DOI Heft:
Division II: Germany
DOI Artikel:Deubner, L.: German architecture an decoration
DOI Seite / Zitierlink: https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.19999#0202
GERMAN ARCHITECTURE AND DE-
CORATION. By L. Deubner.
JUST as the artistic activity of a nation has at all times been
expressive of the national life of the period, so in Germany at the
present day architecture and applied art or " Kunstgewerbe "
reflect the vital impulses and intellectual tendencies of our time,
a time of seething agitation and bewildering strife between those
who trumpet forth the praises of the old and approved order of
things and those " Weltverbesserer" who never tire of producing
schemes for universal improvement. That mysterious power which
resides in all art and which seeks to give expression to contem-
porary aspirations—be it in poetry, in music, or in the creative
arts—has here led to a fresh renaissance of which we as yet have
only seen the beginning. But these modern tendencies have made
such powerful headway, that what at first was accounted by most
people as merely a foolish whim of the moment is now, by its erst-
while opponents, acknowledged to have established its claim to
existence.
Originating in imaginative ornamentation, the movement by
slow degrees invaded the sphere of applied art, and then having
strengthened its position carried its conquest to that of architec-
ture. In England one is scarcely able to realize how difficult it
was but a few years ago to convince even intelligent people of the
advantage of having their houses built on simple, rational principles,
and adapted to their proper purposes. Accustomed as most people
were to look upon the exterior only, and guided merely by that
vulgar taste which prompts the parvenu to go one better than
his neighbour, they could not rid themselves of the idea that a
country house must have its useless towers and turrets, its gables
and other " embellishments." To give it what was thought to be a
picturesque appearance with an elevation overloaded with meaning-
less decoration was the chief consideration, not only in the eyes
of the client but also to the architect, who saw here an opportunity
of demonstrating his artistic ideas. Rarely was any thought bestowed
on turning to the best account the natural advantages of the site,
on the disposition of the principal apartments, and the thousand
other details which contribute to the comfort and pleasure of home
life. During the last few years, however, there has been a consider-
able improvement, and of the millions annually spent on private
buildings, a portion at least goes towards the erection of dwelling-
houses which have an artistic character of their own.
In domestic architecture Messrs. Curjel and Moser (Gi,3 and 31)
have played a distinguished part. Belonging to the small band of
xxix
CORATION. By L. Deubner.
JUST as the artistic activity of a nation has at all times been
expressive of the national life of the period, so in Germany at the
present day architecture and applied art or " Kunstgewerbe "
reflect the vital impulses and intellectual tendencies of our time,
a time of seething agitation and bewildering strife between those
who trumpet forth the praises of the old and approved order of
things and those " Weltverbesserer" who never tire of producing
schemes for universal improvement. That mysterious power which
resides in all art and which seeks to give expression to contem-
porary aspirations—be it in poetry, in music, or in the creative
arts—has here led to a fresh renaissance of which we as yet have
only seen the beginning. But these modern tendencies have made
such powerful headway, that what at first was accounted by most
people as merely a foolish whim of the moment is now, by its erst-
while opponents, acknowledged to have established its claim to
existence.
Originating in imaginative ornamentation, the movement by
slow degrees invaded the sphere of applied art, and then having
strengthened its position carried its conquest to that of architec-
ture. In England one is scarcely able to realize how difficult it
was but a few years ago to convince even intelligent people of the
advantage of having their houses built on simple, rational principles,
and adapted to their proper purposes. Accustomed as most people
were to look upon the exterior only, and guided merely by that
vulgar taste which prompts the parvenu to go one better than
his neighbour, they could not rid themselves of the idea that a
country house must have its useless towers and turrets, its gables
and other " embellishments." To give it what was thought to be a
picturesque appearance with an elevation overloaded with meaning-
less decoration was the chief consideration, not only in the eyes
of the client but also to the architect, who saw here an opportunity
of demonstrating his artistic ideas. Rarely was any thought bestowed
on turning to the best account the natural advantages of the site,
on the disposition of the principal apartments, and the thousand
other details which contribute to the comfort and pleasure of home
life. During the last few years, however, there has been a consider-
able improvement, and of the millions annually spent on private
buildings, a portion at least goes towards the erection of dwelling-
houses which have an artistic character of their own.
In domestic architecture Messrs. Curjel and Moser (Gi,3 and 31)
have played a distinguished part. Belonging to the small band of
xxix