SILVIJA GROSA JŪGENDSTILA PERIODA PLASTISKAIS UN ...

V. PLASTIC DÉCOR AND PLASTIC ORNAMENTS ON BUILDING
FAÇADES DURING THE GOLDEN AGE OF ART NOUVEAU (1903-
1905/1906)
Generalisations used to describe décor during the early period of Art
Nouveau also apply, all in all, to the period when the style really flourished and the
iconographic motifs of Art Nouveau became dominant in building décor. This was
facilitated by the need to find ever new and different décor solutions while
automatically accepting the so-called element of a potential symbol that was
typical of the style’s iconographic motifs. Compositions in the décor of building
façades preserved historical styles even as rationalist tendencies developed,
although these were interpreted quite freely. This corresponded to the typical ideas
of the Domestic Revival which appeared quite logically during the early period of
Art Nouveau because of the fact that architects in Rīga typically tried to design
residential buildings which visually resembled individual homes, and also because
there were durable links to trends in German architecture. Under the influence of
Art Nouveau and Symbolism, much attention was devoted to the semantics of
decorative motifs. There was increasing interest in decorative elements as specific
symbols and as bearers of specific messages.
V.1. Increased use of Art Nouveau forms in privately owned residential
buildings
Forms of Art Nouveau began to appear in increasing numbers around
1903. Popular in compositional solutions were the plastic and surfaces of décor,
along with large and small forms, as well as naturalistic and stylised motifs which
were balanced out in a dynamic manner.
Applicative décor was still used, but in some cases designers focused on
structural décor. A good example of both décor principles can be seen on the
portal of the residential building which Paul Mandelstamm designed for A.
Šilenskis at Kalēju Street 23.
Synthesis of Neo-Baroque and contemporary decorative techniques can be
seen in the residential and commercial building at Teātra Street 9. The building,
which was owned by the book publisher Kārlis Sichmann, was designed by
Heinrich Scheel and Friedrich Scheffel in 1903. Decorative elements were
produced by the Wassil & Co. company. The acroterium with figures of Atlas
came from the workshop of August Volz. This type of acroterium – a figure or a
group of figures carrying the globe – was an idea which was borrowed from many
other parts of Europe – St Petersburg and Prague, among others. It can be assumed
that the figural group was meant not just for representational purposes, but also as
a modern accent: the globe was made of glass and was lit up at night.
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