Antoni Plàcid Guillem Gaudí i Cornet was born in Reus in the province of Tarragona in southern Catalonia on 25 June 1852. The artist's parents, Francesc Gaudí Serra and Antònia Cornet Bertran, both came from families of coppersmiths. During his youth, Gaudí suffered many times from the rheumatic fevers that were common at the time. This illness caused him to spend much time in isolation, and it also allowed him to spend lots of time alone with nature. It was this exposure to nature at an early age which is thought to have inspired him to incorporate natural shapes and themes into his later work.

From Wikipedia.