September 26, 2026
By Ferran Garcés
A well-known phrase by Antoni Gaudí speaks of his respect and admiration for plants composed of three main parts: roots, trunk, and crown: “This tree near my workshop; this is my master!” The architect, enamored with Nature and liturgy, was able to draw important lessons from these plants; lessons that are both physical, or architectural, and spiritual, or symbolic. A study of this subject would be difficult to summarize. To keep it brief, today we will limit ourselves to commenting on a small example of the second case, the symbolic one.
The Tree of a King and the Virgin Mary
Jesse was the father of David, the archetype of a sovereign, and Christian tradition considers Jesus to be his descendant. In the Book of Isaiah, it is said: “A shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse; from his roots a Branch will bear fruit.” Later, in the Book of Revelation, Jesus declares: “I am the Root and the Offspring of David.”
This prophecy is a recurring theme in art, especially in medieval art, because it supported two foundations of feudal society: religious authority and the institution of monarchy by divine right. Consequently, it appears extensively in stained-glass windows, paintings, and reliefs. Traditionally, the image is usually represented as follows:
· At the base, in the roots, Jesse appears sleeping or lying on the ground.
· In the center, we see the trunk growing from Jesse’s chest or abdomen, and the branches, on which the faces of the various kings of Judah, such as David or Solomon, and the prophets who foretold the Messiah are placed.
· In the crown, at the very top of the tree, the Virgin Mary and her son, Jesus, are depicted as the ultimate fruit of the prophecy.
As we know, Torre Bellesguard was built on the very site where the former palace of King Martin I once stood, a deeply religious monarch who represents the last member of the House of Barcelona. It was therefore no coincidence to include the motif of the Tree of Jesse in the final work. We can distinguish it above the entrance door of the house, in the golden mosaic shaped like a square shield rotated by 45°. However, as is typical of Gaudí, his recreation of this motif could not have been more unexpected and personal.
According to Galdric Santana, current holder of the Gaudí Chair, “The letters of the house spelling the name ‘Bell-Esguard’ are red, and there is also ornamentation with branches and leaves, in the manner of a family tree, featuring an enlarged leaf, where Gaudí also creates the symbolic double meaning of the Tree of Jesse, representing the Virgin Mary, while at the same time evoking the concept of the genealogical tree of the Barcelona royal dynasty” (1).
Notes
(1) Santana Roma, Galdric (2021), “Regarding Bellesguard.” In: Permanyer, Lluís (editor), Sagnier and the Modernists: The Craft of Architecture 1880–1930, RBA, Barcelona, p. 133, note 9.
