Spain Trip #16: Barcelona: Sagrada Familia's Reverse Stained Glass Windows

Fire colors from the eastern side : Tom Willaiams

In this Spain trip blog, we're still exploring the Basilica called Sagrada Familia, and we'll highlight the stained glass and colors inside the structure. In this blog you'll learn about the backwards stained glass windows (from other churches) and Gaudi's color scheme.

IT'S BACKWARD FROM THE STANDARD  - As an architect who has studied Cathedrals and churches, Tom said that stained glass windows on the east-facing side of churches are usually blues, greens and cool colors. On the west, as the sun sets, churches usually have reds, yellows and oranges. In Sagrada Familia, it was totally opposite.Tom said that it looks like fire on one side and ice on the other. Why it's reversed in this Basilica, we have no idea. There's nothing written about it. 

Ceiling. Credit: Gary Alan Raymond 

GAUDI'S USE OF LIGHT - According to the Website for Sagrada Familia,  "Gaudí made great use of light to endow his architecture with expressivity and grandeur. Sunlight glistens on the pinnacles of the towers and windows. The rising sun lights up the portals of the Nativity facade, accentuating the joy for life that is the birth of Jesus.

On the Passion facade the interplay of light and shadow produced by the setting sun heightens the sparse and severe character of the facade’s theme, while the Glory facade receives the mid-day sun that will shine on the 16 lanterns of the monumental porch and light up the main entrance to the basilica."

Credit: Tom Williams

Altar with weird lights. Cr: Tom Williams

QUOTE: Gaudí said that color was the expression of life, which is why he decided to make its presence felt in the Sagrada Familia. 

FAST FACTS -  There are 53 columns inside. They are 180 feet high. 

NEXT: The Crypt and Ghosts Who Haunt Sagrada Familia

Source: http://www.sagradafamilia.org/en/light-and-colour/