Petr Šámal
A monument to himslef or a Hidden reminder. Portrait Individualization in the decoratio of building in the latter half of the 19th and the early 20th centuries
In the era of historicism, Secessionism and Modernism, building decoration of a sculptural and painterly character was an important part of artistic culture, the platform on which art was most often fostered in public space. The author of this paper considers one of the main keys to understanding and classifying the rich world of architectural decoration during this period to be the observation of two basic principles that existed side by side and in interaction with each other: These involve the usage of standard artistic schemes and multiplication procedures on the one hand and various individualization methods on the other. The decoration was individualized both artistically and iconographically, one of its many manifestations being the artistic representation of particular individuals associated with the buildings' construction and functions, most often their builders or their architect/builders (either or both). In addition to the usual elements of building iconography, such as material symbols, figures of saints, personifications, allegories and narrative scenes primarily presenting the names and professions of these figures, we also encounter highly personalized elements in building decoration. These include the hitherto frequently neglected motif of the portrait features of the builders, embodied in figuratively conceived decorative elements. This paper notes the tradition and development of these portrayals in the Czech and European context, considers their reception at that time and addresses the paradoxical problem of their oscillation between overt glorification, which was close to monumental art, and covert content motifs. It focuses primarily on the architectural milieu of Prague, whose figurative and symbolic decoration at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries was some of the richest in the world.
Keywords: architectural decoration -–19th century sculpture – Secession sculpture – Prague – portrait – cryptoportrait – stucco – tenement blocks – Josef Blecha – Jan Koula – Celda Klouček – Ernst Mach – Osvald Polívka – Jiří Stibral – Josef Wanderer
design by Bedřich Vémola
