Antoní Gaudí
Spanish (1852-1926)
Wall clock from the Casa Milá, Barcelona, 1906-1910
gilded wood
Private collection, Courtesy Allan Stone Gallery

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This wooden clock represents the work of Spanish architect Antoní Gaudí, one of the most idiosyncratic practitioners of the Art Nouveau style. He created it in about 1909 for the Casa Milá, an apartment building he designed in Barcelona. All undulating stone walls and wrought-iron balconies, the Casa Milá gives the impression, like this clock, of perpetual motion. The leafy, asymmetrical swirls surrounding the timepiece are inspired by the gilded curves of the rococo period, which was an important influence on Art Nouveau designers.