada Família, which is still being built, is one of Spain's most visited places. Between 1984 and 2005, seven of his works were named World Heritage Sites by UNESCO. Gaudí was a very religious person. His strong Roman Catholic faith showed in his work. People even called him "God's Architect."

Gaudí's Furniture Designs

Even though Gaudí is famous for his buildings, he also designed furniture. He created furniture and decorations for the homes and buildings he worked on. This included cupboards, tables, chairs, and even door handles. He was very careful with his architectural designs. He checked and changed his plans even while buildings were being built. He gave the same care to his furniture.

Gaudí believed that furniture should fit its space perfectly. It also had to work well for its purpose and the people using it. Like his buildings, his furniture designs were studied and tested. He wanted the furniture to be in "harmony" with everything around it. He said that for an object to be good, it must first do what it's supposed to do. This idea was very modern for his time.

Gaudí's first furniture designs looked like popular styles from the past. But soon, he found inspiration in nature. He used curved lines and organic shapes. This led to very comfortable and ergonomic designs. He made 3D models of his furniture from clay and plaster. This helped him create those natural, flowing shapes.

For Palau Güell (1884-1887), Gaudí's furniture was still a bit traditional. But he started adding some curved and uneven pieces. He even mixed different styles of furniture in the same room.

By the time he designed furniture for Casa Calvet (1898-1899), his designs were more "fluid and abstract." He wanted to show off the wood's grain, texture, and color. The pieces, made of oak, included chairs, benches, and a desk. They showed his move towards natural, flowing designs. But they still had some traditional parts. However, an armchair he designed for an office was very different. It had a heart-shaped back and no straight lines. This chair was made to "cradle the human body." Its lines were similar to Art Nouveau furniture. Soon, Gaudí removed extra decorations. He focused on simple "comfort and usefulness." From then on, his furniture had "solid forms and simple profiles." They sometimes looked like medieval furniture but still had his unique "wavy and zigzagging lines."

Casa Batlló and the Confidant

The furniture Gaudí designed for Casa Batlló (1904-1906) was much simpler. He removed all extra decoration and soft coverings. He focused on being practical and useful. His furniture for Casa Calvet still looked a bit traditional. But the Casa Batlló furniture was completely new. The shapes looked like they were molded from soft material. Tables and benches were split into sections instead of being solid.

Benches and chairs, like the Confidant, had rounded seats to fit the human body. Their sizes and shapes also fit perfectly against the walls where they were placed. Mrs. Batlló wanted Gaudí to add traditional soft coverings to the furniture. But he refused. He even removed other popular decorations like wood inlay. Gaudí's bold furniture designs for Casa Batlló were praised by artists like Salvador Dalí.

After Casa Batlló

Gaudí's furniture designs kept changing after Casa Batlló. He designed new buildings and spaces. These presented new challenges for how furniture fit in. For Casa Milà (1906-1912), he wanted the walls, ceilings, and even door handles to have the same curved shapes. He also wanted them to match the building's colors.

One of the last furniture pieces Gaudí designed was a bench for the unfinished Colònia Güell church. He designed this before focusing completely on the Sagrada Família. This bench showed he was still willing to add new things to his designs. For this bench, he used iron parts to make it stronger. Wood alone couldn't give it the "solidity and stability" needed for the church's crypt.

What is Art Nouveau?

Art Nouveau is an art style that was popular from about 1890 to 1910. The name "Art Nouveau" is French for "new art." It was a reaction against the old, formal art styles of the 1800s. This style was inspired by natural shapes and forms. It used curved lines, like those found in flowers and plants. Architects tried to make their buildings blend with nature. Art Nouveau was also a way of thinking about furniture design. Furniture was designed to be part of the whole building and everyday life.

In Spain, Art Nouveau was mostly found in Barcelona. It was a key part of Catalan Modernisme. This style is often seen as similar to other art movements from that time. These include Jugendstil and Liberty style. Architect Antoni Gaudí's unique style is sometimes seen as different from Art Nouveau. But he still used many of Art Nouveau's natural and flowing forms. His designs from around 1903, like the Casa Batlló (1904–1906) and Casa Milà (1906–1908), are very similar to Art Nouveau. However, famous buildings like the Sagrada Familia mix modern Art Nouveau ideas with older, Neo-Gothic styles.