The best Art Nouveau attraction of Chernivtsi
The exquisite building of the Art Museum appeared on the Central Square in the early twentieth century. This is the former premises of the Directorate of Oschad Banks in Chernivtsi or "savings bank", as it was once called by local Ukrainians. The author of the architectural gem is the famous Austrian architect Hubert Gessner - a student of the father of Art Nouveau Otto Wagner.
The building first of all attracts attention with its majolica panels. "Chernivtsi Olympus" is a complex polychrome composition on mythological themes, which draws a parallel between the Roman Empire and Austria-Hungary in the times of Franz Joseph I. The images of 12 gods depict the 12 most important provinces of the empire. On the panel, the gods are arranged in picturesque groups according to the basic principle of modernism: dynamic equilibrium instead of mirror symmetry. There is a lot of sunlight of all shades in the clothes of the gods. The gold spots on the panel were covered with gold leaf, but some details shine only at a certain time - at noon. The spectacle lasts only 14 minutes. It also hides a great symbol of the heyday of the "golden age" of the Austrian Empire in the early twentieth century, when this panel was created.
Two female sculptures are installed on the roof above the cornice. The house at the level of the second floor windows is decorated with a frieze in the form of picturesquely scattered leaves, which were once covered with gilding. The windows are decorated with stucco. The doors of the central entrance are metal double-leaf forged with floral ornaments and horizontal inserts with the image of bees. On the pylons on both sides of the door are sculptural images of two eagles, which seem to guard the entrance to the house.
The building impresses with its elegant interior, which combines sculpture, painting, modeling, stained glass, artistic metal, precious stones. The color scheme and ornament of the walls, doors and mosaic polychrome floor, the harmonious combination of masterful forging and stained glass create the impression of a holistic work of art, expressing the main idea of Art Nouveau.
