SILVIJA GROSA JŪGENDSTILA PERIODA PLASTISKAIS UN ...

school of sculpture from the latter half of the 19 th century, as well as British and
French authorities in the area of academic painting, including Frederick Leighton,
William Bouguereau, and John William Godward, who was unquestionably
popular in the Russian Empire at the turn of the 19 th and 20 th centuries. Examples
of academic painting became a part of folklore to a certain extent, offering motifs
for postcards or becoming anonymous elements in industrially produced examples
of the applied arts, as well as in building sculptures. This shows that academic art
in the 19 th century was an important source of iconographic motifs during the
stated period. This is something which has not been sufficiently accented up until
now, mostly because of the small number of specific examples.
The conventional solutions that were typical of academic art merged in
the decorative arts with techniques that were typical of Art Nouveau, thus creating
a foundation for the aforementioned “invention of traditions” or for an unusual
dichotomy on the basis of specific dissociation of historical traditions.
IV. THE PLASTIC DÉCOR AND PLASTIC ORNAMENTS ON FAÇADES
DURING THE EARLY ART NOUVEAU PERIOD (1898-1902)
Throughout the early period of Art Nouveau and its golden age, buildingrelated
sculptures tended to be of an applicative nature. Décor was positioned in
traditionally important parts of buildings, or it was scattered across the entire
surface of the façade. There was also use of plastic décor with an illusory
constructive purpose. Some figures or groups of figures could, to a certain extent,
be seen as self-standing sculptures. These were placed into niches in building
façades, attached to façades in an applicative way, or used as acroteria which
crowned façades.
In analysing the iconographic and stylistic solutions used as decorative
motifs, one must conclude that by the last years of the 19 th century, the techniques
which were typical of Historicism had exhausted themselves and no longer
satisfied the demand for original décor. This occurred in the context of a rapid
increase in the number of buildings that were being put up, as well as of the fact
that the representational purposes of many buildings also became more important.
The techniques which began to disappear included late Classicism from the Berlin
school, Neo-Gothicism (including versions of Tudor Gothicism), and Neo-
Renaissance (including French Renaissance). Architects and decorators began to
look into the archives of historical styles to find new possibilities while, at the
same time, monitoring the way in which contemporary architecture and techniques
of art and decoration were developing in respected centres of architecture.
The innovations which appeared at the beginning of the period first
focused on the Neo-Baroque style. Since the latter half of the 19 th century, this
style had been used in Europe for impressive buildings in France, where the socalled
“second empire” style was popular, as well as in Germany, Austria and
Russia. Manifestations of the Neo-Baroque style in Rīga, it must be recalled,
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