Temple of the Sagrada Familia: Apse

Antoni Gaudí
1882-present




View of apse (wikimedia image);
vertex of wall crowned with basket of fruit

 

Apse details with gargoyles

While medieval churches often used animals as gargoyles, these creature were invented beings and usually malign. Here common animals are used, although some have been traditionally associated with the demonic: serpents, salamander, lizards, frogs, and snails. Anagrams at the tops of the windows are symbols for Mary or Jesus or Saint Joseph. The apse tower is dedicated to Mary
 
 




Return to introduction and index for Sagrada Familia.

Work cited: Josep Maria Carandell. El Temple de la Sagrada Familia. Sant LLuís: Triangle Postals S. L., 1997.
Anonymous. The Expiatory Temple of Sagrada Familia. Dos de Arte Ediciones. Guias Visuales. n.d.

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© 2014 Mary Ann Sullivan. I have photographed (on site), scanned, and manipulated all the images on these pages. Please feel free to use them for personal or educational purposes. They are not available for commercial purposes.