SILVIJA GROSA JŪGENDSTILA PERIODA PLASTISKAIS UN ...

esteem, demonstrating equality with Baltic Germans. For Baltic Germans, it was
an issue of emphasising links to the traditions of their ancestors and thus affirming
their importance in the region. That is why the décor of almost all rental buildings
contained one key element – the initials of the building owner on a cartouche or in
a wreath, along with heraldic elements and décor symbolising the owner’s
profession. The idea of social prestige created a situation in which neo-styles
could be used in many façade designs, because Art Nouveau as such was not
particularly appropriate for a traditionally representative building. That was due to
its functional nature, its design principles, its asymmetrical nature, its aesthetic of
“Biological Romanticism”, and its rhythmic lines. Those members of society who
did not bow before the aforementioned complexes were representatives of the new
bourgeoisie – major merchants and bureaucrats from the Russian Empire’s
governing system. It was specifically in this group of building owners that the
earliest Art Nouveau décor appeared, and these were people who often chose
particularly ornate and even wasteful use of decorative sculpture.
General interest in the various aspects of Symbolism and the popular idea
of Neo-Romantic pantheism created all necessary conditions for the dissemination
of Art Nouveau’s iconographic motifs and techniques. There was, however, a
certain amount of dualism that was typical in the architecture of Rīga during the
turn of the 19 th and 20 th centuries. Even if the portal in the façade of a building
was asymmetrical, there were also decorative elements, balconies and bay
windows used to accent (or establish) a central axis of symmetry for the structure.
Often the portal of a building was emphasised with plastic or architectonic
elements such as pompous motifs upon the roof of the structure, thus preserving
the aforementioned semantic accent even in asymmetrical façade compositions. Of
particular advantage were plots of land on the corners of streets, where the corner
of the building could be accented with towers, balconies and various construction
ornaments, thus indicating the importance of the structure. New design principles
which included asymmetrical buildings and, toward the end of the early Art
Nouveau period, silhouette solutions, too, conjured up associations of buildings as
generalised castles from eras gone by. The well known concept of “my house is
my castle” was taken quite literally in many cases during the period that is under
discussion here.
Décor also proved to be useful in confirming certain ethical ideals,
sometimes in a textual sense, and sometimes in manifesting the ideas of National
Romanticism. In the latter stages of the Art Nouveau period, as Symbolism
became less popular, the idea of social prestige was transformed. The rich use of
plastic décor during this period usually applied to buildings that were erected
deeper in the former suburban territories, and this meant that the style indicated a
certain sense of provincialism. In the more elegant zone of the city, with a few
exceptions, décor confirmed an interest in returning to the reticence that had once
been seen as a classical value.
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