Judging from this 1880 portrait, it’s quite apparent that Spanish industrial tycoon and diplomat Count Eduardo Toda Y Güell was an exceedingly well-dressed gentleman.
A multi-tasker in magnificent mummy make up, Güell was also quite accomplished as an archaeologist, art collector and author. His book Through Egypt (Madrid, 1889) is an evocative snapshot of contemporary life in late nineteenth century Cairo, as well as a scholarly exploration of the region’s ancient monuments. Of course, the volume is illustrated with his own photographs.
In addition to suffering from acute Egyptomania, Güell was also gaga for Antoni Gaudi – as the Catalan architect’s principal patron. For Güell’s Barcelona estate (now the Spanish royal family’s Palace of Pedrables) Gaudi created a gate of wrought-iron forged into the form of a ferocious and formidable-lookin’ dragon.
Doesn’t Gaudi’s gargantuan and grimacing
beast look like a Giger?
