Plastic and geometric Vilnius modernism

The 19th century is a unique and extremely interesting period. The Industrial Revolution led to rapid advances in technology, medicine and the biological sciences, which undoubtedly changed the face of Vilnius and other world cities. Artists of the time drew inspiration from the art of different eras of the past: the Gothic, the Baroque, and the Renaissance. This did not prevent the mass reproduction and consumption of works of art. At the end of the 19th century, artists resisted the mass production of works of art, instead embracing original creativity and valuing individuality. In the context of these phenomena, Modernism was born, a style of art and architecture characterised by the sophistication of the form and stylised decoration. Modernism had different names in different European countries: in France and Belgium, it was called Art Nouveau; in Germany, it was known as Jugendstil; in Austria, Hungary and Poland, it went by the name of the Secession movement; and in Lithuania, as in Russia, it was simply referred to as Modern. During this period, artists were most inspired by nature, the beauty of women, national motifs and geometric forms. Modernism came to Vilnius a little later than to other countries, only in the early 20th century, via Warsaw, Krakow and St Petersburg, and lasted until the outbreak of the First World War. In 1900, the historicist style was still popular in Vilnius, which partly accounted for the rather restrained modernist architecture. Three strands of the modernist style can be found here: the modernist style intertwined with historicism, plastic and decorative, and rational and geometric. Although Riga is the capital of Art Nouveau that we know best, we invite you to take a closer look at the buildings in the centre of Vilnius and discover previously unnoticed details of the capital’s architecture inspired by nature and vegetation.