SILVIJA GROSA JŪGENDSTILA PERIODA PLASTISKAIS UN ...

photographs, photo reproductions, and architectural drawings and blueprints from
the early 20 th century, as found in archives. The principles for selecting materials
were dictated by the subject of the study. The analysed objects from the relevant
period of time are on major buildings that were erected, most often on the basis of
profane architecture (usually these were stone buildings), and are of specific
artistic value. As the context for the dissertation was established, however, the
scope of basic materials inevitably expanded. The functional typology of buildings
in the context of the framework that is used for the stylistic interpretation of décor
is not emphasised in all cases, because identical or similar motifs of décor were
used for buildings for various functions, if one sets aside the symbols which
specifically stated functions.
Because interior materials were so fragmentary, archived materials
concerning architecture and design were of great importance. These materials have
come from probes conducted during renovations. There are also photographs.
The ornamental and plastic elements of façades tend to be made of
cement, but other materials were used in some cases. In interiors, the main
elements are stucco, papier-mâché, tempera paints, coloured glue, etc. The
technologies used to produce sculptures and paintings, however, are not a priority
issue in the dissertation. They are cited only if there is access to results of
architectonic research. The same applies to the polychrome and colour of façades.
These can be identified with precision only in individual cases.
In order to evaluate the materials, the author sought out analogues and
took photographs in nearby major cities with which there were contacts during the
period that is of interest in the dissertation – St Petersburg, Tallinn, Warsaw,
Krakow and Dresden. The same applies to cities which could have been centres
for the generation of important artistic impulses (Helsinki, Berlin, Vienna, Paris,
Prague).
Most of the textual material is based on archival materials, periodicals
from the turn of the 19 th and 20 th centuries, encyclopaedic publications, address
books and advertisements. Among indirect literature there is generalised literature
about Art Nouveau – texts which review the development of this style on the basis
of various methodological positions in Latvian architecture and the visual arts. Of
specific importance among research materials are printed materials from the turn of
the 19 th and 20 th centuries – architectural and art journals, as well as certain
publications of images which can be classified as sample books. These were
studied with the aim of identifying the possible sources of inspiration for
architecture, decorative sculpture and decorative painting in Rīga, as well as the
genesis of such sources. Among these materials were ones that were found at
libraries in Rīga, Tallinn, Stockholm, Warsaw and St Petersburg.
The methodology was not limited to a single specific method. The author
relied on an arsenal of formal, iconographic and comparative methods, thus
making use of the advantages of autonomous art history. The methodology of
sociological art history was appropriate in considering the relationship between
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