Institute of Art History of the Latvian Academy of Art Anna Ancāne ...

amparts in 1689; it freed the platform for new stone buildings. Along
with the symmetrical facades, two-and-a-half floor windows emerge as
the typical traits of Riga, found in both patrician houses and those
belonging to other social classes of the Baroque-period Riga. The entresol
floor was lower and projected from the street side as a semi-floor with
smaller windows (semi-windows). Humbler two-floor buildings without
storehouses were also built (average side-gabled houses are analysed in a
separate subchapter).
IV. 2. Influences of Dutch Classicism in the dwelling house
architecture of Riga’s patricians
In the late 17 th century a new type of buildings emerged – the city
residence (Stadtpalast) in which living quarters increased in importance,
the layout of premises was symmetrical and the longer façade was
oriented towards the street. The ideal façade was symmetrical; most often
the symmetry was achieved via window composition according to 2+1+2
and entrance in the middle of the façade. The composition was
complemented with a pediment and a risalit (more rarely – with pilasters).
The main stylistic influences in the dwelling houses of Riga’s patricians
are related to Dutch Classicism, represented by Reutern’s House and
Dannenstern’s House today.
Two main directions have been established in the spread of new
architecture in Riga – the direct and indirect one: firstly, there was the
direct influx of Northern Dutch impulses as a result of active economic
and cultural exchange; secondly, Sweden acted as a mediator in the
particular political situation and major centres of Northern Germany were
also important. The interchange was fostered by the printed collections of
sample drawings – designs by Philips Vingboons and Pieter Post among
them. The treatise L’idea dell’Architetture Universale by Vincenzo
Scamozzi became the first widely popular manual of Classicist
architecture; Scamozzi’s ideas were known in Riga as well, both from the
complete edition and the abridged version by Simon Bosboom. The
master builder Rupert Bindenschu from Southern Germany added typical
nuances to Riga’s architecture: his classicising style featured pronounced
Baroque elements of façade finish, untypical of the Netherlands or the
geographically close Revel (present Tallinn). None of the best examples
in Riga was a direct copy of a sample but a masterful interpretation of
options available within the trend. One of the distinctive features of
Riga’s classicising trend was the unpainted natural stone facades with
emphasised polychrome portals, capitals of pilasters and other coloured
details in them.
2.1. Reutern’s House (1685)
Reutern’s House, as well as Dannenstern’s House, combined the traits of
the dwelling house-storage and the city residence. The centre of the
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