Art Nouveau architecture in Poland is relatively modest in comparison with the countries in which it originated, i.e. Belgium, France or Austria. It was influenced by geopolitical conditions of the turn of the centuries. It was the case with broadly understood art of this period in entire Europe. The 19th century witnessed numerous military conflicts ending with treaties resulting in longer or shorted periods of peace but also the unification of Italy and Germany, gaining independence by Greece and Belgium, and continuing battles for independence of Central and Eastern Europe countries ending with a success in the early 20th century.
Social change
It was a period of rapid development and social changes whose sources may be traced back to the French Revolution (1789-1799) to which both the European Revolutions of 1848 and Paris Commune (1871) were related. Moreover, the publishing of the Communist Manifesto by Marks and Engels (1848) exerted significant influence on the change of social approach encompassing also artists such as Walter Crane from Arts and Crafts or Henry van de Velde, sharing and developing the ideas of the so called anarchists. Walter Crane, the first president of the Arts and Crafts movement, one of forerunners of Art Nouveau, was known most of all as a book illustrator but also designer of wallpaper patterns.
Victor Horta, Tasel Hotel, Brussels, 1893
Turning point in the design of building interiors in Brussels. The building is assumed to be the first Art Nouveau style building in the world.
Industrial revolution
The 19th century witnessed also the Industrial Revolution initiated in about 1760 with the development of the production process and transfer from manual work to mass-production. The tendency started on a large scale in textile industry and continued in steel production, metallurgy and other areas of industrial development mainly in cities. The development resulted in mass migration of rural people and a rapid increase of cities’ population in Europe;Europe’s population doubled amounting to over 400 million in 1900. (London was Europe’s first city to reach the population of 1 million as early as in 1811). This fact influenced architecture as it became clear that it was necessary to ensure dwelling for the increasing population. It also contributed to the frequently uncontrolled increase and expansion into the neighboring areas. Many European cities witnessed the process, when city walls protecting the security of residents were destroyed and the nearby villages and quarters were incorporated into the developing agglomerations. Municipal areas were used for manor houses of rich factory owners, villas and tenement houses for craftsmen whose role increased with time, rental tenement houses for town administration and intelligentsia, and residential buildings of lower standards for blue-collar workers. For architects and builders it was the time of challenges but also the time of possibilities to exhibit their talents.
Paul Hankar, Hôtel Ciamberlani, Brussels, 1897
Previously Hankar’s house erected in 1893 and, like Horta’s house, classified as early Art Nouveau style.
Garden CIty
New areas were frequently built up in line with the idea of Ebenezer Howard presented in his Garden Cities of Tomorrow, which he presented in 1912 inCracow during “Exhibition of Architecture and Interiors in Garden Surroundings”. Several dozen garden-cities were created inEurope in line with Howard’s ideas. InPoland itself several garden-cities were developed, including the ones inCracow,Lublin,Katowice and several on the outskirts of Warsaw.
Inventions
In this period almost all aspects of everyday life were subject to changes brought about also by an increasing number of inventions. It was related to changes in public transportation in cities where, apart from horse-drawn carriages, first trams appeared, initially horse-drawn, later steam and electric ones. (The invention had tragic consequences for a Spanish architect, most important representative of Art Nouveau, Antonio Gaudirun who was run over by a tram). Intercity transportation was revolutionized due to George Stevenson’s steam locomotive. Other inventions making communication easier were also implemented, e.g. aeroplane (1846) or automobile constructed by Karl Benz in 1886 without which it is difficult to imagine present life. Artists creating among others Art Nouveau masterpieces participated also in planning municipal transportation systems. An interesting examples areParisunderground stations designed for the World Exhibition in 1900 inParisby Hector Guimard, designer of numerous Art Nouveau buildings. Similarly, outstanding Art Nouveau masterpieces were created by Otto Wagner who designed pavilions of the Viennese city railway stations between 1894 and 1897.
Otto Wagner, Pavilion of the Viennese City Railway, Karlsplatz Vienna, 1894-1897
New ways of communication
Communication between people and also exchange of ideas between people accelerated as a result of the invention of the telephone by Alexander Graham Bell in 1876 as well as a result of wireless signal transmission, which was the result of research by Nikola Tesla and the first radio constructed by Gugliemo Marconi in 1895 and patented in 1901.
Hector Guimard, Underground station. Paris, 1900
Kerosene lamp
The inventions were meaningful for the society as life became easier and more comfortable. A working day became longer thanks to the kerosene lamp constructed by Ignacy Łukasiewicz (1853), replaced subsequently by even a more effective Thomas Edison’s invention, who created not only a light bulb (1879) or phonograph (1877), but the development of electrical lighting system (1882). The most renowned in designing lamps was Louis Comfort Tiffany, forerunner of the design of stained-glass lamps which acquired their name, tiffany, after him. He was also the first interior designer hired by the White House inWashington.
Luois Comfort Tiffany, lamp, Tiffany Studios, Table lamp, c. 1900-1906. Gift of Dr. Egon Neustadt. New-York Historical Society, N84.50. Wikipedia Loves Art at the New-York Historical Society
Interior decoration
The growth in wealth of town dwellers, entrepreneurs as well as craftsmen, due to their participation in the activities of a new group of applied art creators significantly contributed to the enhancement of their social status. The category of ornamental painting was established inPolandin 1898 in order to honor stained-glass projects in the Franciscans’ Church inCracow, which were entered for a competition by Stanisław Wyspiański and whose prize winning in the arts section was objected to by Wojciech Gerson who found the output to be applied art not painting. Apart from the traditionally privileged nobility and the broadly defined intelligentsia, the representatives of the more and more numerous bourgeoisie willing to emphasize their increasing social status constituted the arts audience. Building impressive houses or their modernization mostly in the form of adding decorations as well as modifying their interior designs, especially the living room furnishings, were ways of highlighting their owners' prestige.
Liberty Shop in London
New role of the artists
Artists searched for new roles and places for themselves in the modern society under the conditions of vast social and economic changes. As a result of establishing trade relations with the East, with Japan in particular, European artists, such as Manet, Degas, Monet or van Gogh, among others, became interested in the art of the Land of the Rising Sun and started collecting cheap prints of coloured Japanese woodcuts which inspired Post-Impressionists and Art Nouveau artists. The influence of the above-mentioned art, as well as the earlier Scythian, Greek or Egyptian art, apart from the references to the natural, fantasy and mythology worlds and the usage of flat decorative forms and curved lines, became the main characteristics of Art Nouveau. This is how the young artists expressed their identity and independence and the new, creative approach towards almost all areas of art and artistic handicraft. Jewellers faced a particular opportunity to display their skills as artists worked for them, with the most renowned among them, René Jules Lalique, whose client was Sarah Bernhardt, the greatest actress at the time. Alfons Mucha also worked for 'The Divine Sarah' and designed posters for her shows, which have been recognized as Art Nouveau masterpieces.
Renee Lalique, Poppy, Musee d'Orsay, 1897
Art associations
Undermining the value of Historicism in art and architecture resulted in setting up new associations and organizations following the example set by the English movement Arts and Crafts led by William Moris. It was the case, among others, with the German Darmstadt where the Artists’ Colony was created. In other countries new associations were established, including Art Nouveau associations highlighting secession from the “old art”. The first association of Art Nouveau was set up in 1892 inMunich and the most important one forPoland was established in 1897 inAustria by Klimt, Moser, Hoffman, and Olbricht. Among 49 members of the Viennese Art Nouveau there were as many as nine outstanding Polish artists fromGalicia which, at the time, was under the Austrian rule. The artists also were members of the Cracow Association of Polish Artists “Sztuka” created by Teodor Axentowicz, Józef Chełmoński, Julian Fałat, Jacek Malczewski, Józef Mehoffer, Antoni Piotrowski, Jan Stanisławski,Włodzimierz Tetmajer,Leon Wyczółkowski, and Stanisław Wyspiański in the year when the Viennese Art Nouveau was set up.
Joseph Maria Olbrich, Secession building in Vienna
Reception of the new art
Frequently, the creations of young artists gaining more and more independence were referred to as Jugendstil (Germany), Art Nouveau, or Młoda Polska inPoland. Stanisław Wyspiański, the most outstanding representative of the movement, refused to be referred to as an Art Nouveau artist. It was probably related to the situation of Polish artists who lacked complete artistic freedom, though the Austrian rule in this respect offered the most favorable conditions. On the other hand, it was difficult for Wyspiański to dissociate himself decidedly and firmly from his masters and also patrons with the most important among them, Jan Matejko.
The art of Art Nouveau marked its presence in all spheres, i.e. painting, sculpture, architecture, and craft. The Art Nouveau style manifested itself in luxurious, hand-made items including furniture, pottery, wallpapers, fabrics, carpets, embroidery, jewelry which were in great demand. Good samples were also imitated, reproduced, and mass produced for customers who were not so well off. The English shop Liberty, set up in 1875, was renowned for the sales of such items. In England and Italy the Art Nouveau style is also known as Liberty, which was the surname of the owner of this shop.
Frequently, the creations of young artists gaining more and more independence were referred to as Jugendstil (Germany), Art Nouveau, or Młoda Polska inPoland. Stanisław Wyspiański, the most outstanding representative of the movement, refused to be referred to as an Art Nouveau artist. It was probably related to the situation of Polish artists who lacked complete artistic freedom, though the Austrian rule in this respect offered the most favorable conditions. On the other hand, it was difficult for Wyspiański to dissociate himself decidedly and firmly from his masters and also patrons with the most important among them, Jan Matejko.