SILVIJA GROSA JŪGENDSTILA PERIODA PLASTISKAIS UN ...

• There was considerable demand for housing, and the décor of façades
on apartment buildings directly indicated the owner’s social prestige, aesthetics
and material status. This led to enhanced interest in the use of building sculptures,
including the pompous, academic and figural acroteriums which have not been
appreciated much in the past, in part because they have not survived to the present
day. The socio-political situation in Rīga created a situation in which neo-styles in
terms of façade solutions could be maintained for a longer period of time, and this
explains why the initial focus on Art Nouveau décor was particularly typical
among those building owners in Rīga who did not suffer ethnic complexes. This
applies to some representatives of the new bourgeoisie, to major merchants, and to
civil servants in the Russian Empire’s bureaucratic apparatus.
• There is not enough clarity about the correlation among architects,
clients and those who created décor, because there is limited information about the
latter of these groups of people. During the turn of the 19 th and 20 th centuries, there
were prevailing ideas about the universal nature of art, and vivid examples of this
can be seen in the history of Art Nouveau. Nevertheless, it is thought that during
the cited period, and particularly in the décor of residential buildings, the role of
the architect was limited to the initial sketches, with the rest of the work being
entrusted to specialists in décor. The number of companies offering building
sculptures and paintings was variable during the period in time, and the mastery of
the professionals was uneven. The shortage of academically trained sculptors was
particularly noticeable during the late period of Art Nouveau in suburban areas of
Rīga, when the figural motifs in the décor of residential buildings increasingly
showed signs of rusticalisation. Attempts to find more extensive information about
those who did the decorative work did not yield much in the way of results, but it is
possible that future researchers will find some more information about this issue.
• There were extensive opportunities in Rīga to learn about Art
Nouveau as a new and general form of art, as well as about the specific decorative
techniques that were associated with it. Around the year 1900, there was a lot of
information about the new style, and the only thing to hinder its development was
the conservative nature of the local society. Art Nouveau was introduced to Rīga
in print materials and because of the personal experience of architects and artists
who travelled abroad. There was also a range of design objects for sale. This last
idea is key, because it reveals the previously unappreciated role of the Jaksch &
Co. shop in the spread of Art Nouveau. Also requiring some adjustment is the
view that the exhibition of industries and crafts during the celebration of Rīga’s
700 th anniversary was of determinant importance in the process.
• The motifs used in the décor of buildings during the early period of
Art Nouveau gradually changed, drawing closer to the formal techniques and
iconographic motifs that were characteristic of Art Nouveau. Along with textbook
Art Nouveau motifs – floral and zoomorphic décor, anthropomorphic, hybrid and
abstract forms of décor – there were also lots of elements which went beyond the
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