Historicist Forms in the Designs of a 19Th Century
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HISTORICIST FORMS IN THE DESIGNS OF A 19 TH CENTURY WARSAW ARCHITECT AS EXEMPLIFIED BY THE WORKS OF JULIAN ANKIEWICZ 1 IWONA SZUSTAKIEWICZ Nineteenth century architects used a formal and ideals, 3 and people who had just built their language developed in the course of many centuries fortunes on industry or trade found the idea of a and across many geographical areas – Historicism Renaissance palace, a city palace, very much to was therefore a style that encompassed a variety of their taste by way of association with the careers of trends and shades. In the early phase, it used historic middle-class Florentine families. It pleased with its patterns in an intuitional and subjective manner to splendour and its ancient quality (…) 4. merge styles in a syncretic manner and combine One of the earliest examples of the application forms of different origins. Mature Historicism of Renaissance motifs in Ankiewicz’s designs was characterised by pursuing stylistic purity and is the villa of Aniela B awacka, located in Aleje appropriate use of historic architectural motifs. The Ujazdowskie street in Warsaw (land reg. no. 1714 late phase was eclectic and proposed mixing motifs C/13, Fig. 1), built in the years 1852-1855 and later from various periods in one composition. To a large rebuilt by Leandro Marconi for the Soba Lski family extent representative for the architectural climate of in 1876 5. A genuine element by Julian Ankiewicz, 19 th century’s Warsaw, the work of Julian Ankiewicz which survived to this day more or less untouched, re \ ects the stylistic evolution of Historicism. The is the two-storey main body of the palace. It has objective of the analysis presented below is to a typical early historicist compact cubic shape, describe the solutions used by Ankiewicz and to enriched with slightly projecting avant-corps in the follow the stylistic development of these solutions, middle axes of the ground \ oor in the front and and ultimately to contribute to better understanding garden facades, supporting the balconies. The attic of of the historicist architecture of Warsaw. the building was designed by Leandro Marconi, but a similar solution might as well have been devised Renaissance Revival. Evolution of architectural by Julian Ankiewicz. The façade is decorated with forms in the works of Julian Ankiewicz delicate rustication, more prominent in the corners of the building. Surmounted by segmental arches, the In the times of Julian Ankiewicz, the predominating openings of the ground \ oor are \ anked by Tuscan style in architecture – especially urban architecture pilasters and crowned by hooded window heads. – was Italian Renaissance Revival. 2 Ankiewicz These motifs are also suggestive of early Renaissance followed the trend, using Italian Renaissance- Revival. Above the rectangular windows of the inspired motifs in most of his designs. The immense [ rst \ oor there are cornices carried by ornamental popularity of the style is by no means surprising. The corbels. Between the openings of the [ rst \ oor, the choice of style was never left to chance or dictated architect placed circular niches. His [ nal touch to by the whims of fashion. At the time, architecture the decorative look of the façade is modest detailing, served as a manifestation of the proprietors’ beliefs which combines Classicist motifs (at the time 1 The article is an excerpt from a doctoral dissertation written XIX w. Na podstawie wiede Lskiego „Heeresgeschichtliches under the supervision of prof. zw. dr hab. in b. arch. Jadwiga Museum” Theophila Hansena , in: „Czasopismo Techniczne”, Roguska at the Faculty of Architecture, Warsaw University of 2002, issue 1, p.71, W. Ba us, Renesans w wieku XIX i XX: Technology, defended on 15 May 2012. fascynacja i sprzeciw , in: Recepcja renesansu w XIX i XX wieku , 2 K. Stefa Lski, Architektura XIX wieku na ziemiach polskich , ód ` 2003, p. 21. Warsaw 2005, p. 116. 4 S. Herbst, Ulica Marsza kowska , Warsaw 1998, p. 55. 3 P. Krakowski, Fasada dziewi Btnastowieczna. Ze studiów 5 J. Roguska, Zapomniane dzie o Juliana Ankiewicza – willa nad architektur = wieku XIX , P. Zeszyty Naukowe UJ, Prace z Bawackiej, nast Bpnie Soba Lskiej , „Kwartalnik Architektury i Historii Sztuki, Vol. 16, p. 55; Z. To oczko, Z zagadnie L historii Urbanistyki”, 1988, issue 4, p. 319-320. i historyzmu oraz eklektyzmu w architekturze drugiej po owy 84 losing popularity) and trendy Renaissance Revival 1860 (Fig. 3). Of classicist origin in this realization elements. Compositions made with palmettes, \ oral were wide, three-light windows in the slightly ornaments and acanthus leaves are placed above the projecting avant-corps on both sides of the façade. window cornices and around the circular niches. On the [ rst- \ oor level these were accompanied by They also form small circle ornaments on the wall columns carrying an entablature with small triangular of the [ rst \ oor. 6 gables placed above the middle light. The same Similar stylistic features, characteristic of Italian arrangement was used in the central axis of the [ rst Renaissance Revival but still encompassing some \ oor. Three-light windows with columns on both remnants of the retreating Classicism, were visible in sides of the biggest middle light were well known the façade of a tenement house owned by Aleksander in Warsaw architecture, having been introduced to Kruze, built in 1853 at 471 F/8 Rymarska street tenement house façades by Antonio Corazzi (e.g. in (Fig. 2; the building no longer exists). Much in the Kulikiewicz’s house in Aleje Ujazdowskie street or style typical for early Italian Renaissance Revival, Jasi Lski’s house at the intersection of Nowy Uwiat the building had a \ at façade, with an avant-corps and Aleje Jerozolimskie streets 7). This kind of slightly jutting out in the middle part of the front, window composition can be seen as evidence that reaching the height of the [ rst \ oor, and delicately Ankiewicz long remained faithful to the principles framed circular niches above the semi-circular of Classicism. In the late 1850s, the syncretism pediments of the [ rst \ oor’s and the cornices of of the building at Erywa Lska street was already the ground \ oor’s openings – the same decorative rather outdated, since most architects of the period elements Ankiewicz had used in B awacka’s villa. were striving for the stylistic unity of Renaissance One could also notice Classicist palmettes, acanthus Revival. leaves and acroteria based on the stringcourse right above the pilasters – this motif became one of the Pursuing the “stylistic purity” of the mature phase most distinctive elements of the architect’s style of Historicism (understood as keeping faithful to and was repeatedly used by Ankiewicz in his later Renaissance forms and avoiding the confusion of designs. The horizontal composition of the façade mixing different stylistic means of expression, which – with rustication on the ground \ oor level, a was made possible by the progress in the study of piano nobile delicately decorated with Corinthian historical forms of architecture) was [ rst re \ ected in pilasters, and a decorative frieze with low reliefs the works of Julian Ankiewicz in his design of a four- under the crowning cornice – was already clearly in storey tenement house of Aleksander Kruze, built in the style of Renaissance Revival and a reference to the years 1857-1858 at 1065 A/149 Marsza kowska the Renaissance palaces of Rome. street (Fig. 4, the building no longer exists). The The building at Rymarska street was the [ rst of horizontal composition of the façade, crossed with many tenement houses designed by Ankiewicz in cornices at the level of the [ rst and second \ oors, the early 1860s, all sharing \ at, static façades with was emphasized by the monotonous rhythm of the a predomination of horizontal divisions. This was a windows, varying from \ oor to \ oor in size and fairly common composition in the front elevations of decoration. The windows of the piano nobile, placed this type of buildings in Warsaw – the same solutions over balustrades between the ground and [ rst \ oor were used by other architects, such as Aleksander and \ anked by \ at lesenes, were shaped as simpli [ ed Zabierzowski, Wojciech Bobi Lski and Adolf aediculae, with triangular pediments supported Woli Lski. The composition of an early Renaissance by corbels. The openings of the second \ oor were palace, combined with decoration inspired by [ xed on a stringcourse in a manner typical for early Classicist and Renaissance forms, was also applied Renaissance Italian palaces. The entire structure by Julian Ankiewicz in the design of the house at culminated in a crowning cornice. Renaissance Erywa Lska street (presently Kredytowa), land reg. detailing of the house in Marsza kowska street had no. 1066 /16, built for Aleksander Kruze in 1859- been interpreted by Ankiewicz in a \ at, linear way. 6 The [ nal touch to the Neo-Renaissance architecture of the Villa M.I. Kwiatkowska, Rze `biarze warszawscy XIX wieku, Warsaw was given by placing a marble copy of Donatello’s David in front 1995, p. 272. of the main entrance. According to M.I. Kwiatkowska, the statue 7 M. Kwiatkowski, Architektura mieszkaniowa Warszawy , was made by S awomir Celi Lski in 1870s for Feliks Soba Lski: Warsaw 1989, Fig. 140 and 162. 85 The composition of the elevation and the use of house in Jasna street, land reg. no. 1364 A/17, erected decorative elements bears traces of Roman palace in the years 1864-1865 (Fig. 8). The house was not architecture, such as Palazzo Farnese by Antonio only intended as a comfortable dwelling for the da Sangallo and Michelangelo (Fig. 5). Julian architect’s family and a pro [ table investment, but also Ankiewicz might have known it from architectural as a demonstration of Ankiewicz’s creative potential. publications, e.g.