Pietro Nobile: Neoclassicism between Technique and Beauty
Event: 20/11/2019 - 09/02/2020
Opening: 19/11/2019, 17:00 hours
Location: Exhibition hall “13”, Pražská 13, Plzeň
Author: Taťána Petrasová
Curator: Petr Jindra
The first exhibition dedicated to this architect and director of the School of Architecture at the Academy of Fine Arts in Vienna.
It is not easy to categorize the architect Pietro Nobile, a significant figure of European Neoclassicism. Born in the Italian-speaking Swiss canton of Ticino, who made a name for himself at the Viennese court with commissions for Chancellor Metternich, he was among the followers of the famous generation of architects Ledoux and Boullée, whose ideas he began to develop in the years 1800-1806 at the Academy of St. Luke in Rome. However, his interest in the architecture of the “hostile doctrine,” as Nobile referred to his French-influenced training, gradually faded with the construction of a new cultural metropolis in Munich. Nobile's journey to Munich at the expense of Chancellor Metternich in 1835 indicates new possibilities for Neoclassicism as well as the beginnings of Historicism. Nobile's approach to the Neo-Gothic or Neo-Romanesque, then referred to as “Byzantine” style, is shown in his designs for the reconstruction of the Old Town Hall in Prague or the cathedral in Esztergom.
The title of the exhibition refers to Nobile's reform of the School of Architecture at the Academy of Fine Arts in Vienna from 1818 to 1828. The reform strengthened the Academy's position against the Polytechnic, whose students were required to complete academic training. The prestige of Nobile's reform was cemented by the first architectural exhibition of works by his students in 1828. His Austrian students (Roesner, van der Nül, Siccardsburg, Förster) as well as his Czech students (Kranner, Barvitius) confirm the ability to keep up with and remain open to the latest architectural trends of the first half of the 19th century. Alongside caring for the artistic education of engineers from technical fields, Nobile demonstrated the ability to address technical tasks in his own practice (bridges, lighthouses). For constructions in Bohemia, he also utilized serially produced prototypes of cast-iron architectural elements, not only in agricultural buildings but also in sacred spaces.
The exhibition is divided into several sections: Nobile and the French so-called revolutionary architecture, Neoclassical doctrine and its practice (project of the Vienna Hofburg, Vienna villa on Rennweg, Kynžvart, Prague Horse Gate, church in Trieste), Neo-Gothic and early Historicism (Old Town Hall in Prague, greenhouse in Hietzing, cathedral in Esztergom), and Nobile's competitors and students.
This is the first exhibition dedicated to this architect, director of the School of Architecture at the Academy of Fine Arts in Vienna. Due to the dispersal of resources that are now stored in Vienna, Trieste, Bellinzona, Prague, and Kynžvart, it has not yet been possible to present this significant architect and teacher comprehensively. ZČG once again brings a new perspective on events in European architecture, part of which, coincidentally, took place in Western Bohemia.
More information >
Opening: 19/11/2019, 17:00 hours
Location: Exhibition hall “13”, Pražská 13, Plzeň
Author: Taťána Petrasová
Curator: Petr Jindra
The first exhibition dedicated to this architect and director of the School of Architecture at the Academy of Fine Arts in Vienna.
It is not easy to categorize the architect Pietro Nobile, a significant figure of European Neoclassicism. Born in the Italian-speaking Swiss canton of Ticino, who made a name for himself at the Viennese court with commissions for Chancellor Metternich, he was among the followers of the famous generation of architects Ledoux and Boullée, whose ideas he began to develop in the years 1800-1806 at the Academy of St. Luke in Rome. However, his interest in the architecture of the “hostile doctrine,” as Nobile referred to his French-influenced training, gradually faded with the construction of a new cultural metropolis in Munich. Nobile's journey to Munich at the expense of Chancellor Metternich in 1835 indicates new possibilities for Neoclassicism as well as the beginnings of Historicism. Nobile's approach to the Neo-Gothic or Neo-Romanesque, then referred to as “Byzantine” style, is shown in his designs for the reconstruction of the Old Town Hall in Prague or the cathedral in Esztergom.
The title of the exhibition refers to Nobile's reform of the School of Architecture at the Academy of Fine Arts in Vienna from 1818 to 1828. The reform strengthened the Academy's position against the Polytechnic, whose students were required to complete academic training. The prestige of Nobile's reform was cemented by the first architectural exhibition of works by his students in 1828. His Austrian students (Roesner, van der Nül, Siccardsburg, Förster) as well as his Czech students (Kranner, Barvitius) confirm the ability to keep up with and remain open to the latest architectural trends of the first half of the 19th century. Alongside caring for the artistic education of engineers from technical fields, Nobile demonstrated the ability to address technical tasks in his own practice (bridges, lighthouses). For constructions in Bohemia, he also utilized serially produced prototypes of cast-iron architectural elements, not only in agricultural buildings but also in sacred spaces.
The exhibition is divided into several sections: Nobile and the French so-called revolutionary architecture, Neoclassical doctrine and its practice (project of the Vienna Hofburg, Vienna villa on Rennweg, Kynžvart, Prague Horse Gate, church in Trieste), Neo-Gothic and early Historicism (Old Town Hall in Prague, greenhouse in Hietzing, cathedral in Esztergom), and Nobile's competitors and students.
This is the first exhibition dedicated to this architect, director of the School of Architecture at the Academy of Fine Arts in Vienna. Due to the dispersal of resources that are now stored in Vienna, Trieste, Bellinzona, Prague, and Kynžvart, it has not yet been possible to present this significant architect and teacher comprehensively. ZČG once again brings a new perspective on events in European architecture, part of which, coincidentally, took place in Western Bohemia.
More information >
The English translation is powered by AI tool. Switch to Czech to view the original text source.
0 comments
add comment
