Researchers reveal 37 private drawings of young Antoni Gaudí

Biographer Josep Maria Tarragona and researcher Francesc Xavier Jové presented a study of 37 private drawings by Antoni Gaudí, the famous Spanish architect, during the Gaudí International Congress 2026 in Barcelona.

The researchers examined these works, which date from 1876 to 1879, to reveal how Gaudí worked during his formative years as a student and early professional. The collection of drawings remained in a private family archive for generations.

These pieces document Gaudí's learning process, including his graphic corrections and studies of various subjects such as animals, plants, and technical designs for cranes and siphons. The researchers identified the works by comparing the handwriting, proportions, and strokes to known documents, including the Manuscrito de Reus, a youthful notebook of about 80 pages. The study provides a rare look at Gaudí's early creative process.

The drawings show light initial lines and repeated marks where the architect tested different shapes before finalizing a design. This method of trial and revision mirrors the techniques he used later in his career while overseeing large construction projects. Among the most personal pieces are two self-portraits from 1876, when Gaudí was 24 years old, showing him with thick hair and a full beard.

The discovery of these documents is particularly important because much of Gaudí's original archive was destroyed during the Spanish Civil War. The loss of the workshop attached to the Sagrada Família destroyed many plans and records of his earlier works. Because these 37 drawings were preserved in a private folder by a former classmate, they offer a unique record of a period of his life that has few remaining visual traces.