SILVIJA GROSA JŪGENDSTILA PERIODA PLASTISKAIS UN ...

egan to appear in architecture in the 1880s, but the opportunities afforded by the
style were not much used in sculptures for buildings until the last years of the 19 th
century. It must also be noted that Neo-Baroque trends were dominant in sculpture
in Germany at the end of the 19 th century, and they were also quite strong in décor
related to architecture in Vienna.
A second fact is that the interest which was displayed by architects in
Rīga in 18 th century art and its regional version (so-called Burgher Classicism) was
also of importance in this regard. The Rococo style was used extensively in
interior design throughout the 19 th century, and it did not lose its attractiveness
after the turn of the centuries either. On building façades, by contrast, Rococo and
18 th -century motifs from Classicism could appear as innovations.
Third, there was still extensive use of the Neo-Gothic and Neo-
Renaissance heritage, but it was reinterpreted as diversely as possible. Sometimes
the emphasis was on specifics of the late Gothic style – typical ornamental
solutions, naturalistic forms, anthropomorphic motifs and depiction of hybrid
creatures. In other cases the focus was on the early Renaissance style, the late
Renaissance style, and the style of Mannerism. It has to be said that these neostyles,
which came from various sources of information about the forms and types
of Art Nouveau, appeared mostly as objects of refined playfulness in the context of
the materials that are considered here. Motifs from historical styles were adapted
to the iconography of Art Nouveau, and particularly popular were those elements
which could be interpreted either as being linked to the styles of the past or as
belonging to the style of Art Nouveau itself.
IV.1.The conservative nature of décor on public buildings
Public, industrial, commercial and religious buildings that were erected
during the early and golden age of Art Nouveau (up until 1905/06) maintained a
retrospective “architectonic shell,” but the conventional external appearance of
these structures could sometimes include a rational spatial solution. Typical
examples here include the administrative building for a Russian company called
UNION. The building, which was designed by Heinrich Scheel in 1899, later
housed the VEF factory. At the centre of the façade there is a Neo-Baroque
sculpture of Zeus which was produced by August Volz. Another example is the
building which was first known as the 2 nd Rīga City (Russian) Theatre and is now
home to the Latvian National Theatre. Built between 1899 and 1902 and designed
by the architect August Reinberg, it has plastic décor which also comes from
Volz’s workshop. Other examples include a building used by Jaksch & Co. (1900-
1901, architect Karl Felsko) at Svērtuves Street 11, which was destroyed during
World War II, as well as the building of the Stock Exchange Commercial School,
now the Latvian Academy of Art (1902-1905, architect Wilhelm Bockslaff, plastic
décor from the Volz workshop). A building representing a modernised approach to
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