Gaudi elevator discovered in Palermo Italy? | Art Nouveau

Gaudi elevator discovered in Palermo Italy? | Art Nouveau
https://aboutartnouveau.wordpress.com/2015/09/20/gaudi-ele...
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Gaudi elevator discovered in Palermo Italy?
20 Sunday Sep 2015
POSTED BY SEISHONAGON3 IN BARCELONA, PALERMO
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Tags
Andrea Speziali, Antoni Gaudi, Architecture, Art Nouveau, Casa Batlló, Catalan, Elevator, Fuster y Fabra,
Interior Design, Modernismo, Palermo, stained glass
Exciting news this month: Italian Art Nouveau expert Andrea Speziali says he may have discovered
the elevator that used to be installed in Casa Batlló, Barcelona.
Elevator discovered in Italy by Andrea Speziali
The elevator is located in a villa in Palermo (Sicily, southern Italy). Speziali explains that the original
owner of this villa was “a Spanish businessman who, during the Franco regime, stole many pieces of
art, including the elevator.”
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Gaudi elevator discovered in Palermo Italy? | Art Nouveau
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The materials of this exceptional elevator are reminiscent of the materials used in Casa Batlló; the
same glass and the same decorations. Speziali is therefore almost 100% sure that this cabin comes
from Casa Battló, Barcelona.
According to Speziali, the elevator was built by the Spanish Fuster y Fabra brothers in the style of
Casa Batlló. That means that Gaudí would have commissioned them. The Italian expert says that
both the outside and the inside of a building, including the elevator, had basically always the same
design.
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Gaudi elevator discovered in Palermo Italy? | Art Nouveau
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Speziali reported that the current owner of the cabin, who had not identified the style, contacted him
to analyze the cabin. It was then that he made a comprehensive study of a month and a half and
viewed more than 30,000 photographs of Catalan Art Nouveau buildings from all over Barcelona and
Spain. And no other home came, stylistically, closer to the design of the cabin than Casa Batlló.
Speziali admits that “although there are many factors leading to Casa Batlló, there is no evidence.
We would need to find a photograph of the elevator in those days; but who has such a
photograph?” He intends to contact those responsible at Casa Batlló to verify the authenticity of the
elevator.
Elevator Shaft at Casa Batlló Barcelona
Sources at Casa Batlló confirmed they have been in touch with Speziali regarding this issue and
agreed that the decorations “really closely resemble the stained glass on the main floor” but that,
however, “the wood is a little different from the wood Gaudí used”. The source added that this does
not rule out the possibility that the elevator originates from Casa Batlló, but it would help if he
had the exact measurements of the cabin.
Source:
The original Spanish news-article on Efe.com
Diario de León – 11 sep. 2015
Liberty
3 diItalia
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Gaudi elevator discovered in Palermo Italy? | Art Nouveau
Italian liberty. L'alba del
Novecento Speziali And...
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Italian liberty style De
Guttry Irene; Maino M. ...
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