Casa Vicens () is a
modernist building situated in the
Gràcia neighbourhood of
Barcelona
Barcelona ( ; ; ) is a city on the northeastern coast of Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second-most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within c ...
. It is the work of architect
Antoni Gaudí
Antoni Gaudí i Cornet ( , ; ; 25 June 1852 – 10 June 1926) was a Catalans, Catalan architect and designer from Spain, widely known as the greatest exponent of Catalan ''Modernisme''. Gaudí's works have a style, with most located in Barc ...
and is considered to be his first major project. It was built between 1883 and 1885, although Gaudí drew up the initial plans between 1878 and 1880. The work belongs to the
orientalist style, similar to
Neo-Mudéjar
Neo-Mudéjar is a type of Moorish Revival architecture practised in the Iberian Peninsula and to a far lesser extent in Ibero-America. This architectural movement emerged as a revival of Mudéjar style. It was an architectural trend of the late 19 ...
architecture, although interpreted in Gaudí’s own personal way, with a uniqueness that only he knew how to add to his projects. In this work, and for the first time, Gaudí outlined some of his constructive resources that would become regular features throughout the emergence of ''Modernisme''. The work was widely discussed when it was built and caused a great sensation among the general public at the time. When the building was constructed, Gràcia was still an independent urban nucleus of Barcelona; it had its own council and was classified as a town, though nowadays it is a district of the city.
The original project had a large garden area, in addition to the house, but over time the land was subdivided and sold for the construction of residential buildings. Nowadays, the property has been reduced to the house and a small surrounding area. To take advantage of the space, Gaudí designed three facades, with the house attached by a dividing wall to an adjoining convent. In 1925 an extension of the house was planned, a commission that was offered to Gaudí, which he declined. Instead, he passed it to one of his protégés,
Joan Baptista Serra, who built an extension following Gaudí’s original style, with the inclusion of a new facade, resulting in the building being fully detached.
The work belongs to Gaudí’s orientalist period (1883-1888), an era in which the architect made a series of works with a distinctly oriental flavour, inspired by the art of the Near and Far East (
India
India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...
,
Persia
Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the nort ...
,
Japan
Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...
), as well as Hispanic
Islamic art
Islamic art is a part of Islamic culture and encompasses the visual arts produced since the 7th century CE by people who lived within territories inhabited or ruled by Muslims, Muslim populations. Referring to characteristic traditions across ...
, such as
Mudéjar
Mudéjar were Muslims who remained in Iberia in the late medieval period following the Christian reconquest. It is also a term for Mudéjar art, which was greatly influenced by Islamic art, but produced typically by Christian craftsmen for C ...
and
Nasrid. During this period, Gaudí used an abundance of ceramic tiling to decorate his work, as well as Moorish arches, columns of exposed brick and temple-shaped or dome-shaped finishes.
The building was declared a
Historic-Artistic Monument in 1969, with registration number 52-MH-EN; an
Asset of Cultural Interest in 1993, with reference number RI-51-0003823; and a
World Heritage Site
World Heritage Sites are landmarks and areas with legal protection under an treaty, international treaty administered by UNESCO for having cultural, historical, or scientific significance. The sites are judged to contain "cultural and natural ...
in 2005, with reference number 320bis.
History
Gaudí’s first significant work
Antoni Gaudí (
Reus
Reus () is the capital of Baix Camp, in Camp de Tarragona, Catalonia, Spain. The area has long been an important producer of wines and spirits, and gained continental significance during the time of the Phylloxera plague. Currently it is known f ...
or
Riudoms, 1852 - Barcelona, 1926) studied architecture at the
Llotja School and the
Barcelona School of Architecture, where he graduated in 1878. To finance his studies, Gaudí worked as a draughtsman for various architects and builders, such as
Leandre Serrallach,
Joan Martorell,
Emilio Sala Cortés,
Francisco de Paula del Villar y Lozano and
Josep Fontserè. After obtaining his architecture degree in 1878, his first projects were lampposts for the
Plaça Reial, the Girossi Newsstand project, the display case for the Esteban Comella glove shop, and the furniture for the chapel-pantheon of the Sobrellano Palace in
Comillas, all completed in the same year as his graduation. The Cooperativa Obrera Mataronense (Mataró Workers’ Cooperative) (1878-1882), was his first important commission, although it was not completed in its entirety, since only one warehouse was built. His subsequent work included furniture for the Gibert Pharmacy (1879), the decoration of the church of Sant Pacià in
Sant Andreu de Palomar (1879-1881) and the church of the Col·legi de Jesús-Maria in
Tarragona
Tarragona (, ; ) is a coastal city and municipality in Catalonia (Spain). It is the capital and largest town of Tarragonès county, the Camp de Tarragona region and the province of Tarragona. Geographically, it is located on the Costa Daurada ar ...
(1880-1882).
Gaudí combined the construction of Casa Vicens with other commissions: in 1883 he took over the work of the
Temple Expiatori of the Sagrada Família, started the previous year in a project by Francisco de Paula del Villar y Lozano, which he withdrew from shortly after due to a disagreement with the construction board. Gaudí would then devote the rest of his life to the construction of the temple, regarded as his greatest work and the synthesis of all his architectural findings. In the same year, 1883, he worked on an altarpiece for the chapel of the Santíssim Sagrament in the parish church of San Feliu in
Alella
Alella () is a village in the ''comarca'' of Maresme in
Catalonia, Spain. It is situated on the coast on the southwest side of the granite Catalan Coastal Range. The town is known for its
wines, cava and perfumes, but is also a commuter town ...
, as well as topographical plans for the Can Rosell de la Llena farmhouse in
Gelida. He was also commissioned to build an annexed villa for the Sobrellano Palace, owned by Antonio López y López, Marquis of Comillas, in the Cantabrian town of the same name, known as
El Capricho. It was built between 1883 and 1885 in an orientalist style similar to that of Casa Vicens, where its ceramic cladding is clearly visible. He also built the
Güell Pavilions in
Pedralbes
Pedralbes (, Old Catalan for ''white stones'') is a neighborhood in '' Les Corts'' district of Barcelona, Catalonia (Spain
Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in No ...
(1884-1887) in a similar style, a commission from
Eusebi Güell
Eusebi Güell Bacigalupi, 1st Count of Güell (; 15 December 1846 – 8 July 1918), also referred as Eusebio Güell, was a Spanish entrepreneur who profited greatly from the industrial revolution in Catalonia in the late 19th century.
Biography
...
, his principal patron and friend.
This moment represented the first stage of Gaudí’s career. The period is characterised by his use of an architectural language with great constructive simplicity, in which the straight line prevails over the curved line. Stylistically, it belongs to a stage of orientalist influence, where the structural and ornamental forms correspond to a preference for oriental art. These principally include Mudéjar,
Persian
Persian may refer to:
* People and things from Iran, historically called ''Persia'' in the English language
** Persians, the majority ethnic group in Iran, not to be conflated with the Iranic peoples
** Persian language, an Iranian language of the ...
and
Byzantine
The Byzantine Empire, also known as the Eastern Roman Empire, was the continuation of the Roman Empire centred on Constantinople during late antiquity and the Middle Ages. Having survived the events that caused the fall of the Western Roman E ...
, and can be seen in other works of his, such as the Pavellons Güell, the
Bodegas Güell and El Capricho in Comillas. Gaudí had studied Neo-Mudéjar art in the works of
Owen Jones
Owen Jones (born 8 August 1984) is a left-wing British newspaper columnist, commentator, journalist, author and political activist.
He writes a column for ''The Guardian'' and contributes to the ''New Statesman'', ''Tribune (magazine), Tribune ...
, such as ''Plans, Elevations, Sections and Details of the Alhambra'' (1842), ''Designs for Mosaics and Tessellated Pavements'' (1842) and ''Grammar of Ornament'' (1856).
The concept Gaudí had of the family home – which was reflected in Casa Vicens – is captured in an unpublished article he wrote in 1881, entitled ''The Manor House'' ('). He writes, ‘The house is the small family nation. The family, like the nation, has history, foreign relations, changes of government, and so on. The independent family has its own house, that which is not, has a rented house. The owned house is the native country, the rental house is the land of emigration; this is why the owned house is the ideal for all. One cannot conceive of the owned house without a family, only the rented house is conceived in this way’.
The commission
In 1878 Gaudí received a commission from Manuel Vicens i Montaner to build a summer residence for the family in the town of Gràcia. Manuel Vicens (1836–1895) was a stock and currency broker, although there is little information about him. From his will, it is known that he had a house in Alella, as well as two properties in the centre of Barcelona and some land in the
Vallvidrera area. The land where the house was built had been inherited by Manuel Vicens from his mother, Rosa Montaner i Matas, in 1877. He died on April 29, 1895, leaving his properties to his widow, Dolors Giralt i Grífol.
The way in which Vicens met Gaudí is unknown, although it is likely that they coincided in the cultural circles linked to the ''
Renaixença
The ''Renaixença'' (; also written ''Renaixensa'' before spelling standardisation), or Catalan Renaissance, was a romantic revivalist movement in Catalan language and culture through the mid 19th century, akin to the Galician '' Rexurdimento ...
'' that they both frequented. Subsequently, Vicens and Gaudí became friends, and between 1880 and 1890 the architect often spent his summers at Vicens’ house in Alella. For this house, Gaudí designed two pieces of furniture: a wood and metal corner fireplace with the initials M.V. (by Manuel Vicens), currently kept in the Casa Vicens; and a cedar wood corner cabinet with gilt brass and the initials D.G. (by Dolors Giralt), purchased by Casa Vicens at auction in 2023 in order to be exhibited after restoration. As a result of Gaudí’s time there, he began a project to design an altarpiece in 1883 for the church of San Feliu in Alella, commissioned by the parish priest Jaume Puig Claret, but the project was never completed. A drawing in India ink on fabric paper is preserved, at a scale of 1:25.
At the time, the town of Gràcia was its own entity and independent from Barcelona. Its population centre was built around the Carmelite convent of Santa Maria de Gràcia – popularly known as ''els Josepets'' – which was founded in 1630. It was an agricultural area, populated with farmhouses, which at the beginning of the 19th century began to urbanise and an incipient industrial framework emerged. The town was added to Barcelona in 1897 along with five other neighbouring towns:
Sants,
Les Corts,
Sant Gervasi de Cassoles,
Sant Andreu de Palomar and
Sant Martí de Provençals. At that time, many bourgeoisie families had their second homes in Gràcia, since it was close to the city yet had the tranquillity of a town. The house is located on a street named Carrer de les Carolines, in honour of the
Caroline Islands
The Caroline Islands (or the Carolines) are a widely scattered archipelago of tiny islands in the western Pacific Ocean, to the north of New Guinea. Politically, they are divided between the Federated States of Micronesia (FSM) in the cen ...
– an old Spanish colony – in 1908; it was previously called Sant Gervasi.
The original plot was situated between the convent of the
Daughters of Charity of Saint Vincent de Paul
The Company of the Daughters of Charity of Saint Vincent de Paul (; abbreviated DC), commonly called the Daughters of Charity or Sisters of Charity of Saint Vincent de Paul, is a society of apostolic life for women within the Catholic Church. ...
, who shared a dividing wall with one side of the building (the northeast side), and a narrow street with a dead end, called Carreró Racó de Sant Gervasi, which later disappeared. This land came from three different sites acquired between 1846 and 1854 by Agustí Maria Baró i Tastàs, which included several ground floor buildings. In 1866 it was inherited by the mother of Manuel Vicens, Rosa Montaner i Matas, widow of Onofre Vicens i Domènech. She died in 1877 and it passed to Manuel Vicens. It is unknown whether the buildings on the site were demolished or used in part in Gaudí’s project. In 1876 and 1881, Vicens bought two plots adjacent to Carreró Racó de Sant Gervasi, which allowed the property’s garden to be extended.
Gaudí completed the project for the house and garden in 1880, although the plans were not signed until 1883, when they were presented to the Gràcia Town Council. Its design combined a relatively simple architectural structure with the complexity of its meticulous decoration, especially in terms of the use of ceramic tiles. Stylistically, it belongs entirely to his orientalist phase, but the abundance of decorative artwork (ceramics, ironwork, glasswork, and woodwork) shows signs of what would be Gaudí’s golden age within Catalan Modernism. The work was carried out between 1883 and 1885. Gaudí personally managed the construction: according to the testimony of Joan Baptista Serra to
George R. Collins in 1959, the architect sat under a parasol and supervised the build, occasionally knocking down what he considered to be poor workmanship.
Throughout the project, Gaudí called on the help of various craftsmen who would regularly assist him in his work, such as the sculptor
Llorenç Matamala, the carpenter Eudald Puntí and the blacksmith Joan Oñós, as well as Claudi Alsina, a contractor. The decoration was carried out by the painter
Francesc Torrescassana and the sculptor
Antoni Riba.
The original site measured , with a surface area of 1035 m
2. The house had three facades, since on its northeast side there was a dividing wall shared with a neighbouring convent. Although the entrance was on the southeast side, facing Carrer Sant Gervasi, the main facade looked out onto the garden, on the southwest side, bordering the small street of Carreró Racó de Sant Gervasi, which was wide. The house, designed as a single-family home, had a wine cellar and basement for storage; a main floor with a foyer, dining room, porch, smoking room, kitchen and laundry room; a first floor with bedrooms, bathrooms, a dressing room and a library; an attic for staff accommodation; and a roof terrace with small walkways between the gables with chimneys and a pavilion in the northwest corner. It had a
Catalan vault
The Catalan vault (), also called thin-tile vault, Catalan turn, Catalan arch, boveda ceiling (Spanish ''bóveda'' 'vault'), or timbrel vault, is a type of low brickwork arch forming a vaulted ceiling that often supports a floor above. It is co ...
ed staircase with wooden wainscoting on each step, decorated with small oil paintings by Torrescassana, which were lost in the renovations of 1925.

The architect planned a set of masonry walls for the house, alternated with rows of tiles. The tiles would feature yellow flowers typical of the area (
Indian carnations or ''Tagetes erecta''), which Gaudí had found on the site of the house before construction, and which he wanted to reproduce in the final project. He was also inspired by a palmetto tree he discovered on site, to design the cast iron gate at the main entrance in the shape of
palm leaves (''Chamaerops humilis''). As Gaudí expressed, “When I went to take the measurements of the site, it was totally covered with some yellow flowers, which I used as an ornamental theme for the ceramic. I also found an exuberant palmetto palm, whose leaves fill the grid of the gate of the house”.
In his design of the house, Gaudí sought to combine practicality and aesthetics with comfort, hygiene and well-being, as well as a perfect harmony between the garden and its surroundings. As in all his projects, he designed the house down to the smallest detail and took care of aspects such as lighting and ventilation, trying to establish optimal conditions for the habitability of the house. One of the most evocative spaces on the property was the covered porch located next to the dining room, connected to the garden by oriental-inspired wooden latticework that, when opened, would transform the space into an outdoor area. It featured a water fountain made from a
Renaissance-style basin and an elliptical metal grill, similar to a spider’s web. The fountain allowed the water to flow as a thin sheet which reflected the colours of the rainbow when light passed through it.
The former garden was made up of three areas: one that separated the house from the street; one situated in front of the grand entrance, with circular flowerbeds of palms; and another at the side which featured fruit trees. Gaudí put considerable thought into the design of the garden; as it was a summer residence, the garden provided an important space for recreation. Along with the natural elements, two further elements stood out: a brick and ceramic fountain at the entrance and a monumental waterfall, also made of brick. The waterfall was the same height as the house and was formed by a large
catenary arch
A catenary arch is a type of architectural arch that follows an inverted catenary curve. The catenary curve has been employed in buildings since ancient times. It forms an underlying principle to the overall system of vaults and buttresses i ...
that supported a structure of false brick arches that formed two loggias with alternating pillars, with two side staircases. At the top, two water tanks poured a fine rain over a
rockery
A rock garden, also known as a rockery and formerly as a rockwork, is a garden, or more often a part of a garden, with a landscaping framework of rocks, stones, and gravel, with planting appropriate to this setting. Usually these are small ...
. In the
spandrel
A spandrel is a roughly triangular space, usually found in pairs, between the top of an arch and a rectangular frame, between the tops of two adjacent arches, or one of the four spaces between a circle within a square. They are frequently fil ...
s of the arch there were
terracotta
Terracotta, also known as terra cotta or terra-cotta (; ; ), is a clay-based non-vitreous ceramic OED, "Terracotta""Terracotta" MFA Boston, "Cameo" database fired at relatively low temperatures. It is therefore a term used for earthenware obj ...
bas-reliefs
Relief is a sculptural method in which the sculpted pieces remain attached to a solid background of the same material. The term ''relief'' is from the Latin verb , to raise (). To create a sculpture in relief is to give the impression that th ...
created by the sculptor Antoni Riba, representing children swimming. In Gaudí’s project, this waterfall was attached to the perimeter wall, but in the 1925 extension it was left as a freestanding structure. It was demolished in 1946, when part of the garden was sold for the construction of houses. The garden had another fountain at the main entrance, featuring two superimposed cups, the lower one larger and cylindrical in shape, covered with
stucco
Stucco or render is a construction material made of aggregates, a binder, and water. Stucco is applied wet and hardens to a very dense solid. It is used as a decorative coating for walls and ceilings, exterior walls, and as a sculptural and ...
, and further up, tiles with carnation motifs. The one at the top was shaped like an octagonal prism, with the sides measuring , and was covered in ceramic tiles featuring motifs of flowers and
sunflower
The common sunflower (''Helianthus annuus'') is a species of large annual forb of the daisy family Asteraceae. The common sunflower is harvested for its edible oily seeds, which are often eaten as a snack food. They are also used in the pr ...
leaves. It was removed in the extension of 1925.
The perimeter fence of the house consisted of a stone wall with semi-elliptical battlements and a cast iron fence decorated with fan palm leaf motifs and carnations, and finished off with trident-shaped spikes, just at the main entrance. There was a small pavilion in the southwest corner, formed by two brick columns and three stone columns – the central one,
geminated
In phonetics and phonology, gemination (; from Latin 'doubling', itself from '' gemini'' 'twins'), or consonant lengthening, is an articulation of a consonant for a longer period of time than that of a singleton consonant. It is distinct from ...
– that supported an L-shaped brick structure with blind arches, crowned with sloping ceramic pieces. The original fence measured and each frame was . The design of the gate was detailed by Gaudí in the plan of the facade that is kept in the Historical Archive of Catalonia, signed by Gaudí and Vicens on January 15, 1883. Using this design, sculptor Llorenç Matamala made a plaster mould, which was later cast in iron by forger Joan Oñós. According to Gaudí’s drawing, each sheet should have been placed diagonally, but in the end, they were placed horizontally, alternating in left and right alignments. After the extension of the property in 1925, the stone wall was replaced by new sections of the palmetto fence, which then surrounded the entire perimeter. However, after various parts of the garden were sold for construction, different sections of the fence were dismantled. Some of them were used on the entrance gate to
Park Güell and in Casa Larrard – home of Eusebi Güell – in the same park (now the Baldiri Reixac school), while some portions are preserved in the
Gaudí House Museum.
In a piece of land next to Casa Vicens, at number 28 Carrer de les Carolines, there was a freshwater spring called Santa Rita which dated back many years. It was customary that on May 22, the day of Santa Rita, neighbours would come to drink the water from the spring. In 1895 the water was declared to be of public use and began to be sold. When Joan Baptista Serra undertook the expansion of Casa Vicens in 1925, he built a chapel dedicated to Santa Rita on the same site as the spring. In 1963 the chapel was demolished to build a new residential building.
Expansion and further development

In 1899, the widow of Manuel Vicens, Dolors Giralt i Grífol, sold the house to Dr. Antonio Jover Puig for 45,000 pesetas. Antonio Jover (Barcelona, 1855-1930) was a renowned paediatrician, who had graduated from the
University of Barcelona
The University of Barcelona (official name in ; UB), formerly also known as Central University of Barcelona (), is a public research university located in the city of Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. It was established in 1450. With 76,000 students, ...
in 1876. He was living in
Cuba
Cuba, officially the Republic of Cuba, is an island country, comprising the island of Cuba (largest island), Isla de la Juventud, and List of islands of Cuba, 4,195 islands, islets and cays surrounding the main island. It is located where the ...
and worked as a professor at the
University of Havana
The University of Havana (UH; ) is a public university located in the Vedado district of Havana, the capital of Cuba. Founded on 5 January 1728, the university is the oldest in Cuba, and one of the first to be founded in the Americas. Originall ...
, until the island gained
independence
Independence is a condition of a nation, country, or state, in which residents and population, or some portion thereof, exercise self-government, and usually sovereignty, over its territory. The opposite of independence is the status of ...
and he returned to Spain. Thanks to the fortune he accrued in Ultramar, like other returning emigrants of the time, he was able to acquire Casa Vicens. He represented various Spanish commercial interests in Cuba and, even after its independence, returned to spend time on the island. He was also president of the Casino Español in Havana and the Cercle Català. He settled in Barcelona in 1924, was a councillor of the
City Council of Barcelona
The City Council of Barcelona (Catalan language, Catalan: ''Ajuntament de Barcelona''; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Ayuntamiento de Barcelona'') is the top-tier administrative and governing body of the Barcelona, municipality of Barcelona, Catal ...
from 1924 to 1930 and deputy mayor with Darius Rumeu i Freixa, Baron of Viver. In 1908, Dr. Jover sold the house to his brother, José Jover, maintaining usufruct of the property. When he died without issue in 1913, he left it to Ángela González Sánchez, Antonio Jover’s wife.
In 1925, Dr. Jover planned an extension of the building with the aim of turning it into his principal residence. For this, he acquired 212.88 m
2 of land adjacent to the wall shared with the convent, on 18-20 Carrer de les Carolines. He also acquired the land located between the narrow street of Carreró Racó de Sant Gervasi and Avinguda de la Riera de Cassoles, and he was able to have the alleyway declared an unused public thoroughfare, with which he could expand the garden into that area. With this, the property had reached its maximum size of 1,738 m
2. He approached Gaudí to lead the project to extend the house, but he declined, as he was devoting himself fully to the Sagrada Família at the time. Instead, he recommended one of his protégés,
Joan Baptista Serra, who designed the right half of the facade in the style of Gaudí.
Joan Baptista Serra de Martínez (Barcelona, 1888-1962) studied at the Barcelona School of Architecture and graduated in 1914. That same year he met Gaudí at the
church of Saints Justus and Pastor and they were brought together through their love of music.
Eclectic in style, he was influenced by both Modernism and
Noucentisme,
Classicism
Classicism, in the arts, refers generally to a high regard for a classical period, classical antiquity in the Western tradition, as setting standards for taste which the classicists seek to emulate. In its purest form, classicism is an aesthe ...
and
modern European architecture. One of his first works was Casa Cucuruy in Barcelona, which was followed by his own house, Villa Mercedes, on Carrer de les Escoles Pies; Eduard Schäfer’s house, on Carrer de Copèrnic; and Casa Valentí Soler, on Via Laietana, among others. He was the municipal architect for
Montcada i Reixac
Montcada i Reixac (), often referred to as simply Montcada, is a municipalities of Spain, municipality in the Comarques of Catalonia, ''comarca'' of the Vallès Occidental in Catalonia, Spain. It is situated at the confluence of the Ripoll river an ...
,
Ripollet,
Begues,
Molins de Rei and
Sant Feliu de Codines, where he carried out various projects, such as the Ripollet Market, the Begues urbanisation, a school development and a sanitation and paving project in Molins de Rei, and the churches of Santa Engracia and Sagrat Cor in Montcada i Reixac.

Serra built the right half of the building; seen from Carrer de les Carolines, and visible because it protrudes slightly onto the street, unlike the part built by Gaudí. The division is also noticeable by the different design of the tiles; Gaudí alternated them to give greater dynamism, while Serra arranged them in a uniform fashion. The extension took place between 1925 and 1927.
The extension was carried out on the side where the dividing wall with the old convent was located; a new facade appeared, and the building became fully detached. At the street corner, Serra constructed a turret in the form of a small pavilion, identical to the one Gaudí placed at its opposite end. The renovation involved converting a single-family house into three independent houses, one per floor. To this end, the original staircase designed by Gaudí was replaced by another to be used for its new purpose.
Another alteration was carried out in the covered porch, where the wooden latticework was replaced by glass, therefore closing the space entirely and losing the original idea of a space that connected directly with the garden. The water fountain, one of the most evocative elements of Gaudí’s project, was also removed.
On the southwest side, when the narrow street disappeared, the perimeter wall had to be torn down and replaced by new sections of the palmetto fence. He kept the waterfall that was attached to the wall, which remained as a free-standing construction, and he opened the parabolic arch on the opposite side. However, the rockery at the base was removed and a pool was put in its place. Part of the structure of the waterfall was also clad in tiles, to imitate those of the house.
He also built a small chapel at the end of the garden overlooking Avinguda Riera de Cassoles, which housed the old Santa Rita fountain. It was circular in shape and covered with yellow tiles, with a hemispherical dome which was decorated with tiles and topped with a
lantern
A lantern is a source of lighting, often portable. It typically features a protective enclosure for the light sourcehistorically usually a candle, a oil lamp, wick in oil, or a thermoluminescence, thermoluminescent Gas mantle, mesh, and often a ...
with a cross on top. Demolished in 1963, today the old gardens are occupied by residential buildings.
Carrer de les Carolines was widened in 1925, bringing the house to street level. For this reason, the entrance door was moved to the southwest facade, where the covered porch is located, in the place that was previously occupied by a foyer window. A terrace with stairs was built to access the house. For its part, the old portal was converted into a double window with cast iron bars. A secondary door for the staff that was next to the dividing wall of the convent – and is currently a window – also disappeared, as well as a terrace located above this entrance that led to one of the bedrooms on the second floor, replaced by a balcony. The main street entrance shifted a little to the left and two lampposts, made by the blacksmith Bonaventura Batlle, were placed on top. A secondary entrance was situated on the corner of Carrer de les Carolines and Avinguda de la Riera de Cassoles, identical to the main one. The chapel viewpoint on the corner, overlooking Carreró Racó de Sant Gervasi, was maintained, although when it disappeared, it remained an element of the wall. Finally, the fountain at the entrance was removed, which was located in the part that disappeared from the southeast side when Carrer de Sant Gervasi was widened.
Inside, Serra’s intervention was more restrained than outside, with the use of new construction materials of the time, such as iron joists with ceramic vaulting on the ceilings. He replaced the old staircase designed by Gaudí with an interior patio that gave light to the adjoining rooms and installed a new staircase in the extended part. The basement lost a room due to the widening of the street, although it gained another under the new terrace located at the main entrance. The interior finishes of the extended part were simpler than those of Gaudí’s project, based essentially on
mosaic
A mosaic () is a pattern or image made of small regular or irregular pieces of colored stone, glass or ceramic, held in place by plaster/Mortar (masonry), mortar, and covering a surface. Mosaics are often used as floor and wall decoration, and ...
floors, plastered and painted walls, and plaster ceilings with moulding around the edges. The bathrooms were decorated with Andalusian tiles, showing flowers and a
pomegranate
The pomegranate (''Punica granatum'') is a fruit-bearing deciduous shrub in the family Lythraceae, subfamily Punica, Punicoideae, that grows between tall. Rich in symbolic and mythological associations in many cultures, it is thought to have o ...
in the centre.
In 1927 Casa Vicens won the Best Building Award by Barcelona City Council, due to the renovations and extension carried out by Joan Baptista Serra, although, secondarily, it was also to recognise the work of Gaudí. The prize, of 1,000
pesetas, was awarded on March 5, 1929. Gaudí had won this prize in 1900 for
Casa Calvet, one of his more conservative works.
The building underwent a new extension in 1935, when the architect Francisco Víctor Ortenbach Bertrán was commissioned to add a new area to the ground floor, on the west side of the facade.
In 1946 part of the garden was sold for the construction of houses, which included the waterfall, which was demolished, as well as the old viewpoint. The portion of the garden that included the chapel of Santa Rita was separated from the rest.
In 1962, Dr. Jover’s widow, Ángela González Sánchez, passed away, leaving her children, Antonio, Gaspar, María de la Paloma and Fabiola as heirs. After the distribution of her assets, Casa Vicens was left to Fabiola, who was married to the gynaecologist Antonio Herrero López (
Zaragoza
Zaragoza (), traditionally known in English as Saragossa ( ), is the capital city of the province of Zaragoza and of the autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Aragon, Spain. It lies by the Ebro river and its tributaries, the ...
, 1914 - Barcelona, 2004), who had his clinic at Casa Vicens. The following year, another part of the garden was sold for the construction of houses and the chapel of Santa Rita was demolished. Most of the palmetto fence was dismantled, some portions of which were later placed at various points in Park Güell. The property was then left at its current size, and architect Antonio Pineda Gualba was commissioned to renovate the basement and the ground floor, carried out in 1964. An entrance to the basement was then opened from street level, under the staircase of the main door.
The house was restored in 1997 with a project by Ignacio Herrero, a member of the owner’s family, an architect by profession. Work was mainly carried out on the facades and roof.
In 2001, upon Fabiola’s death, the inheritance was passed to her sons Antonio, Ignacio, Carlos María and Javier Herrero Jover.
Awards
Casa Vicens was declared a
Historic-Artistic Monument by virtue of Decree 1794/1969 of July 24, 1969 (
Boletín Oficial del Estado
The (''BOE''; "", from 1661 to 1936 known as the ''Gaceta de Madrid'', "") is the official gazette of the Spain, Kingdom of Spain and may be published on any day of the week. The content of the ''BOE'' is authorized and published by Royal Asse ...
of 20 August 1969). Alongside this, other Gaudí buildings were also declared: the
Temple Expiatori of the Sagrada Família,
Park Güell,
Palau Güell,
Casa Milà
Casa Milà (, ), popularly known as ''La Pedrera'' (, ; "the stone quarry") in reference to its unconventional rough-hewn appearance, is a ''Modernisme, Modernista'' building in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. It was the last private residence desi ...
,
Casa Batlló
() is a building in the center of Barcelona, Spain. It was designed by Antoni Gaudí, and is considered one of his masterpieces. A remodel of a previously built house, it was redesigned in 1904 by Gaudí (but the actual construction works hadn't ...
,
Portal Miralles,
Casa Calvet,
Casa Figueras (Bellesguard), the
Güell Pavilions and the
Col·legi de les Teresianes in Barcelona; the
crypt of Colònia Güell in
Santa Coloma de Cervelló; the
Cooperativa Obrera Mataronense (Mataró Workers’ Cooperative) in
Mataró
Mataró () is the capital and largest town of the Maresme county in Catalonia, Spain. It is located on the Costa del Maresme, Maresme coast, to the south of Costa Brava, between Cabrera de Mar and Sant Andreu de Llavaneres, north-east of Barcel ...
;
Casa Botines in
León; the
Episcopal Palace of Astorga;
El Capricho in
Comillas; and the liturgical elements installed in the main chapel of the
Palma Cathedral. The decree states that “Gaudí’s work is of exceptional interest within contemporary architecture. It brings together mechanics, construction and aesthetics and shows a high degree of sincerity. This signature style, present throughout his work, exposes Gaudí as an innovator with a strong personality. This, however, does not prevent many of his original solutions from being based on architectural tradition, specifically on the distinctive Gothic style of the Catalan region. The figure of Gaudí, extraordinarily valued throughout the world, has managed to turn his work into the most interesting and enduring exponent of the notable artistic movements of our time.” It also defines Casa Vicens as “one of the first landmarks of oriental-inspired Modernism, with the novelty of polychrome facades with natural materials in various textures combined with glazed ceramics”.
In 1993 it was declared a Cultural Asset of National Interest (BCIN), in accordance with the provisions of Law 9/1993 of September 30 on Catalan Cultural Heritage.
In July 2005, Casa Vicens was declared a
World Heritage Site
World Heritage Sites are landmarks and areas with legal protection under an treaty, international treaty administered by UNESCO for having cultural, historical, or scientific significance. The sites are judged to contain "cultural and natural ...
by
UNESCO
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO ) is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) with the aim of promoting world peace and International secur ...
. Three other works by Gaudí were also declared at this time: the Nativity facade, the crypt and the apse of the Temple Expiatori of the Sagrada Família and Casa Batlló in Barcelona, and the crypt of Colònia Güell in Santa Coloma de Cervelló. Park Güell, Palau Güell and Casa Milà, had previously been granted the status in 1984. In its statement, UNESCO stated that “these works attest to the exceptional contribution of Gaudí’s creations, to the evolution of architecture and construction techniques in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. They reflect a personal, very eclectic style to which Gaudí gave free rein, not only in architecture, but also in the design of gardens, sculptures and indeed many other arts”.
Sale, restoration and opening to the public
In 2014, the Herrero Jover family sold Casa Vicens to the
Andorra
Andorra, officially the Principality of Andorra, is a Sovereignty, sovereign landlocked country on the Iberian Peninsula, in the eastern Pyrenees in Southwestern Europe, Andorra–France border, bordered by France to the north and Spain to A ...
n bank
MoraBanc, which turned the property into a house-museum after its renovation. It opened its doors to the public on November 16, 2017.
The restoration was carried out by architects
Elías Torres and
José Antonio Martínez Lapeña, together with David García of the firm Daw Office SLP, between 2015 and 2017. Among the work carried out, the old staircase was replaced by a more modern one and adapted to the new use of the house as a museum, and a lift was installed. The levels added in 1935 and 1964, which had distorted Gaudí’s original work, were removed. More work was carried out in the porch, where the glass enclosure was replaced by a system of tilting shutters with a latticework of geometric shapes. The water fountain was also recovered, as in Gaudí’s original project.
By focusing the tour on the rooms of the original Gaudí project, the extension made by Serra in 1925 was converted into a reception area for visitors on the ground floor, as well as a space for fixed and temporary exhibitions on the first and second floors. In the exhibition space on the second floor there is a fireplace made by Gaudí for the house of Manuel Vicens in Alella, as well as plans of the project made by Gaudí and a 1:33 scale model of the estate. The exhibition is complemented by some audiovisuals of the Gaudí project. In the basement there is a bookstore, and in the garden area, a café.
During the renovation process, the Torrescassana paintings were restored, a process carried out by the company Policromia in collaboration with the
Generalitat de Catalunya
The Generalitat de Catalunya (; ; ), or the Government of Catalonia, is the institutional system by which Catalonia is self-governed as an autonomous community of Spain. It is made up of the Parliament of Catalonia, the President of the Govern ...
’s Centre for the Restoration of Artefacts of Catalonia. The work consisted of cleaning the canvases, retouching the pictorial layer and reinforcing the mounts. A number of ceramic tiles that had deteriorated were restored, a work carried out by Manel Diestre, of Sot’s Ceramics Studio, with the same stencilling technique as the originals. The lamps in the house were also restored, a project led by the architects responsible for the restoration, alongside a number of specialists in various techniques such as wood, ceramics, metal, mural painting, fabric and stone.
The restoration project was a finalist for the FAD Architecture Award in 2018, as well as the XI Ibero-American Biennial of Architecture and Urbanism in 2019. It won the Rehabilitation Award in the First Edition Lledó Iberian Architecture Awards in 2018 and was awarded at the XIV Spanish Biennial of Architecture and Urbanism 2016-2017 in 2018. According to the FAD jury, “the architects have presented a comprehensive and very careful rehabilitation of this first work by Gaudí”.
After the discovery of some original plans made by Gaudí, in 2019 a reconstruction of the waterfall designed by the architect for the garden was made, which was placed in the
Museu Agbar de les Aigües in
Cornellà de Llobregat
Cornellà de Llobregat (; ) is a Municipalities of Spain, municipality in the Comarques of Catalonia, ''comarca'' of the Baix Llobregat in Catalonia, Spain. It is situated on the left bank of the Llobregat River. It is in the south-western part of ...
.
Description

The current site has an area of 711 m
2 and the constructed area is 1,239 m
2. It is structured on four levels or floors: a basement to be used as a wine cellar and storage room; two floors with living spaces, the first with a kitchen, dining room and various other rooms, and the second with the bedrooms; and the attic used for the staff quarters. Gaudí used the traditional Catalan technique of building load-bearing walls and enclosures with vaults and wooden joists. This is still far from what would come to be his future construction solutions; those based on
regulated geometry, despite the waterfall in the garden already featuring the
parabolic arch, one of his future hallmarks. On the walls he combined faceted masonry, exposed brick and ceramic tiling.
The architect designed a property where summer was the main focus, and this was integrated into the surrounding garden. The structure is based on the straight line – contrary to a preference for the curved line which he would later introduce – which provides dynamism through the inward and outward sections of the structure. Similarly, the building conveys a sense of spatial continuity between the interior and exterior, thanks to the covered porch on the main floor and the gallery on the second floor, as well as the various balconies and terraces and the latticework that he applied to the openings. All this gives the building a feeling of lightness and clarity, an almost ephemeral construction, which was the first architectural showcase of his career.
Exterior

The structure of the house is based on the straight line, with the loads distributed among parallel walls. This simplicity is mitigated by the decorative richness, in which Gaudí unleashed his abundant imagination. The walls of the house are made of alternating masonry with rows of tiles, which feature the yellow flowers that Gaudí had discovered on the site of the house before construction, called Indian carnations or Moorish carnations. The tiles have a modular measurement of 15 cm.
The walls stand out for their prominent sections, which is a feature of
Islamic architecture
Islamic architecture comprises the architectural styles of buildings associated with Islam. It encompasses both Secularity, secular and religious styles from the early history of Islam to the present day. The Muslim world, Islamic world encompasse ...
. Masonry ashlars alternate with the tiles, some with plant motifs and others in a green and white check design. The different surfaces and geometric effects create chiaroscuros, which accentuate the chromatic diversity of the exterior. On the second floor of both the street facade and the garden there is a continuous gallery of mitred arches that surrounds the upper part, closed off with oriental-style wooden latticework. The corners feature galleries at 45 degrees, with balconies supported by brick brackets in successive overhangs. On the parapets of the balconies there are terracotta ''
putti
A putto (; plural putti ) is a figure in a work of art depicted as a chubby male child, usually naked and very often winged. Originally limited to profane passions in symbolism,Dempsey, Charles. ''Inventing the Renaissance Putto''. University ...
'', the work of Antoni Riba. The lower part of the overhangs of the windows contains edges which are formed by large drops in rounded pyramidal form, measuring , that alternate with
coffer
A coffer (or coffering) in architecture is a series of sunken panels in the shape of a square, rectangle, or octagon in a ceiling, soffit or vault.
A series of these sunken panels was often used as decoration for a ceiling or a vault, al ...
s in the form of shells and plant motifs.
The southeast facing wall which looks onto Carrer de les Carolines was the original entrance to the house and was moved during the 1925 renovations due to the widening of the street and the loss of the garden space, which was originally between the facade and the entrance gate and measured three metres long. Two windows were placed where the door was located and covered with cast iron bars. The right half of the facade, which protrudes out onto the street from the left, corresponds to Serra’s extension. The original facade was 7.5 m long, and seven further metres were added with the extension. The first floor has two rounded balconies, which contrast with the straight shapes found on the facade. On the roof, in the central part of the original facade, there is a chimney, while the right corner – part of the extension – features a small pavilion at the top.
The southwest facing facade, looking out onto the garden, was the main outer wall in Gaudí’s project. It is structured over three different levels, one for each floor. On the first level, the external area of the covered porch is visible in the central part and connects with the dining room on the main floor, which is flanked to the right by the entrance to the house – a window in the original project – and on the left, by the door to the smoking room. On the first floor, which is more understated, there is a balcony overlooking the bedrooms. The second floor, with the attic, is noticeable for its tile cladding and features a chimney at the top, while on the left corner a small pavilion emerges, with a cupola. The pavilion marks the maximum height of the house, 17 m.
On the outside, the covered porch has a height of 5.5 m, which includes the upper terrace. At the centre, the water fountain sits on a semi-circular base, decorated with carnation tiles. The latticework that surrounds the porch is made of wood and measures ; it is inspired by the orient and reminiscent of a style of Japanese shutters called ''
shitomi
''Shitomi'' (蔀), also called hajitomi (半蔀) are square-lattice shutters or doors found on older-style Japanese buildings. They are characteristic of the Shinden style, and the Heian Period (794-1185). They were used in aristocrats' palaces, ...
''. Gaudí was able to learn about this system at an exhibition of
Japanese architecture
has been typified by wooden structures, elevated slightly off the ground, with tiled or thatched roofs. Sliding doors ('' fusuma'') and other traditional partitions were used in place of walls, allowing the internal configuration of a space ...
held in Barcelona in 1881. The terrace located above the porch has wooden benches with metal railings and planters in the corners, decorated with tiles that alternate flowers and sunflower leaves, similar to those used in El Capricho in Comillas.
On the frieze of the covered porch there are a selection of phrases from
Catalan folk songs: “Sol, solet, vinam a veure” (“Sun, little sun, come and see me”) on the southeast side; “Oh, l’ombra de l’istiu” (“Oh, the shade of summer”) on the northwest side; “De la llart lo foch, visca lo foch de l'amor” (“From the hearth, the fire, long live the fire of love”) on the southwest wall.
The main door of the house, next to the covered porch, comes from the 1925 renovation, as it used to be on the street facade. Elevated above the ground, it is accessed by a stairway which has a metal railing. The door has two hinges on the sides made of cast iron with floral motifs. The doorway is shaped like a rectilinear mitral arch, decorated with large teardrop-shaped sculptures hanging from the ceiling. In the 1925 renovation, a terrace was placed in front of the door, which was removed in the 2017 restoration. Above the door is a cast iron lamp with plant motifs.
Access to the smoking room consists of four steps, decorated with carnation tiles, and two spiral-shaped railings showing flowers with elongated stems. The door is made of wood, featuring oriental-inspired geometric shapes. The adjoining window also has a wooden shutter with rounded pieces arranged alternately in horizontal and vertical positions. Above the door is a lamp, identical to that of the main entrance. Next to the entrance is a ceramic vase decorated with flowers and a
faun
The faun (, ; , ) is a half-human and half-goat mythological creature appearing in Greek and Roman mythology.
Originally fauns of Roman mythology were ghosts ( genii) of rustic places, lesser versions of their chief, the god Faunus. Before t ...
’s head.
The remaining two facades have the same design as the others. Half of the northwest facing facade looking onto the street – in this case the left-hand side – belongs to Serra’s extension. On the other side, the northeast facade is entirely Serra’s work, since in Gaudí’s project this side of the house shared a dividing wall with the neighbouring convent.
The roof has an area of 150 m
2, of which 85 m
2 belongs to the original house designed by Gaudí and the rest to Serra’s extension. The two projects also differ in their roofs: the original roof has four pitched sides built on the wooden beams of the attic roof, covered by rows of Arabic tiles, with a walkway of ceramic tiles that allows access to the small pavilion on the corner and the chimneys; the area built by Serra has a flat terrace, with steps leading to the other small pavilion at the opposite angle. These small pavilions – Serra’s is an exact replica of Gaudí’s original – are clad in tiles, combining carnations with green and white check, and a cupola crowned with a bronze flame. The fireplaces are made of brick and also clad in tiles. Access to this space features the old entrance gate from Carrer de les Carolines, when the main access was located on the southeast side, removed in the 1925 renovation. It displays floral motifs with round stems.
At the entrance to the street is the gate decorated with palm leaves and carnation flowers designed by Matamala and made by Oñós. It has a height of 2.3 m. The gate features two lamps above it which were included in the 1925 renovation and are attributed to the Bonaventura Batlle studio.
The current property has a garden which is much smaller than the original, but which tries to recreate the garden designed by Gaudí as far as possible. It includes palm trees (
Phoenix,
Trachycarpus
''Trachycarpus'' is a genus of ten species of Arecaceae, palms native to Asia, from the Himalaya east to eastern China. They are fan palms (subfamily Coryphoideae), with the leaf, leaves with a bare petiole terminating in a rounded fan of numerou ...
),
magnolia
''Magnolia'' is a large genus of about 210 to 340The number of species in the genus ''Magnolia'' depends on the taxonomic view that one takes up. Recent molecular and morphological research shows that former genera ''Talauma'', ''Dugandiodendr ...
s,
rose
A rose is either a woody perennial plant, perennial flowering plant of the genus ''Rosa'' (), in the family Rosaceae (), or the flower it bears. There are over three hundred Rose species, species and Garden roses, tens of thousands of cultivar ...
s and
climbing plants. The garden also contains a niche which replicates the former chapel that contained the image of Saint Rita, rebuilt by the architects who carried out the renovation of the property, although without the effigy of the saint.
Vicens BCN (1).jpg, Windows with wrought iron grille and upper balcony
Vicens BCN (4).jpg, Entrance door lamp
Vicens BCN (5).jpg, Smoking room door
Vicens BCN (15).jpg, Smoking room window
Vicens BCN (11).jpg, Planter with flower tiles and sunflower leaves
Vicens BCN (6).jpg, Ceramic vase
Interior
The house’s interior consists of masonry walls, with partitioned vaults in the basement and wooden beams on the other floors. Gaudí distributed the various rooms with small hexagonal hallways, so that they could be isolated by closing the doors. The architect designed a functional structure, using each one of the floors for a specific purpose: the basement as a wine cellar and storage room; the main floor for general family use, including the dining room, porch, smoking room, kitchen and laundry room; the first floor for the bedrooms, bathrooms and library; and the attic for staff accommodation. Gaudí designed all the furniture in the house, including the sliding doors and the cast brass locks on the cabinets.
Access to the house is through the main floor (162 m
2), which contains a foyer, dining room, porch and smoking room as the main rooms. The front door gives access to a porch, through which the foyer is accessed. The door is made of wood, decorated with a grid in which circular mouldings have been inserted. The foyer has a roof made from wooden beams with polychrome mouldings, as well as
sgraffito
(; ) is an artistic or decorative technique of scratching through a coating on a hard surface to reveal parts of another underlying coating which is in a contrasting colour. It is produced on walls by applying layers of plaster tinted in con ...
on the walls showing plant motifs. From the ceiling hangs a cast iron and glass lamp, Islamic in style, which came after the work of Gaudí.
The dining room (32 m
2) is decorated with climbing ivy made of stucco on a gold background in the free spaces of carpentry and tiling, alternating with
papier-mâché
file:JacmelMardiGras.jpg, upright=1.3, Mardi Gras papier-mâché masks, Haiti
Papier-mâché ( , , - the French term "mâché" here means "crushed and ground") is a versatile craft technique with roots in ancient China, in which waste paper is s ...
with fruit motifs and
strawberry
The garden strawberry (or simply strawberry; ''Fragaria × ananassa'') is a widely grown Hybrid (biology), hybrid plant cultivated worldwide for its fruit. The genus ''Fragaria'', the strawberries, is in the rose family, Rosaceae. The fruit ...
leaves between the roof beams. The floor is made of ''
opus tessellatum''
Roman mosaic
A Roman mosaic is a mosaic made during the Roman period, throughout the Roman Republic and later Empire. Mosaics were used in a variety of private and public buildings, on both floors and walls, though they competed with cheaper frescos for the ...
. On the wall facing the porch is a fireplace, surrounded by embossed glazed ceramic. The vaults are decorated with
cherry tree
A cherry is the fruit of many plants of the genus ''Prunus'', and is a fleshy drupe (stone fruit).
Commercial cherries are obtained from cultivars of several species, such as the sweet ''Prunus avium'' and the sour ''Prunus cerasus''. The name ...
and
shell
Shell may refer to:
Architecture and design
* Shell (structure), a thin structure
** Concrete shell, a thin shell of concrete, usually with no interior columns or exterior buttresses
Science Biology
* Seashell, a hard outer layer of a marine ani ...
motifs, made of polychrome plaster. Similarly, on the doorposts between the dining room and the porch are paintings of natural motifs (flora and fauna) made by
Francesc Torrescassana, such as
sparrows,
hummingbirds
Hummingbirds are birds native to the Americas and comprise the Family (biology), biological family Trochilidae. With approximately 366 species and 113 genus, genera, they occur from Alaska to Tierra del Fuego, but most species are found in Cen ...
,
heron
Herons are long-legged, long-necked, freshwater and coastal birds in the family Ardeidae, with 75 recognised species, some of which are referred to as egrets or bitterns rather than herons. Members of the genus ''Botaurus'' are referred to as bi ...
s,
cranes and
flamingo
Flamingos or flamingoes () are a type of wading bird in the family Phoenicopteridae, which is the only extant family in the order Phoenicopteriformes. There are four flamingo species distributed throughout the Americas (including the Caribbe ...
s. All the birds are shown in flight, except the flamingos at the bottom, and the leaves sway in the wind. In all, there are twenty-four figures of birds. The dining room cabinets, designed by Gaudí, match the frames that contain Torrescassana’s paintings. The architect also designed the locks, all different, thus demonstrating his knowledge of various artistic skills. At the top two entrance doors to the dining room, there are two oriental-style
terracotta
Terracotta, also known as terra cotta or terra-cotta (; ; ), is a clay-based non-vitreous ceramic OED, "Terracotta""Terracotta" MFA Boston, "Cameo" database fired at relatively low temperatures. It is therefore a term used for earthenware obj ...
figures, the work of
Antoni Riba, one male and one female, probably an
odalisque.

The dining room leads into the covered porch (13 m
2), open to the outside thanks to a system of oriental-inspired latticework. In the centre there is a fountain formed by a circular
plateresque
Plateresque, meaning "in the manner of a silversmith" (''plata'' being silver in Spanish language, Spanish), was an artistic movement, especially Architecture, architectural, developed in Spanish Empire, Spain and its territories, which appeared ...
baptismal font
A baptismal font is an Church architecture, ecclesiastical architectural element, which serves as a receptacle for baptismal water used for baptism, as a part of Christian initiation for both rites of Infant baptism, infant and Believer's bapti ...
, which contains a square podium with tiles of
sunflower
The common sunflower (''Helianthus annuus'') is a species of large annual forb of the daisy family Asteraceae. The common sunflower is harvested for its edible oily seeds, which are often eaten as a snack food. They are also used in the pr ...
leaves. From there, a
marble
Marble is a metamorphic rock consisting of carbonate minerals (most commonly calcite (CaCO3) or Dolomite (mineral), dolomite (CaMg(CO3)2) that have recrystallized under the influence of heat and pressure. It has a crystalline texture, and is ty ...
column emerges, topped with a circular cup, which has
cherub
A cherub (; : cherubim; ''kərūḇ'', pl. ''kərūḇīm'') is one type of supernatural being in the Abrahamic religions. The numerous depictions of cherubim assign to them many different roles, such as protecting the entrance of the Garden of ...
heads at the bottom to drain the water and at the top is an elliptical metal mesh that resembles a spider’s web. On either side of this fountain there are wooden benches. The room is decorated with carnation tiles, while the ceiling is decorated with sgraffito, using
pomegranate
The pomegranate (''Punica granatum'') is a fruit-bearing deciduous shrub in the family Lythraceae, subfamily Punica, Punicoideae, that grows between tall. Rich in symbolic and mythological associations in many cultures, it is thought to have o ...
and
hydrangea
''Hydrangea'' ( or ) is a genus of more than 70 species of Flowering plant, flowering plants native plant, native to Asia and the Americas. Hydrangea is also used as the common name for the genus; some (particularly ''Hydrangea macrophylla, H. m ...
motifs and
Trompe-l'œil
; ; ) is an artistic term for the highly realistic optical illusion of three-dimensional space and objects on a Two-dimensional space, two-dimensional surface. , which is most often associated with painting, tricks the viewer into perceiving p ...
tempera
Tempera (), also known as egg tempera, is a permanent, fast-drying painting medium consisting of pigments mixed with a water-soluble binder medium, usually glutinous material such as egg yolk. ''Tempera'' also refers to the paintings done in ...
paintings depicting a sky seen through palm leaves. The separation between the two rooms was formerly made with sliding doors designed by Eudald Puntí.
Next to the dining room is the smoking room (10 m
2), one of the most special rooms in the house, with a partitioned vault covered with a ceiling of Islamic style
muqarnas in the shape of
stalactite
A stalactite (, ; , ) is a mineral formation that hangs from the ceiling of caves, hot springs, or man-made structures such as bridges and mines. Any material that is soluble and that can be deposited as a colloid, or is in suspension (chemistry ...
s made of polychrome plaster, that show palm leaves and clusters of
dates. The walls are lined with papier mâché tiles in shades of gold, blue, and green, as well as a blue and ochre-coloured wardrobe with
oil-painted red and yellow roses. These papier mâché tiles were made by Hermenegild Miralles, one of Gaudí’s clients, for whom he built the entrance gateway to the Miralles estate. This room has a wooden door that gives access to the garden, made with a Chinese-style lattice. It was furnished with a folding coffee table and low stools and had a
hookah
A hookah (also see #Names and etymology, other names), shisha, or waterpipe is a single- or multi-stemmed instrument for heating or vaporizing and then smoking either tobacco, flavored tobacco (often ''muʽassel''), or sometimes Cannabis (drug ...
for smoking
tobacco
Tobacco is the common name of several plants in the genus '' Nicotiana'' of the family Solanaceae, and the general term for any product prepared from the cured leaves of these plants. More than 70 species of tobacco are known, but the ...
. The Jover family added an Islamic style lamp, of translucent glass with
Arabic letters, which was removed in 2020 during the restoration process, as it did not belong to Gaudí’s original project.
On the first floor (143 m
2) were the bedrooms: the main one was over the dining room, with a terrace located above the lower porch; it also had a living room, located above the smoking room, a bathroom, a dressing room with toilet and other facilities, a guest room and one other room, probably intended for study or as a library. These rooms were decorated with
fresco
Fresco ( or frescoes) is a technique of mural painting executed upon freshly laid ("wet") lime plaster. Water is used as the vehicle for the dry-powder pigment to merge with the plaster, and with the setting of the plaster, the painting become ...
es of plant motifs inspired by the plants of the nearby river Cassoles (
reeds,
rushes and
fern
The ferns (Polypodiopsida or Polypodiophyta) are a group of vascular plants (plants with xylem and phloem) that reproduce via spores and have neither seeds nor flowers. They differ from mosses by being vascular, i.e., having specialized tissue ...
s). The master bedroom (34 m
2) has a beamed ceiling with ceramic tiles and pressed papier mâché showing green vine motifs. It also has a terrace located above the covered porch on the lower floor, with a wooden bench with an iron grille. In the living room there is a dome decorated with a trompe-l'œil painting of
baroque
The Baroque ( , , ) is a Western Style (visual arts), style of Baroque architecture, architecture, Baroque music, music, Baroque dance, dance, Baroque painting, painting, Baroque sculpture, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished from ...
influence that reproduces in low angle the cupola of the pavilion that rises above this room, towards the sky, with a group of white
dove
Columbidae is a bird family consisting of doves and pigeons. It is the only family in the order Columbiformes. These are stout-bodied birds with small heads, relatively short necks and slender bills that in some species feature fleshy ceres. ...
s in flight, as well as the branches of climbing plants along the rail. This room also has a floor covered with blue, white and ochre tiles. In the corner there is a balcony with wooden benches and an enclosure made of oriental latticework similar to those in the rest of the house. The dressing room (7 m
2) has two access doors and a white and blue check tile skirting surrounded by other tiles in ochre, with a beam ceiling with floral motifs and corbels decorated with
daisies on a blue background. The bathroom (6 m
2) has a grey terrazzo floor and tiled walls, alternating ochre tones with white and blue check, as well as a tile frieze with oil-painted flowers, unique in the house. The bathroom ceiling is beamed, with ceramic reliefs of ivy leaves. The toilet (1.4 m
2) is decorated with tiles showing wheels and stars.
The second floor (150 m
2), intended for staff accommodation, is currently an exhibition space. Gaudí designed this floor in a more austere way, according to its functions, with smooth walls, tiled flooring and a wooden beamed ceiling. He designed an open space with high ceilings that would serve as the building’s thermal regulator.
The basement, which has
Catalan vault
The Catalan vault (), also called thin-tile vault, Catalan turn, Catalan arch, boveda ceiling (Spanish ''bóveda'' 'vault'), or timbrel vault, is a type of low brickwork arch forming a vaulted ceiling that often supports a floor above. It is co ...
s on the ceiling, was formerly used as a wine cellar and coal bunker. The museum store is currently located there.
Vicens BCN (10).jpg, Dining room, southeast side
Vicens BCN (17).jpg, Bird paintings on the dining room jambs
Vicens BCN (9).jpg, Odalisque figure, by Antoni Riba
Vicens BCN (12).jpg, Bedroom ceiling
Vicens BCN (18).jpg, Living room balcony window
Vicens BCN (13).jpg, Bathroom
Paintings

The paintings in the dining room are the work of Francesc Torrescassana i Sallarés (Barcelona, 1845-1918). He studied at the
Llotja School in Barcelona from 1859 to 1865, where he was a protégé of
Ramon Martí Alsina. He completed further studies in
Rome
Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...
and
Paris
Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...
, where he explored the artistic trends of his time. On his return, he focused principally on
historical
History is the systematic study of the past, focusing primarily on the human past. As an academic discipline, it analyses and interprets evidence to construct narratives about what happened and explain why it happened. Some theorists categ ...
,
costumbrista
''Costumbrismo'' (in Catalan: ''costumisme''; sometimes anglicized as costumbrism, with the adjectival form costumbrist) is Literary costumbrismo, the literary or pictorial interpretation of local everyday life, mannerisms, and customs, primari ...
,
portrait
A portrait is a painting, photograph, sculpture, or other artistic representation of a person, in which the face is always predominant. In arts, a portrait may be represented as half body and even full body. If the subject in full body better r ...
and
landscape painting
Landscape painting, also known as landscape art, is the depiction in painting of natural scenery such as mountains, valleys, rivers, trees, and forests, especially where the main subject is a wide view—with its elements arranged into a cohe ...
, in a
realist style that in its final stages evolved into a certain degree of
impressionism
Impressionism was a 19th-century art movement characterized by visible brush strokes, open Composition (visual arts), composition, emphasis on accurate depiction of light in its changing qualities (often accentuating the effects of the passage ...
. He has works in the
Museu Nacional d'Art de Catalunya
The (; ), abbreviated as MNAC (), is a museum of Catalonia, Catalan visual art located in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. Situated on Montjuïc hill at the end of Avinguda de la Reina Maria Cristina, near Plaça d'Espanya, Barcelona, Pl Espanya, th ...
(Barcelona), in the
Museo del Prado
The Museo del Prado ( ; ), officially known as Museo Nacional del Prado, is the main Spanish national art museum, located in central Madrid. It houses collections of Art of Europe, European art, dating from the 12th century to the early 20th ce ...
in
Madrid
Madrid ( ; ) is the capital and List of largest cities in Spain, most populous municipality of Spain. It has almost 3.5 million inhabitants and a Madrid metropolitan area, metropolitan area population of approximately 7 million. It i ...
and in the
Louvre Museum
The Louvre ( ), or the Louvre Museum ( ), is a national art museum in Paris, France, and one of the most famous museums in the world. It is located on the Rive Droite, Right Bank of the Seine in the city's 1st arrondissement of Paris, 1st arron ...
in Paris, although it is Casa Vicens that houses the greatest number of works by the artist.
The details of the commission are unknown, although it seems that Manuel Vicens was already a collector of Torrescassana’s work before the construction of the house. Therefore, it is assumed that a great deal of these works – many of which are not dated – were painted previously by artist and not made specifically for the house. To house this collection, Gaudí designed the furniture of the dining room according to how these paintings would be exhibited, so he made wooden framed furniture of lemon wood from Ceylon to integrate harmoniously with the collection on display. In total, the dining room contains thirty-two paintings, consisting of two portraits, two interiors and twenty-eight landscapes. They are works inherited from his initial realist style, influenced by Martí Alsina, but there is a certain evolution, conveying a somewhat
romantic air, reminiscent of the work of
Modest Urgell. Of the collection of works, only four are signed and dated, specifically in 1879, which indicates that they were created prior to the construction of the house; only one is signed. All the paintings are oil on canvas.
The paintings preserved in the dining room of Casa Vicens are (listed from top to bottom and from left to right):
*Southwest wall:
**''Landscape'', c. 1870-1888
**''Landscape'', c. 1870-1888
**''Landscape'', c. 1870-1888
**''Landscape'', c. 1870-1888
**''Landscape'', c. 1870-1888
**''Landscape'', c. 1870-1888
**''
Roda de Ter'', c. 1870-1888
**''Landscape'', c. 1870-1888
*Northwest wall:
**''Marine'', c. 1870-1888 (signed)
**''Village'', c. 1870-1888
**''Male portrait'', c. 1870-1888
**''Village'', c. 1870-1888
**''Barn'', c. 1870-1888
**''Marine'', 187(4?) (signed and dated, difficult to read)
*Northeast wall:
**''Customs scene'', c. 1870-1888
**''Marine'', c. 1870-1888
**''Marine'', c. 1870-1888
**''Street of a village'', c. 1870-1888
**''View of a village'', 1879 (signed and dated)
**''Trees'', c. 1870-1888
**''Interior'', 1879 (signed and dated)
**''Trees'', c. 1870- 1888
**''Landscape'', 1879 (signed and dated)
**''Street of a village'', c. 1870- 1888
**''Landscape'', c. 1870-1888
**''Landscape'', c. 1870-1888
*Southeast wall:
**''Marine'', c. 1870-1888
**''Landscape'', c. 1870-1888
**''Garden'', c. 1870-1888
**''Landscape'', c. 1870-1888
**''Unknown portrait'', c. 1870-1888
**''Landscape'', c. 1870-1888
See also
*
List of Gaudí buildings
*
List of Modernisme buildings in Barcelona
Notes
References
Bibliography
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External links
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Works of Antoni GaudíUNESCO Collection on Google Arts and Culture
Blueprints of Casa Vicens
{{authority control
Antoni Gaudí buildings
Art Nouveau houses
Buildings and structures in Barcelona
Gràcia
Houses completed in 1889
Houses in Catalonia
Modernisme architecture in Barcelona
Museums established in 2017
Museums in Barcelona
Neo-Mudéjar architecture in Spain
Visionary environments
World Heritage Sites in Catalonia