{"id":5740,"date":"2026-02-06T10:41:34","date_gmt":"2026-02-06T09:41:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.sagradafamilia.org\/?p=5740"},"modified":"2026-04-07T11:02:46","modified_gmt":"2026-04-07T09:02:46","slug":"mariano-barcelo-baldachin-model-history","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.sagradafamilia.org\/en\/mariano-barcelo-baldachin-model-history\/","title":{"rendered":"Mariano Barcel\u00f3: the history of the baldachin model"},"content":{"rendered":"

When Antoni Gaud\u00ed was working on the Nativity fa\u00e7ade, he had figures sculpted using real people and animals<\/a> as models to unify them and make them as life-like as possible. He chose people close to hand, such as collaborators from the worksite, worshippers, children from the school and residents of the El Poblet neighbourhood, from which today\u2019s Sagrada Fam\u00edlia neighbourhood emerged, and tried to find some connection to the character they would represent. One of them was Mariano Barcel\u00f3, a stonemason at the Sagrada Fam\u00edlia who posed for Christ on the crucifix, as we can see in the picture below from the Temple museum:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t<\/svg>\n\t\t<\/button><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Mariano Barcel\u00f3 posing for the crucifix in Antoni Gaud\u00ed\u2019s workshop<\/sup><\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/div>\n\n\n\n

The photo, which doesn\u2019t give the model\u2019s name, is from an article published in the Catalan journal Gaseta de les Arts<\/em> on 1 july 1926<\/a>, just after Gaud\u00ed\u2019s death, which explained the plaster moulding technique<\/strong><\/a> the architect used for the sculptures and included pictures of his workshop.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>
\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Plaster moulding technique<\/strong>: using knowledge from anatomy classrooms at the hospital, the architect made wire skeletons and covered them with a mouldable metal mesh. Once he found the right position and appearance, he looked for the right model and photographed them in front of mirrors to get several perspectives. Then, the model was covered in a layer of plaster, which hardened after a few minutes and created a scale mould to be replicated in stone.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/div>\n\n\n\n

One of Gaud\u00ed\u2019s collaborators, sculptor Carles Mani, used this model of the Christ to make the crucifix for the chapel of prayer at Casa Batll\u00f3<\/strong>, which is now in the crypt at the Sagrada Fam\u00edlia, and in 2010 it inspired artist Francesc Fajula in creating the Christ of the baldachin for the Basilica\u2019s main altar.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t<\/svg>\n\t\t<\/button><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Crucifix that Carles Mani made in 1906<\/sub><\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/div>\n\n\n\n

Mariano Barcel\u00f3\u2019s descendants have always been very aware of his ties to the Sagrada Fam\u00edlia, through family stories and the photo published in Gaseta de les Arts<\/em>. And to this day, no documents have been found showing he was used as a model or was employed by the Temple.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Recently, however, Mariano\u2019s obituary was found in the December 1926 issue of El Propagador de la Devoci\u00f3n a San Jos\u00e9<\/em>, a publication founded by the promoters of the Sagrada Fam\u00edlia. This text explicitly connects him to the photo published in Gaseta de les Arts. It is a tribute to his contribution to the Temple:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/div>\n\n\n\n
<\/div>\n\n\n\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\"\"\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t<\/svg>\n\t\t<\/button><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
\n
\"\"\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t<\/svg>\n\t\t<\/button><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

Montserrat (Mariano Barcel\u00f3's granddaughter): \u00ab<\/strong>We were very excited about this article because it is a tribute to him and his work\u00bb<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

To learn more about Mariano Barcel\u00f3\u2019s story, we spoke with his granddaughters, sisters Anna Maria and Montserrat, and great-granddaughter Carla, who is collaborating with the Sagrada Fam\u00edlia.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What do you know about Mariano?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Carla Planas (C.)<\/strong>: My grandmother, who lived in the neighbourhood and had deep ties to the Sagrada Fam\u00edlia, told us the story of her father-in-law Mariano. I\u2019m an art historian and I love researching. While I was making our family tree, I found out that my great-grandfather was born in Tarragona. Laia (head of the Junta Constructora Documentation Centre and archive) told me that many of Gaud\u00ed\u2019s collaborators were from Camp de Tarragona, as the architect was. These included his father, Antonio, who according to the recently uncovered obituary was also in charge of the stonemasons workshop at the Sagrada Fam\u00edlia, and it may have been the architect himself who invited him to come work in Barcelona. That is how Mariano, his son, came to train at the Sagrada Fam\u00edlia and, later, inherit his father\u2019s position when he died.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Anna Maria Barcel\u00f3 (A.)<\/strong>: What we know is that the whole family moved from Tarragona to Barcelona, to Carrer de Jovellanos, and then moved to Carrer de Val\u00e8ncia, between Carrer de Sardenya and Carrer de la Marina, to be closer to the Temple.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/div>\n\n\n\n

What did he do at the Temple?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Montserrat Barcel\u00f3 <\/strong>(M.)<\/strong>: We\u2019ve always been told that he was the head stonemason, that he made the turtles on the Nativity fa\u00e7ade and was the model for the crucifix, which my father said was originally meant to go on the Passion fa\u00e7ade.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/div>\n\n\n\n

The article El Propagador<\/em> explains more about him and shows he was the model for the Christ. What has this discovery meant to you?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

(M.)<\/strong>: Mariano has always been part of our lives through our parents\u2019 stories. We were very excited about this article because, for the first time, what had always been a family story was publicly documented and recognised. It is a tribute to him and his work, and also recognition for our mother, who spoke of our grandfather with great devotion and wished everyone could know his story.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

(C.): <\/strong> Laia told me that all the information about the workers went up in flames during the war, so I never expected to find an article like this. Seeing how they recognised the type of person he was and his devotion to his work, in such detail, was very moving. Professionally, I love working with this type of documents, which enrich oral sources and help build the history of the Temple.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/div>\n\n\n\n

\u00abS\u00f3lo cuando el estado le reclam\u00f3 y lo mand\u00f3 a Cuba en los d\u00edas de la p\u00e9rdida de aquella posesi\u00f3n, dej\u00f3 de prestar sus servicios al Templo de la Sagrada Familia, al cual dirig\u00eda constantemente sus ojos porque en \u00e9l hab\u00eda dejado su coraz\u00f3n\u00bb<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Excerpt from Mariano Barcel\u00f3\u2019s obituary in El Propagador de la Devoci\u00f3n a San Jos\u00e9<\/em>. 1 December 1926. Page 376<\/sup><\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

\n