SILVIJA GROSA JŪGENDSTILA PERIODA PLASTISKAIS UN ...

Provinces of the Baltic Sea”. The décor of the building clearly demonstrates
various styles – the Glasgow school of Art Nouveau, Domestic Revival as well as
National Romanticism, thus showing a synthesis of stylistic techniques that was
very typical of the period. There was indifference toward stylistic purity, and that
became the leading leitmotif in the décor of new buildings.
A key prerequisite for the search for new versions of décor was the
popularity of certain types of residential buildings – structures which Jānis Krastiņš
has described with the words “vertical Art Nouveau.” Such buildings, it must be
said, were often similar in style to ones that were built in the style of the German
Renaissance – a style which was popular in Rīga during the early period of Art
Nouveau. A very fine example of this kind of Art Nouveau décor is seen at
Baznīcas Street 5 – an apartment building which was designed by Friedrich
Scheffel in 1907. Similar styles can be found all over Germany, and the style was
presented in architectural magazines from that country, particularly in
Architektonische Rundschau, which was popular among architects in Rīga. The
general style was interpreted differently in each case; it has to be said, in terms of
architectural elements, pediments and décor. Among the techniques that were used
were ones related to National Romanticism (Krišjāņa Valdemāra Street 18,
architect Augusts Malvess, 1910), Domestic Revival (Stabu Street 13, architect
Wilhelm Hoffmann, 1907), and Neo-Classicism (Krišjāņa Barona Street 64,
architect Aleksandrs Vanags, 1911).
One of the most prolific architects of the day, Jānis Alksnis, often used
the style of “vertical Art Nouveau” (buildings at Brīvības Street 76, 1908, and
Brīvības Street 57, 1909, among others). Among earlier examples we find the
residential building at Lāčplēša Street 18, which in terms of its pediment décor is a
nearly precise copy of the so-called Borsig Palace in Berlin (architect R. Lucae,
sculptor E. Hundrieser, 1873).
When it comes to the overall number of buildings that were erected during
the period, however, it does have to be said that there were comparatively few
which were truly eclectic in appearance. Such buildings were mostly put up during
the first half of the late period of Art Nouveau, and the plastic décor on the façades
of such structures merged Art Nouveau techniques with generalised interpretations
of various historical styles. This applies to buildings at Alberta Street 2a (1906,
civil engineer Mikhail Eisenstein), Čaka Street 18 (Alksnis, 1907), Lācplēša Street
60 (Rudolf Dohnberg, 1907), Brīvības Street 170 (Konstantīns Pēkšēns, 1912),
Brīvības Street 136 (1906, Alksnis), etc.
A naturalistic interpretation of motifs was not a priority in the décor of the
late period of Art Nouveau, and the environmental motifs that were so typical of
iconography in Art Nouveau were often stylised and subjected to various
geometric forms (rectangles, circles, ovals). This can be seen in certain motifs on
the façades of buildings at Čaka Street 37 (architect Eižens Laube, 1913),
Strēlnieku Street 2 (Mārtiņš Nukša, 1911), and Brīvības Street 148 (Pēkšēns,
1912), among others.
93