SILVIJA GROSA JŪGENDSTILA PERIODA PLASTISKAIS UN ...

III. SOURCES AND MOTIFS FOR ART NOUVEAU DÉCOR IN RĪGA
III.1. Routes for learning about and disseminating Art Nouveau
Learning about Art Nouveau as a new and general type of art and a
specific technique of décor during the relevant period of time was made possible
by three main routes of information.
First of all, there was information which came from personal contacts and
experiences gained abroad. Information also came from architects and talented
representatives of the decorative arts who arrived in Rīga to ply their trade. As has
been noted in this dissertation already, many of the architects who worked in the
city at the beginning of the Art Nouveau period were initially trained in Germany,
and the trips which they took to gain more experience were of key importance. At
the beginning of the period, Germany was the main source of ideas for the style in
Rīga, although travels were more extensive, including Vienna, Prague and Paris. It
goes without saying that there were ongoing contacts with St Petersburg, not least
because that was the city in which building permits that were a mandatory part of
Russia’s bureaucratic system were issued. Finland became an important source of
inspiration during the latter half of the Art Nouveau period.
A second key source of information was the availability of foreign
exhibitions, periodicals, catalogues from major international exhibitions, and other
illustrated publications which, more or less directly, popularised Art Nouveau and
other directions for décor at that particular period in time. Among these were
magazines devoted to architecture and interior design. The specialised magazines
were purchased for the needs of the libraries of art schools, and indirect
confirmation of how popular these foreign periodicals were is seen in the fact that
they were regularly discussed in the media by authors such as Jūlijs Madernieks.
The Rīga Association of Architects regularly organised events at which polemic
publications in magazines such as Architectonische Rundschau and Зодчий were
discussed insofar as issues of style and innovations therein were concerned. The
organisation also presented inspirational presentations about trips that had been
taken, impressions that had been gained at foreign exhibitions, issues of
ornamentation and heraldry, etc.
A third important source of information was commercial exhibitions,
particularly at the Jaksch & Co. store, which offered a look at the latest aspects of
glass, porcelain, textiles, furnishings, etc. from the world. The company opened a
new and large shop in 1901, after which, presumably, it was an intermediary in the
popularisation of Art Nouveau. In this it was similar to the Liberty stores in
London and Paris. In an advertising catalogue issued by Jaksch & Co.
(presumably no earlier than in 1906), the store offered products from many
prominent European companies, including those which worked in the area of Art
Nouveau. An important fact is that the store also sold work by the Latvian
ceramicist Ansis Cīrulis, as well as that of other local artists and craftspeople –
fireplace tools, elegant wicker furniture, etc.
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