Zprávy památkové péče 2017, 77(3):207-218

Glass mosaics from the late 19th to the middle 20th century - a contribution to the artistic topography of Moravia

Zuzana Křenková¹, Vladislava Říhová²

¹ Fakulta chemické technologie VŠCHT v Praze

² Fakulta restaurování Univerzity Pardubice

The oldest glass mosaics in Moravia can be found at the very end of the 19th century. Although we have little information regarding their origins, we can be nearly sure that they were imported from the workshop Die Mosaikwerkstätte of Albert Neuhauser from Wilten near Innsbruck. These two Moravian orders, delivered by the company, supplemented Baroque church facades. They represent unique examples in Bohemia of what were otherwise common company productions. The older Immaculata was placed into the facade of the church of St. Peter and Paul in Rajhrad in 1895. The younger Marian composition, undoubtedly delivered by the same firm, supplemented the facade of a church in Tuřany near Brno in 1898. We can monitor Austrian mosaic imports in Moravia even after 1900, but these were already works from the Vienna artistic circuit. Perhaps for the first time in the context of Art Nouveau art, mosaics appear as part of the architectural decoration of the Psychiatric Institute in Kroměříž by Viennese architect Hubert Gessner. The Vienna Art Nouveau Association played a key role in the proliferation of the Art Nouveau style throughout Europe. This association also stood at the emergence of the workshops of the Wiener Werkstätte, whose sphere also includes artists who had the opportunity to present their Art Nouveau expression in mosaic works during their realizations in the Moravian environment. This group included the sculptor and designer Anton Hanak, the author of mosaic designs for the Primavesi family villa in Olomouc, as well as the significant mosaicist Leopold Forstner. His studio produced innovative compositions designed in collaboration with the most important masters of their time. Several of Forstner's works were delivered to Moravia. In addition to the extinct mosaic for the facade of the pharmacy U Bílého anděla in Opava, the mosaic decor on the facade of the high school in Bruntál and the decoration of the tomb of the Chiari family in Šumperk are notable. The epilogue of Forsner's mosaic work is St. Christopher, realized between 1933 and 1934 on the facade of the Church of the Corpus Christi in Slavonice.
A key position in the production of Moravian mosaics in the early 20th century was held by the Brno company of Benedikt Škarda. Founded in 1863, the company primarily specialized in glass fillings in church interiors and representative public buildings, but the portfolio also included mosaic works from flat and split glass. Many of the company's works were created in cooperation with the architect Dušan Jurkovič. In 1905 and 1906, they collaborated on the creation of a Calvary at Hostýn, the decoration of the Federal House in Skalica in Slovakia, and on Jurkovič's Villa in Brno. In 1908, this was followed by the decoration of Škarda's house in Brno, built from Jurkovič's project design. All these works were made from flat glass mosaic. The split material was used by the company for the demanding figurative composition of the Peace Memorial in the middle of the Slavkov (Austerlitz) battlefield.
In Moravia, we also find several works from the founder of the first Czech mosaic workshop, Viktor Foerster. He was repeatedly employed here by the monastery in Nová Říše. In 1908, the abbot, Josef Karásek, ordered mosaic altar paintings for the newly built church in Rozseč. The next year saw the creation of the mosaic for the Nová Říše monastery church, no longer preserved today. In the mosaics, Foerster processed his own designs as well as the sketches of other creators. A number of works emerged in particular from a close collaboration with Benedictine Pantaleon Major, whose designs were used by Foerster in many variations. One of the versions according to Major's sketch for the Church of Our Lady of the Rosary in České Budějovice became a part of the decoration of the entrance to the Church of St. Mary Magdalene in Němčice nad Hanou. In contrast, the author created according to his own in Hostýn. Foerster worked on the composition of the facade of the local pilgrim basilica from 1911.
Several new companies followed on the original production of Škarda's Brno workshops, for which the glass mosaic technique was merely a supplement to their business. Škarda's shopmaster Jan Říha established his own "arts institute". Otmar Vackař was more successful, who, after reversals, assumed control of Škarda's former company. His most famous mosaic work was the decoration on the church of St. Cyril and Methodius in Olomouc-Hejčín, where he delivered a large-scale compositional work to the presbytery. The work was prepared based on a design by Jano Köhler in 1932.
The issue of glass mosaic research in Moravia is still in its infancy. However, we can already list some of the specifics that primarily apply to the techniques and materials used. The strong position of the stained-glass company of Benedikt Škarda led to the evolution of a specific tradition of flat-glass mosaics here. Until the 1950's, mosaics from split material in Moravia were created exclusively from glass imported from abroad. The oldest mosaics from Albert Neuhauser's Mosaikwerkstätte company might be made from Italian material, perhaps from the glass production of the Tyrolean workshop itself. Viktor Foerster bought glass in Venice, and the mosaic material of Eugen Škarda and Otmar Vačkař probably has the same origin.

Keywords: Mosaic, Leopold Forstner, Viktor Foerster, Benedikt Škarda, Eugen Škarda, Otmar Vačkař, Albert Neuhauser

Published: September 1, 2017  Show citation