\paperw4260 \margr0\margl0 \plain \qj\li105\ri105 \f1 \b GAUD═ AND CATALAN MODERNISM\par
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\b0 At the end of the nineteenth century, \b \cf4 \ATXht128 Barcelona\b0 \cf0 \ATXht0 was the scene of a true economic and social revolution. Industrialization and flourishing trade permitted the rise of a new, capitalist middle class in search of a form of artistic expression that would represent it and distinguish the public, religio
us, and private buildings of the time.\par
Modernism, whose greatest exponent in Spain was Antoni Gaudφ, was the artistic reflection of the new society. GaudφÆs style was characterized by a rejection of neoclassical canons in architecture and a revival
of the Byzantine, \b \cf4 \ATXht175 Gothic\b0 \cf0 \ATXht0 , and \b \cf4 \ATXht174 Islamic\b0 \cf0 \ATXht0 forms of the Middle Ages, fused into geometrically complex and highly decorated forms, in which the main source of inspiration was nature.\par
