Elizabeth Street 10b, Riga

Mikhail Eisenstein

1903

Image

Façade of symmetrical building with horizontal lines and many geometric patterns. — Elizabeth Street 10b is a stunning example of the Jugendstil style for which the buildings designed by Mikhail Eisenstein are known. The façade of this apartment building is built of brown stone, white stone, bright blue titles, and plaster and is profusely decorated. On the cornices at top are large female heads, a peacock, and a gargoyle-like face with its mouth open in what looks like a roar.

Credits

Peter Seyfferth / imageBROKER / Alamy Stock Photo.

Published in: The Posen Library of Jewish Culture and Civilization, vol. 7.

Torah Finials

These belled, gilt-silver Torah finials topped with crowns were made in Amsterdam by master silversmith Pieter van Hoven, who lived near the Jewish quarter and is best known for the Jewish ceremonial…

View Source

Bronze amulet of head with human and animal features and loop on top.

Amulet in the Shape of the Demon Pazuzu

The Mesopotamian demon Pazuzu, depicted here in a combination of human and animal features, was invoked to prevent the malicious actions of the demon Lamashtu, who was believed to endanger newborn…

View Source

Print depicting a man's head wearing helmet on an eagle's body chained to a perch and French caption.

“L’aigle déplumé! . . .” (The Bald Eagle!)

This caricature of Napoleon III (1808–1873), the last monarch of France, was made after the defeat of France in the Franco-Prussian War (1870–1871), when Napoleon was being held in captivity in…

View Source

Engage with this Source

Creator Bio

Mikhail Eisenstein

1867–1920

Born in St. Petersburg into a family of German Jewish immigrants to the Russian Empire, Mikhail Eisenstein (Mihails Eizenštein) graduated from the St. Petersburg Civil Engineering Institute in 1893 and worked at the Riga city planning department. He opened a private architecture practice in 1897, converting to Russian Orthodox Christianity in that same year and becoming a devoted Christian. He began experimenting with art nouveau; his unique Jugendstil style, which has survived on Riga’s Alberta, Strēlnieku, and Elizabetes (Elizabeth) Streets, is characterized by elongated female forms, brightly glazed earthenware siding, and curvilinear motifs. During the Russian Civil War, Eisenstein joined the “White” forces opposing the Bolshevik regime and the Revolution; he soon left for Berlin, where he died in 1920. He was the father of the famed Soviet film director Sergei Eisenstein (1898–1948).

Details

Public Access

Image