This artistic movement was disseminated throughout western Europe in the 1890s and soon made its way to Poland. This was a rejection of historical styles in favour of invoking nature and Japanese art, and from there, asymmetry, softness and an impression of movement. The result was long sinuous lines, floral and animal motifs, figures of women with windblown hair, and fantastic creatures. This movement declined with WWI.
These buildings were put up with commercial considerations in mind so they had to look attractive inside and out – hence the ornate facades, decorative window, alcove and balcony arrangements, stunning cornices and gables, and occasional inscriptions (it was fashionable to have “salve” [Latin for “welcome”] inscribed over the entrance) and construction dates. Nowadays, Art Nouveau houses are most evident in the Poznań districts of Jeżyce and Łazarz. Buildings ornamented to a greater or lesser extent can also be found in other cities, including Czarnków, Kalisz, Koźmin, Ostrów Wielkopolski and Śrem.
Art nouveau elements were likewise applied to building, or rather building on to, palaces. The manors in Lutom (Międzychód County) and Otorowo (Szamotuły County) both have understated art nouveau ornamentation, the palace in Belęcin (Wolsztyn County) and the manor in Chełmno (Szamotuły County) have art nouveau wings, the palace in Krzyżanowo (Śrem County) has an art nouveau portal and the palace in Kuczków (Pleszew County) has an art nouveau tower. The interiors of some townhouses have preserved art nouveau decorative elements in their stairwells and windows (paintings on glass or even stained glass windows). The largest display of art nouveau interiors can be found in the Stanisław Staszic Museum in Piła.
Decorating window panes was the basic form of ornamentation used in the construction and renovation of public buildings during this period. The Koźmin and Rawicz town halls, the former crown lands offices in Gostyń, Śrem and Wągrowiec, and the Gostyń and Grodzisk Wielkopolski courthouses still survive.
Twentieth century polychromes and stained-glass church windows should also be attributed to this school (sometimes referred to as Young Poland). This is especially true of Cracow artists Antoni Procajłowicz – whose works can be found in Golejewko, Jutrosin and Kołaczkowice (Rawicz County), Kamieniec (Grodzisk Wielkopolski County) and St. Wojciech’s Church in Poznań – and Tadeusz Popiel – whose works can be found in Grodzisko (Pleszew County), Kępno and the church in Jeżyce, Poznań. These sometimes had a patriotic agenda in the Russian partition. This was certainly the case with Włodzimierz Tetmajer’s decorations in the Polish chapel in Kalisz Cathedral and Eligiusz Niewiadomski’s polychrome in the church in Konin. The paintings in the church in Psary (Turek County) are also attributed to Niewiadomski. We will leave this period with Józef Mehoffer’s interwar polychrome and stained glass window designs for the church in Turek.
