This year WAND dedicated to the motifs of fauna and we invite you to take a look at the stained glass of the Riga Art Nouveau! Works by Latvian artist Kārlis Brencēns (1879 – 1951) out due to large colored segments that create the impression of monumentality. Kārlis Brencēns was the founder of Latvian stained glass, the establisher of the Latvian school of stained glass art and professional artist, as well as a trainer of prospective stained glass artists. He was admitted to Felix Gaudin's glass painting workshop in Paris and studied there from 1904 until 1907. This workshop manufactured stained glass following the sketches of French painter Eugene Grasset (1841 – 1917) for public buildings – such as the Cathedral of Orleans, Paris municipality building a.o. There K. Brencēns mastered various skills – technical methods in stained glass manufacturing, duplication of paintings on glass, as well as making his own compositions under the guidance of E. Grasset. One of his most engaging works is "A cock in Snow" (1904, now in the collection of Latvian National Museum of Art). It is an intimate stained glass differing in style from the works of the local German school. Its composition is monolithic and the main expressive means are expressive lines and sharp stylized forms with romantic accents – glistering snowflakes covering the entire plane. The name of the customer remains unknown, however, according to its character it has not been meant for a significant municipal building. The fact that K. Brencēns focused on a particular genre, the portrayal of chamber style, portrait, animalistic images and still life testify to the artist's closeness to French traditions.
Text material using the research of Ilona Audere within Project “Digitization of the Cultural Heritage of the Riga Art Nouveau Centre and Development of virtual museum”.
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