Art Nouveau

Nometņu Street. Photo: Zanda Milzarāja

Nometņu Street. Ink drawing: Zanda Milzarāja

Art Nouveau architecture showed up in Latvia at the beginning the twentieth century and not only in architecture but also in art, literature, in book graphics.
Riga is famous for its 'Quiet Center' and the many Art Nouveau buildings in the Albert Street District.
You have noticed that, have you not?
There is also much to see in Pārdaugava.

In Art Nouveau as, opposed to Eclecticism, form follows function.
If in Eclecticism it was primarily important to show a steady rhythm in the façade no matter what that did to functionality, then in Art Nouveau the design the building's function was of primary importance, only then came its external appearance.
Though a building's external visual rhythm was not strictly symmetrical, it was very fancy and gorgeous indeed.

On building facades we now see the typical curved lines of plant and animal motifs and also Egyptian, and Japanese cultural elements.
A highly regarded Art Nouveau style can be seen in the facade of the apartment building on the corner of Tempļu Street and Nometņu Street. Unfortunately, at present, it is not in the best of conditions, but you can see that the owner is doing what he can. The balcony, with its brilliant Art Nouveau ironwork, is propped-up and protected from decay, and the building is inhabited and alive. The adjacent apartment building, on the Nometņu and Lapu Street corner, is a beautiful example of National Romanticism Art Nouveau style.