SILVIJA GROSA JŪGENDSTILA PERIODA PLASTISKAIS UN ...

VI.5. An expansion in Art Nouveau motifs and forms
As interest in Art Nouveau increased in the early 20 th century, new forms
and techniques were used in décor. This was particularly evident in the vestibules
of apartment buildings. There were increasing efforts in vestibules and stairwells
to merge floral and zoomorphic motifs with the rhythmic lines that were typical of
Art Nouveau, using plastic shapes or paintings for this purpose. Several of these
vestibules were clearly decorated on the basis of examples from similar buildings
in Vienna – the Lazdiņš building (1901, civil engineer Mikhail Eisenstein); the
Bobrov building at Smilšu Street 8 (1902, architects Heinrich Scheel and Friedrich
Scheffel, interior designer M. Lotze); and the Pagasts building at Bruņinieku Street
36 (1902, architect Alexander Schmäling).
Elegantly stylised friezes of floral and linear lines were particularly
popular. The rhythm of stems was combined with small groups of blossoms
(Brīvības Street 55, vestibule decorated in 1903 or 1904). Use of the principles of
Art Nouveau was even found in the vestibules of several buildings that were
themselves designed in the style of Historicism.
Typical examples of decorative finishing in interior design of residential
facilities can be found at Šķūņu Street 12/14, Smilšu Street 8, and Ģertrūdes Street
10/12 (all designed in 1902 by Scheel and Scheffel). The same is true of the
interior at Strēlnieku Street 4a – a building which houses an elementary school
now but was designed by Mikhail Eisenstein in 1905 as a residential building – and
at Alberta Street 12 (1903, Konstantīns Pēkšēns and Eižens Laube).
A painting which is in the flat of Janis Rozentāls at Alberta Street 12 is
unique and elegant – decorative, monochrome and blue in tone. It is possible that
the great artist himself was the one who painted the artwork.
To summarise, interior design during the early period of Art Nouveau
makes it possible to see how the style of Historicism was gradually abandoned. By
the golden age of Art Nouveau, there were unified stylistic solutions, although
links to historical traditions were not lost altogether.
VII. DÉCOR DURING THE LATE PERIOD OF ART NOUVEAU
(1905/1906-1914)
VII.1. Transformations in the décor of Art Nouveau
The architecture of the late Art Nouveau period in Rīga was characterised
by increased rationalism. This had an effect on the functional aspects of buildings,
and there were changes in the decorative solutions that were used for façades. As
the number of apartment buildings increased, however, the diversity of typological
schemes in façade design did not change very much.
What was typical of façades during this period? First of all, there was a
more powerful accent on the aesthetic value of undecorated surfaces (the amor
vacui principle). There were increasing efforts to work with purely architectonic
elements such as bay windows, balconies, etc. Second, the principle of
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