Tag: Venetian Motifs

Exquisite peacock motif balcony decoration

Valentin Mandache
Neo-Romanian style peacock motif panel adorning the balcony of a late 1930s Neo-Romanian and Inter-war Venetian style house in the TVR area of Bucharest (©Valentin Mandache)

The peacock motif is one of the key decorative patterns of the Neo-Romanian architectural style, inspired from the late medieval Wallachian church architecture. That bird symbolises beauty, peace and serenity and is usually included within larger decorative schemes containing representations of the Tree of Life or the Garden of Eden. The peacock motif is also a main element within the decorative panoply of what I call the inter-war Venetian style, a hybrid order that emerged in the 1930s at a time when Romania developed close cultural links with Italy, which overemphasized the Venetian Renaissance component, one of the many stylistic traits, on which the Neo-Romanian architectural style was initially based. I found an exquisite example of the peacock motif representation in the decorative panel panel presented above, that decorates the central area of a balcony fence (see the whole assembly in the image bellow) of a grand Neo-Romanian house in the TVR area of Bucharest. That design presents clear inter-war Venetian style characteristics, such as the aspect of the apparent column capitals or the latticework ornaments of the vertical pillars at both ends of the panel, etc.)

Neo-Romanian and Inter-war Venetian style balcony decorations, late 1930s house in the TVR area of Bucharest (©Valentin Mandache)

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I endeavor through this series of daily articles to inspire appreciation of the historic houses of Romania, a virtually undiscovered, but fascinating chapter of European architectural history and heritage.

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If you plan acquiring a historic property in Romania or start a renovation project, I would be delighted to advice you in sourcing the property, specialist research, planning permissions, restoration project management, etc. To discuss your particular plan please see my contact details in the Contact page of this weblog.

Venetian Echoes in Inter-war Bucharest Architecture

Valentin Mandache
A house displaying well defined and balanced Venetian style motifs, a decorative order popular in 1930s Bucharest; Vasile Lascar area. (©Valentin Mandache)

The assorted mix of architectural styles of inter-war Bucharest contains, apart from its main components, the Neo-Romanian, Art Deco and Modernist orders, a series of interesting architectural trends and creations of a more peculiar expression, such as what I call the “inter-war Venetian style”. It became popular in the 1930s at a time of intense cultural links with Italy (Romania even maintained a research institute in Venice, set up in 1930) and evolved from the Venetian Renaissance component of the stylistic background on which the Neo-Romanian architecture was initially based. A good example is the house in the photograph above, that displays crisp, well balanced Venetian style details such as thin columns, Venetian type capitals, balcony’s latticework decoration, etc. I especially like the way how the slender column of the balcony, supporting an airy pergola, breaks the monotony of the façade and smoothens the contrast between the group of tall columns in the background and the short height of the balcony fence, an excellent visual solution that highlights the talent of the local inter-war architects.

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I endeavor through this daily image series to inspire appreciation of the historic houses of Romania, a virtually undiscovered, but fascinating chapter of European architectural heritage.

***********************************************

If you plan acquiring a historic property in Romania or start a renovation project, I would be delighted to advice you in locating the property, specialist research, planning permissions, restoration project management, etc. To discuss your particular plan please see my contact details in the Contact page of this weblog.