Antoni Gaudi

Great Lives

Baroness Ros Altmann, a Conservative peer and former pensions minister, was “blown away” by the architecture of Antoni Gaudi on a trip to Barcelona in the 1990s. She’s been back several times and her wonder at Gaudi’s use of colour and natural shapes has not faded. She wants to find out more about the conservative, religious man who created such exuberant and flamboyant work. Gaudi biographer Gijs Van Hensbergen joins Ros and host Matthew Parris to explore Gaudi’s childhood, his personal life and how his Catholicism and love of Catalan nature informed his work. Producer: Paul Martin for BBC Studios Audio.