Gaudí's first important commission as a young architect was built between 1883 and 1885, at which time he had not yet thrown away his architect's tools, particularly the T-square. The historical eclecticism of the early-Art Nouveau movement is evident in the Orientalist themes and Mudejar details lavished on the facade. The house was commissioned by a ceramics merchant, which may explain the eye-catching colored ceramic tiles that render most of the facade a striking checkerboard—Barcelona's first example of this now-omnipresent technique. The palm leaves on the gate and surrounding fence have been attributed to Gaudí assistant, Francesc Berenguer, and the comic iron lizards and bats oozing off the facade are Gaudí's playful nod to the Gothic gargoyle.
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