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During the last third of the 19th century, the cutting of precious and composite stones, which had existed in Turnov for centuries,
had turned from a trade dominated by the “Gemstone Brotherhood” into an important industry, whose companies employed dozens of
wageworkers and hundreds of homeworkers. Therefore in 1884 the Applied Arts School for Gem Cutting and Mounting Precious Stones at
Turnov was founded. It numbered among several newly established technical schools initiated by the Austro-Hungarian monarchy’s
Ministry of Culture and Education. In Northern Bohemia there already existed vocational schools for glassmaking and processing, as
well as the Applied Arts School for Jewelry in Jablonec nad Nisou. All of them, including the school at Turnov, tied in with the
traditions of local trades and were supposed to contribute to the artistic advancement of regional jewelry production.
The school was soon approved for the quality of its teaching methods and in 1904 was invited to the legendary World Fair in St.
Louis (USA). Unlike the technical schools in the adjacent German-speaking borderland, the Turnov School explicitly presented itself
as a Czech school from the very beginning, which was not only reflected by the allocation of teaching positions and the makeup of
the student body, but also by the school’s adhering to the tradition of national craftsmanship. The professors, usually graduates
from the Prague School of Arts and Crafts and the Academy of Fine Arts, but also the workshop supervisors, renowned artisans from
Prague and Turnov, ensured a high level of technical instruction right from the start.
The school’s works from the very first years had been inspired by the Historicist style, which, at the beginning of the term
1900–01, soon gave way to Art Nouveau. The school owed its orientation towards French Art Nouveau to an excursion its director Josef
Mašek and professors of the school at Jablonec had undertaken to the Paris World Fair, where René Lalique’s works had struck them as
particularly impressive.
The collaboration between the workshops of gem cutters, engravers, and goldsmiths under a single roof was unique among the technical
schools in Europe at the time. The affinity between professors and workshop supervisors resulted in works of superior quality in
terms of both artistic conception and craftsmanship – pieces of jewelry, stone engravings, and unique vessels cut from precious
stones, whose forms, color accents, surfaces, and various details were achieved by means of three-dimensional faceting. Interesting
pieces as candleholders, dishes, and goblets featuring facetted stones or engravings were produced by mutual effort.
Browsing the archives of the school at Turnov, one can clearly identify the period between 1900 and the late 1940s as its heyday.
The works dating from that time display a broad spectrum of artistic expression: luxurious patterns of Secessionist Symbolism,
vigorous applications in the style of Art Deco, rational Constructivism, the optimistic spirit of the young Republic, existential
gloom from the period of the Second World War, and a subsequent nostalgia following the country’s awakening from the dream of a new
Europe. Thus the exhibits on view do not only illustrate the most successful period of the school at Turnov, but also reflect the
creative atmosphere of the first half of the 20th century in an extraordinary fashion.
From Art Nouveau to Art Déco:
The collection of the Turnov School for Jewelry and Precious Stones
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| Duration of the Exhibition |
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April 1 through May 10 2008 |
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| Opening Times |
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Mon, Tue, Wed and Fri
8 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Thu 8 a.m. to 5.30 p.m
Saturday 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
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| Information |
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www.ottowagner.com/museum
T +43 1 534 53 DW 33825
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| Entrance |
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Main Banking Hall:
Free Entrance to the Special Exhibition!
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| Museum WAGNER:WERK |
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Entrance Fee: Euro 5.00
Euro 3,50 reduced fee for
students, senior citizens and groups
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| Free entrance |
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Bank customers of BAWAG P.S.K. on exhibit of customer card
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| Curators |
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Miroslav Cogan
Muzeum Ceského ráje, Turnov
Monika Wenzl-Bachmayer
WAGNER:WERK
Museum Postsparkasse
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| Catalogue |
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VOM JUGENDSTIL ZUM ART DÉCO.
Die Sammlung der Fachschule
für Schmuck und Edelsteine in Turnov
86 Farbabbildungen,
6 SW-Abbildungen, 64 Seiten
Erhältlich im Museumsshop
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| WAGNER:WERK - MUSEUM POSTSPARKASSE - Georg Coch-Platz 2, 1018 Vienna |
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