Lost drawings by young Antoni Gaudí discovered

Ten previously unknown drawings by the renowned architect Antoni Gaudí have been discovered. The collection, which includes two self-portraits from 1876 created when Gaudí was approximately 23 or 24 years old, was presented by biographer Josep Maria Tarragona during the Gaudí International Congress at La Pedrera in Barcelona.

The artworks were part of a larger folder containing 37 original papers that belonged to Emili Cabanyes i Rabassa, a former classmate of Gaudí and later the mayor of Mataró. The documents have been passed down through generations of the Cabanyes family.

Among the findings is a piece titled ‘Nínive,’ featuring two male figures and a winged bull rendered in ink on satin cloth paper. Other works consist of graphite drawings on translucent tracing paper. Experts have confirmed the authenticity of the drawings by comparing handwriting and figures with the ‘Manuscrito de Reus,’ Gaudí’s only surviving student notebook.