II. Main Part

Chapter 1 Architectural Currents in Catalonia from the Early Nineteenth Century to the Spanish Civil War and Jujol

1.1 Introduction

The objective of Chapter 1 is to contextualize the social and cultural framework of Jujol's design practice, which began when he enrolled at the Barcelona School of Architecture in 1896 and extended from the 1900s until his death in 1949. The chapter first describes the panorama of political and economic change in Catalonia during the nineteenth century and the early twentieth century, and analyzes its influence on Catalan architectural currents.

1.2 An Overview of the Modern History of Catalonia

The history of Catalonia between the nineteenth century and the first half of the twentieth was a process of recovering medieval Catalan glory and of frustration in the wake of the Spanish Civil War; it was the history of a struggle to reclaim autonomy and sovereignty within Spain. The medieval Crown of Aragon, which had dominated the Mediterranean, underwent progressive economic decline following Columbus's discovery of the New World, as colonial trade was monopolized by Castile. Furthermore, the defeats inflicted by the central Castilian government in the War of Spanish Succession and in the Carlist Wars, together with the centralization brought about by the establishment of the Bourbon dynasty in the eighteenth century, intensified the political repression exercised by the central government.

In the late eighteenth century, following the French Revolution, Napoleon's invasion, and the Bourbon Restoration, Spain and Catalonia also embarked on a path toward modernization. In this context, the Catalans developed an increasingly heightened awareness of their national independence, in keeping with the growing national consciousness of the various European peoples.

In the early nineteenth century, the collapse of the Spanish colonial empire in the Americas and the advance of the Industrial Revolution, which was centered in Catalonia, brought about major transformations in Spain's internal structure. Catalonia, which achieved industrialization before any other Spanish region, was rapidly transformed into the industrial center of the country.

1.3 The Barcelona School of Architecture

1.3.1 Background

The origins of architectural education in Spain and Catalonia can be traced back to the founding of the School of Arts and Crafts in 1775. The establishment of this vocationally oriented school responded to the demand for new vocational training systems in the face of the decline of the medieval guild system and to the transformation of professional competencies brought about by industrialization. Although the first director, Pascual Pedro Moles, endeavored to include architectural instruction within the school, formal architectural education did not begin until 1817, following the Napoleonic wars and the Bourbon Restoration under Ferdinand VII.

In the early nineteenth century, Catalonia underwent rapid development driven by the Industrial Revolution and the increased volume of trade resulting from the liberalization of protectionism. This economic development generated greater demand for specialized technicians. At the same time, the new bourgeoisie, which had acquired wealth and political power, demanded new architectural expressions.

In this historical context, in order to meet the needs arising from industrial development, schools of nautical sciences, agriculture, chemistry, and mechanical engineering were established, as was a design school originally named the "Free Design School"; the funding for these foundations was provided by the Royal Board of Trade. The Royal Board of Trade was an association of manufacturers of cotton textiles, woolen goods, and paper, created with the royal authorization of Charles III, whose mission was to promote the education of professionals and specialists indispensable for social development.

In 1817, with funding from the Royal Board of Trade, an Architecture Section was established within the School of Fine Arts. Antoni Celles i Azcona, the first chief professor of the "Architecture Section," was an architect from Lleida who had received a scholarship from the Royal Board of Trade in 1793 to study in Rome and who, having developed a reconstruction project for the Roman temple of Barcelona, was a fervent admirer of classical architecture.

Celles drew up the curriculum for the "Architecture Section" in 1815. In it, Celles asserts that the program inherits the thought of Vitruvius, Palladio, and Alberti, and that it takes as its model the academic instruction of Madrid, Paris, Florence, and Rome. He also declares that, by distinguishing between students who devote themselves exclusively to architecture and those who possess artisanal skills, the former would be trained as architects and the latter as technical builders.

As a method for training architects, students first learned mathematics related to construction techniques, followed by applied geometry. In addition, in order to acquire a basic knowledge of architecture, they made precise copies of the architectural orders of Antiquity and the Modern period. In this process, particular importance was attached to the technique of rendering shadows in plans — that is, the technique of finishing plans as though they possessed the value of fine paintings. Subsequently, students copied historical buildings from the Greco-Roman period onward to learn compositional arrangement in floor plan and proportions. Celles also stated that, in order to learn architectural ornamentation, it was indispensable to practice by copying various figures and illustrations in pencil or Indian ink.

Following the above curriculum, the training of architects progressed to the phase of design and drawing. Here, students began with small and simple buildings, advancing progressively toward designs for more complex and public structures.

This Architecture Section was burdened from the outset with the difficulty of simultaneously discharging two responsibilities: the training of architects and the training of construction technicians. Achieving both objectives simultaneously was nearly impossible within the limited curriculum of the Architecture Section. Moreover, many of the students were heterogeneous, with little general education, and maintained their own employment alongside their studies. At that time, Celles said: "... Many of my students come from mechanical trades and can barely read and write. Very few have a background in the humanities. Furthermore, almost none of them speaks Castilian. Given this, I could not even seat them in any kind of examination...".

Thus, Celles's school faced problems such as the difficulty of simultaneously fulfilling the two responsibilities of training architects and construction technicians, and the lack of basic education among students. Celles, who had himself received an academic education, attempted to resolve these problems without dividing the section into courses by profession. To this end, the resource he envisaged was the academic tradition of knowledge transmission among students within the atelier.

Celles was firmly convinced that architecture was an art, and was persuaded that it could be acquired through the practice of drawing technique by means of various prizes and design competitions. As a result, he initially placed particular emphasis on the exercise of copying drawings, neglecting the programs of architectural theory and scientific analysis that were valued in other schools. However, by simultaneously pursuing the two objectives of training architects and construction technicians, Celles's academicism gradually became more practical, and the content of his classes was reoriented toward more technical instruction.

It may therefore be supposed that, at this point, certain characteristics that would subsequently define the Barcelona School of Architecture had already begun to take shape: an academicism grounded in practice and technique, and an educational system supported by atelier activities.

1.3.2 The Founding of the Barcelona School of Architecture

1.3.2.1 The Era of the Catalan Renaixença

C. Flores, on the political, economic, and cultural phenomenon of the Renaixença, asserts: "The gestation, birth, and initial development of Catalan Modernisme — conceived as a complex phenomenon of contrasts equally significant in the cultural and artistic spheres as in the political, economic, and social — took place in a clearly defined period. In Catalonia it seems necessary to define, across different fields, the sense and consciousness of its own singularity."

1.3.2.2 From Neoclassicism to Eclecticism

The "Architecture Section" created in 1817 was reorganized in 1850 as the School of Master Builders and again in 1871 as the Provincial School of Architecture. The establishment of the Provincial School of Architecture marked a milestone in the separation of instruction by profession and consolidated the specialization of the Provincial School of Architecture in the training of architects; however, this school also inherited the practical teaching staff of the School of Master Builders. In 1875, the authority to confer the title of architect — which had until then been held exclusively by the Madrid School of Architecture — was recognized, and the institution was renamed the Barcelona School of Architecture.

Elias Rogent, who assumed the directorship as the first director, was one of the professors drawn from the School of Master Builders. Of the eight faculty members in the initial period, three came from the School of Master Builders: Rogent, Francesc de Paula de Villar, and Joan Torres. Joined to these were Leandre Serrallach, August Font, and J. Rovira, together with two associate professors, Lluis Domènech i Montaner and Josep Vilaseca.

By inheriting the staff of the School of Master Builders, practical instruction was not entirely abandoned. This consolidated the defining characteristic of the Provincial School of Architecture of Barcelona — subsequently the Barcelona School of Architecture — of an "academicism that does not neglect practical instruction."

Another noteworthy aspect is that, simultaneously with the creation of the Provincial School of Architecture, qualitative changes in the content of its academicism also began to take place. Elias Rogent, the first director of the Provincial School of Architecture, viewed the origins of his own institution with a critical eye. In his memoirs written in 1882, Rogent states that since his arrival in 1850 as a professor in the "Architecture Section," he had felt it necessary to correct Celles's excessive adherence to Greco-Latin classicism and the inadequacy of theoretical instruction. In order to dispel Celles's extreme inclination toward academic neoclassicism, Rogent championed "freedom in art," regarding it as the very guarantee of the raison d'être of all styles.

1.3.2.3 The Architectural Thought of Rogent and Domènech

Rogent asserts: "Even if a good historical tradition existed, we would still feel reluctant to actually resort to it. If retreat is no longer possible, for better or worse we have no alternative but to opt for eclecticism. We must therefore continually pursue our investigation in search of the good traditions of the past that we have not yet come to know." It is evident that this thinking is connected with what would later pervade Lluis Domènech i Montaner's "In Search of a National Architecture." This thinking of Rogent and Domènech was influenced by the lectures on architectural history given by Anibal Anivales i Buquer at the Madrid School of Architecture, where both had studied consecutively. Anivales adopted a position in defense of relativism and eclecticism in aesthetics.

Rogent, in his lectures on the theory of architectural art at the Barcelona School of Architecture, maintained that the choice of style should not be based on arbitrary criteria. In his classes, the central problem of the search for style was nothing less than the question of how to characterize modern civilization. Years later, Domènech took up this question, defined the era as a "transitional period," and situated it as "the epoch in which everything must be the prelude to a new era to come." The new era would require a new architecture to represent it clearly; until this architecture emerged in definitive form, it was necessary for different styles to coexist in a transitional period — such, he believed, was the current age.

1.3.2.4 From Eclecticism to Modernisme

Following this evolution, a solid educational program was established during the tenure of Lluis Domènech i Montaner (1900, 1905–1919). In terms of style, eclectic thinking occupied a dominant position. This was compatible with the fashionable movement of the period known as Modernisme. Thus, the Barcelona School of Architecture distanced itself from the classicist tradition and turned toward the valorization of regional traditions, such as the heritage of Romanesque and medieval architecture, the Aragonese style, and the Mudéjar. The Barcelona School of Architecture also shared in the effervescence of the burgeoning Catalan nationalist movement of the period. At the same time, this school did not turn its back on the wider world. The library of the Barcelona School of Architecture received foreign publications and accumulated numerous books and catalogues, including works by rationalists such as Jean-Baptiste Rondelet and Léonce Reynaud. Changes at the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris tended to reach Barcelona rapidly. The ideas of Viollet-le-Duc also arrived in Barcelona without delay.

1.3.2.5 The Decline of Modernisme and Noucentisme

Around 1910, signs of decline in the hegemony of Modernisme began to appear. In 1910, Domènech remained director and continued in office until 1919, but in the meantime the reform movement among the teaching staff had already begun. 1910 was also the year in which Francesc de Paula Nebot i Torrens joined as a member of faculty. He played a leading role in the school during the first half of the twentieth century, serving as director on two occasions before his retirement. In 1914, the educational program was revised and the architectural training curriculum became longer and more complex. Three years of preparatory courses were added to the traditional four-year program of studies. The preparatory course included numerous subjects for acquiring a basic foundation in the exact sciences, such as introductory calculus, mineralogy, botany, general physics, general chemistry, differential and integral calculus, and mechanics.

The Barcelona School of Architecture was equally unable to escape the changes of the times. The causes of the decline of Modernisme can be attributed to the waning of the Catalan nationalist movement at the turn of the century, and to Modernisme's inability to respond sufficiently to the social demands of industrial development. During this period, many international railway stations, electrical power stations, and other structures were built under the influence of Noucentisme.

1.4 Jujol and the Barcelona School of Architecture

1.4.1 The Context of Barcelona at the Time and Academic Work at the School of Architecture

By 1878, the population of Barcelona had exceeded 350,000 inhabitants. In early 1854, the medieval city walls began to be demolished, and from 1870 onward construction work advanced at a dizzying pace in the area known as the Eixample. The Barcelona of that era existed in a state of architectural effervescence permeating all of society, and the role of architects was pivotal.

As Oriol Bohigas stated: "Catalonia accomplished in 50 years what other European countries had taken 5 centuries. The content ranged from the codification and updating of the language to university education, academies of sciences, scientific research, museums, the aristocracy and the new working class, the various political parties, and forms of government." At that time, Catalonia found itself in a process of rapid social development and, within a favorable economic context, a consciousness of cultural identity was also quickly emerging. The conjunction of both elements contributed to the flourishing of a brilliant and distinctive architectural culture in Catalonia. Moreover, the advance of the Industrial Revolution aroused in people admiration and interest in science and technology.

In 1896, Jujol enrolled at the Barcelona School of Architecture. After completing the first year (1896–1897), he was unable to obtain credits in the following year (1897–1898) due to illness, but in the year 1899–1900 he obtained a grade of "Outstanding" in "Botanical Drawing" and a "Pass" in "Modeling." In the year 1901–1902 he obtained all the credits of the preparatory course and also passed the graduation examination, advancing to the main course of specialized instruction. It is said that at the Barcelona School of Architecture he demonstrated an extraordinary aptitude for drawing.

1.4.2 The Collaboration with Antoni Maria Gallissa

In 1902, the same year in which he entered the main course at the Barcelona School of Architecture, Jujol also began working in the studio of Antoni Maria Gallissa i Soqué, who was a professor at the Barcelona School of Architecture. It is recounted that it was not so much Jujol who knocked on the door of Gallissa's studio as it was Gallissa who recruited Jujol. Although Jujol is frequently perceived as a disciple of Gaudí, Jujol himself maintained throughout his life that his true master was Gallissa, and that Gaudí was no more than a professional collaborator.

Under Gallissa's tutelage, Jujol progressively took charge of increasingly significant commissions, such as sgraffito designs, motifs for ceramic tiles, and wrought-iron railings; in 1902 he assumed responsibility for the design of decorative shields installed on the Carrer Ferran for the festival of La Mercè. The obituary written following Gallissa's sudden death in 1903 makes reference to this decoration: "... The combination of triangular and square flags, electric lighting, and golden metallic garlands and stained glass produced a magical effect on all who beheld it..." suggesting that the collaboration between Gallissa and Jujol was a success. It is recounted that Gallissa's sister, Margarida, gave Jujol Viollet-le-Duc's "Architectural Dictionary" — Gallissa's favourite book — as a keepsake.

1.5 The Collaboration of Gaudí and Jujol and Their Mutual Influences

1.5.1 The General Perception of Gaudí and Catalan Modernisme

Kenneth Frampton identifies culture and technology as the two factors that determine the changes in architecture from the late eighteenth century onward. In the process of neoclassicism from the late eighteenth to the late nineteenth century, the parallel development of structural technology cannot be ignored. Two major factors that generated neoclassicism may be cited: the rapid increase in human capacity to control nature, and the consequent essential and fundamental transformation of human consciousness.

Within this historical context, Frampton situates Henri Labrouste in the lineage of Laugier's "Essay on Architecture" of 1753 and J. F. Blondel's "Lectures on Architecture" of 1750–1770, positioning structural rationalism within the neoclassicist current. Henri Labrouste was an architect trained at the "École des Beaux-Arts" — heir to the Royal Academy of Architecture — who prioritized structure and maintained that all decoration must be derived from necessity in the construction process. Frampton also asserts: "By the mid-nineteenth century, the heritage of neoclassicism had divided into two and each developed independently. Yet the two paths were intimately connected. The two are the currents represented by the structural classicism of Labrouste and the romantic classicism of Schinkel." Concerning these currents, Choisy's "History of Architecture," which may be regarded as the synthesis of structural rationalism, was written in 1899.

Proceeding from this recognition, Frampton argues with respect to Gaudí that what pervades his creative activity is, in the first place, the desire to regenerate indigenous architecture, and in the second place, the imperative to create entirely new forms of expression, and he puts the two factors of culture and technology in correspondence with these two aspects. He suggests that comparable examples can be found in other regions of Europe, such as the relationship between the Glasgow Group and the Celtic-Irish literary movement.

In contrast to this view, Cirici maintains that the aesthetic characteristics of the "Modernista" style reside in its intention to synthesize symbolism and innovation, and focuses on their synthesis rather than on the division between the two. Cirici argues that in symbolism one draws pleasure from forms extracted from tradition, history, legend, and myth, while in innovation the concern is with the application of new architectural forms, honesty in the use of new building materials — iron and glass — and the determined pursuit of new forms.

1.5.2 The Position of Gaudí within Catalan Architectural Currents and the Significance of Studies on Jujol

Carlos Flores, in his book "Gaudí, Jujol y el Modernismo catalán," argues that Catalan Modernisme was by no means a variant of Art Nouveau, but rather a completely original cultural movement born from within Catalan culture and history. At the same time, Flores, in presenting Enrique Casanelles Ferrer's book "Realitat i mite de Gaudí," notes that the life of Antoni Gaudí corresponds to the Catalan historical context, and quotes the following words of Casanelles: "The interpretation of Gaudí must be approached by understanding and entering into the historical context of the movements of the Renaixença, Modernisme, and Noucentisme that traverse the Catalan culture of his time. These movements correspond respectively to the youth, maturity, and old age of Gaudí."

1.5.3 On the Starting Years of the Collaboration between Gaudí and Jujol

Flores writes of Jujol: "The existence of Josep Maria Jujol i Gibert (1879–1949) as one of the leading figures of European plastic arts in the twentieth century is already decisive... and all readers of the present book will be able to verify the conclusion reached through the Gaudí-Jujol dialectic without this implying in the slightest the intention of diminishing the greatness of Gaudí." According to Flores, the relationship between Gaudí and Jujol was one of mutual influences, and their creative activities enriched each other dialectically.

According to the periodization of Gaudí's oeuvre into three phases devised by Salvador Tarrago, the First Period extends from the <Casa Vicens> of 1876 to the <Casa Calvet> of 1900 — an era in which the various historicist styles were widely employed. The Second Period extends from 1900 to 1914, the mature phase in which Gaudí flourished with his own distinctive architectural style, and includes the <Parc Güell>, the <Casa Batlló>, the <Casa Milà>, the <Sagrada Família School>, the church of the <Colònia Güell>, and the "second solution" for the cathedral of the Sagrada Família. The Third Period extends from 1915 to 1926, an era in which he devoted himself exclusively to the Sagrada Família, making extensive use of ruled surfaces as the "third solution" for that cathedral.

Flores states with clarity: "Gaudí's expression comes to full fruition around 1904–1906, with the <Casa Batlló>. At that moment, for the first time, he abandons the various historical references and begins to create works of creative impression," reiterating that the collaboration between Gaudí and Jujol began precisely with the construction of the <Casa Batlló>.

1.5.4 Jujol's Participation in the <Casa Batlló>

The architect César Martínez and Jujol's son — his father's biographer — place the beginning of the collaborative relationship between Gaudí and Jujol around 1906. At the same time, Martínez also provides documentation with a somewhat contradictory content: according to this, the start of the collaborative relationship is no later than 1905 at the earliest. This difference of one year carries far greater significance than usual when one considers the collaborative relationship between the two. For, as already indicated, the period in which an innovative development in Gaudí's formal language could take place is between 1904 and 1905, and the <Casa Batlló> illustrates this.

Ràfols and Collins state explicitly that Jujol participated in the design of the <Casa Batlló>. Shortly after Jujol's death, Ràfols published an extensive biographical critique of Jujol in the official journal of the Barcelona Architects' Association, "Cuadernos de Arquitectura" of 1950, in which he cites the <Parc Güell>, the <Casa Milà> (La Pedrera), the Sagrada Família, the restoration of the cathedral of Palma, and the <Casa Batlló> as works illustrating the collaborative relationship between Gaudí and Jujol. In the <Casa Batlló>, he notes Jujol's participation "at least" in the altar and several pieces of furniture. Moreover, Ràfols does not place the beginning of the collaborative relationship between the two at the <Casa Batlló>, but rather maintains that it had possibly already occurred at the time of the <Casa Calvet>.

Flores also reaffirms that Enrique Casanelles, secretary of the "Asociación de Amigos de Gaudí," acknowledged Jujol's participation in the <Casa Batlló>, and that Josep Francesc Ràfols — Gaudí's assistant and a mutual friend of Gaudí and Jujol — explicitly stated Jujol's participation in the <Casa Batlló> in the obituary published in the journal of the Architects' Association of Catalonia, "Cuadernos de Arquitectura," shortly after Jujol's death. In January 1966, Joan Matamala, son of Llorenç Matamala — who had participated in the construction as a collaborator of Gaudí together with Jujol at that time — told Jujol's son the following: "These prie-dieux were made of wood pulp, carved to resemble leaves of parchment cut into irregular shapes. The edges were not flat and thin, but rolled. The first words at the top of the prie-dieu and the other important words scattered throughout, combined with the background painting, formed a beautiful composition that could be described as a color collage. Against this background of beautiful chromatic composition, the whole of the text stood out with clarity. All of this was painted by Jujol himself, with his own hands..."

1.5.5 The Shared Creative Attitude of Gaudí and Jujol

Various anecdotes exist concerning the creative collaboration between Gaudí and Jujol. According to Ràfols, Gaudí had an especially absolute trust in Jujol's sense of color. The collaboration on the restoration of the cathedral of Palma de Mallorca began after Gaudí's restoration work had advanced considerably and the Gothic choir that had originally occupied the center of the nave had been moved to the interior of the presbytery. According to Jujol's son, for example, the simple polychromy found in the background of the corbels supporting the images on the upper wall of the lateral sides of the presbytery, beside the doors of the sacristy, is without doubt a work executed by Jujol's own hand.

It is said that Gaudí entrusted Jujol with the polychromy of the choir stalls on the right side and at the back of the presbytery. Jujol dared to mix vivid colors in indescribable ways, producing at the same time a delicate and harmonious effect. Seen from near or far, the polychromy conveyed to the viewer a sense of serenity and spiritual joy. However, the priests of the cathedral did not appear pleased with Jujol's highly personal work. The priest Emili Sagristà, who was then very young, later expressed his opinion in his book "Gaudí en la catedral de Mallorca": "The gilding and polychromy of the backs of the choir stalls and of the door to the right of the altar are the work of Jujol, a Catalan colorist. I am not sure how accurate what I heard was, but when he painted a house in Barcelona, he put the colors any which way into a bucket, then lifted the bucket and threw the contents against the wall. Head-on, at an angle, from below upward, from above downward, in every possible direction. Once I was there when Jujol was painting. Jujol was close to the first three seats in the front, and Gaudí was beside the seventh or eighth seat. Jujol used a brush, not a bucket, but he painted by letting the colors fall drop by drop from the brush. And he asked repeatedly: 'Señor Gaudí, what do you think?' To which Gaudí would sometimes respond, but at other times, without being asked, would exclaim: 'Very good, Jujol! Magnificent!'..."

Thus, it is said that Gaudí guided Jujol but never reproached him. On the contrary, it is recounted that Gaudí encouraged Jujol to create the works in his own manner. In contrast, although Jujol was a reserved person, he is said to have occasionally sought Gaudí's approval. When Gaudí was absent in Mallorca, Jujol supervised the works on the <Casa Milà> in his place. Jujol was young, but appeared to possess a complete mastery of the work and to be capable of building and dismantling at will. Nevertheless, Jujol never made decisions without Gaudí's approval. Rather, Gaudí — who understood Jujol's character and his talent as an artist and architect — was accustomed to respond to his questions with "And you, what would you do?".

Gaudí was more geometric, while Jujol, without being too bound to any particular approach, was intuitive and more spontaneous. The most characteristic feature of Jujol's creative attitude was his free and intuitive mode of creation, made possible by his outstanding draftsmanship. In contrast, Gaudí's "eloquent and radical" methodology always excluded the possibility of such improvised solutions. The evidence shows both that Gaudí granted Jujol full creative and formal freedom, and that Jujol felt a profound respect for Gaudí.

1.6 Summary

In Chapter 1 of the Main Part, in order to grasp the background of Jujol's architectural thought — as a practitioner in the second half of Catalan Modernisme in the early twentieth century — the architectural currents in Spain and Catalonia from the early nineteenth century to the Spanish Civil War were first reviewed, describing the founding of the Barcelona School of Architecture and its subsequent evolution through the end of Modernisme, alongside an overview of the modern history of Catalonia. This was followed by a description of Jujol's academic career after his enrollment at the Barcelona School of Architecture, his collaboration with the architects Antoni Maria Gallissa and Josep Font, and his subsequent collaboration with Gaudí, taking into account the position of Catalan Modernisme within European architectural currents of the period and the position of Gaudí within Catalan Modernisme. The mutual influences between Jujol and Gaudí were examined.

As a result, it was noted that with regard to the date on which the collaboration between Jujol and Gaudí began, researchers do not agree in their assessment of Jujol's participation in the <Casa Batlló>. It was demonstrated that there is a near-unanimous consensus among the various researchers that the <Casa Batlló> constitutes a major turning point in the genealogy of Gaudí's oeuvre; that, despite the great similarity between the chromatics and expression of the mosaic tilework on the facade of the <Casa Batlló> — where Jujol's participation has not yet been clearly established — and works in which Jujol's participation is clearly documented, such as the <Casa Milà> and the <Parc Güell>, there exists a strong position of denial of such influence among Gaudinism researchers headed by Bassegoda; and the arguments for and against Jujol's influence on Gaudí were organized.

The argument of Flores was subsequently presented — namely, that the change in Gaudí's work in the <Casa Batlló> could not have arisen solely from the autonomous development of Gaudí's methodology, but required the catalytic effect of Jujol — and it was demonstrated that in works subsequent to the <Casa Batlló> there coexist characteristics very similar to those of Jujol's later works alongside characteristics inherited from earlier works such as the <Casa Calvet>.

Taking all of the above into consideration, the following points were brought to light: it was natural that the young Jujol should have been influenced by Gaudí, who was already active at that time, as can be seen in the fact that Gaudí's <Dragon Gate of the Finca Güell> influenced Jujol's <Wrought-iron gate for a civic garden> — an academic work from his student years; on the other hand, the high esteem in which Gaudí held Jujol's talent and the fact that Gaudí on occasion sought Jujol's opinion must be considered significant; the fact that in creative practice Gaudí gave almost no instructions and Jujol freely executed plastic work that Gaudí himself acknowledged as his own must be highlighted; and Jujol's contribution to Gaudí's works was especially significant because it was not secondary — mediated through plans or other means — but direct, leaving the imprint of Jujol's own hands in the execution of mosaics and polychromy.