Max Gustav Richard Scherwinsky ( lv, Maksis Gustavs Rihards Šervinskis; 1 November 1859 – 12 July 1909) was a German-born architect working mainly in Riga, the present-day capital of Latvia.

Biography

Max Scherwinsky was born in

Tilsit Sovetsk (russian: Сове́тск; german: Tilsit; Old Prussian: ''Tilzi''; lt, Tilžė; pl, Tylża) is a town in Kaliningrad Oblast, Russia, located on the south bank of the Neman River which forms the border with Lithuania. Geography Sov ...

(since 1946 Sovetsk) in

East Prussia East Prussia ; german: Ostpreißen, label=Low Prussian; pl, Prusy Wschodnie; lt, Rytų Prūsija was a province of the Kingdom of Prussia from 1773 to 1829 and again from 1878 (with the Kingdom itself being part of the German Empire from 187 ...

(today

Kaliningrad Oblast Kaliningrad Oblast (russian: Калинингра́дская о́бласть, translit=Kaliningradskaya oblast') is the westernmost federal subject of Russia. It is a semi-exclave situated on the Baltic Sea. The largest city and administr ...

in Russia). His family was originally Polish aristocrats who had emigrated to the

Kingdom of Prussia The Kingdom of Prussia (german: Königreich Preußen, ) was a German kingdom that constituted the state of Prussia between 1701 and 1918.Marriott, J. A. R., and Charles Grant Robertson. ''The Evolution of Prussia, the Making of an Empire''. Re ...

following the

November Uprising The November Uprising (1830–31), also known as the Polish–Russian War 1830–31 or the Cadet Revolution, was an armed rebellion in the heartland of partitioned Poland against the Russian Empire. The uprising began on 29 November 1830 in W ...

. Max Scherwinsky received his basic education in Tilsit and then went on to study construction in

Buxtehude Buxtehude (), officially the Hanseatic City of Buxtehude (german: Hansestadt Buxtehude, nds, Hansestadt Buxthu ()), is a town on the Este River in Northern Germany, belonging to the district of Stade in Lower Saxony. It is part of the Hamburg ...

. In 1879 he enrolled in the Württemberg Royal Polytechnic School in

Stuttgart Stuttgart (; Swabian: ; ) is the capital and largest city of the German state of Baden-Württemberg. It is located on the Neckar river in a fertile valley known as the ''Stuttgarter Kessel'' (Stuttgart Cauldron) and lies an hour from the ...

to study architecture. He graduated in 1883. At some point after this he moved to

Riga Riga (; lv, Rīga , liv, Rīgõ) is the capital and largest city of Latvia and is home to 605,802 inhabitants which is a third of Latvia's population. The city lies on the Gulf of Riga at the mouth of the Daugava river where it meets the Ba ...

and took up teaching positions at the Riga School for Crafts, Riga Polytechnic Institute (today

Riga Technical University Riga Technical University (RTU) ( lv, Rīgas Tehniskā universitāte) is the oldest technical university in the Baltic countries established on October 14, 1862. It is located in Riga, Latvia and was previously known as 'Riga Polytechnical Instit ...

), as well as Riga Lomonosov Girls' Gymnasium. From 1887 or 1888 he was the director of the School of Crafts. He was also active as a designer and architect in Riga. He died in

Stockholm Stockholm () is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, largest city of Sweden as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in Scandinavia. Approximately 980,000 people liv ...

in 1909 while visiting an arts and crafts exhibition in the city.

Work as a teacher and designer

As a teacher Scherwinsky wrote textbooks on craft design and also participated himself in design competitions and exhibitions, winning bronze medal at a craft exhibition in Riga in 1883 and a silver medal at the

All-Russia Exhibition 1896 The All-Russia industrial and art exhibition 1896 in Nizhny Novgorod was held from May 28 (June 9 N.S.) till October 1 (13 N.S.), 1896. The 1896 exhibition was the largest pre-revolution exhibition in the Russian Empire and was organized wit ...

Nizhny Novgorod Nizhny Novgorod ( ; rus, links=no, Нижний Новгород, a=Ru-Nizhny Novgorod.ogg, p=ˈnʲiʐnʲɪj ˈnovɡərət ), colloquially shortened to Nizhny, from the 13th to the 17th century Novgorod of the Lower Land, formerly known as Gork ...

. Among his pupils were the artists

Janis Rozentāls Janis Rozentāls (March 18, 1866 – December 26, 1916) was a famous Latvian painter. Life Rozentāls was born in Bebri Farmstead, Saldus parish, Courland Governorate in the Russian Empire. He was the son of a blacksmith. He received the ...

and

Vilhelms Purvītis Vilhelms Purvītis (3 March 1872 – 14 January 1945) was a landscape painter and educator who founded the Latvian Academy of Art and was its rector from 1919 to 1934. Biography Vilhems Purvītis was born in Zaube Parish (now Cēsis Munic ...

. He was an appreciated teacher and received several gifts from his students on his 25th anniversary as a teacher; after his death his students also financed the repatriation of his remains to Riga and his gravestone with a commemorative inscription.

Architecture

Scherwinsky was also active as an independent architect in Riga. In 1899 he designed, together with Alfred Aschenkampff, the first house in

Art Nouveau Art Nouveau (; ) is an international style of art, architecture, and applied art, especially the decorative arts. The style is known by different names in different languages: in German, in Italian, in Catalan, and also known as the Modern ...

style in the city (a style which would become very popular in Riga). The two architects also designed the main layout of Riga Anniversary Exhibition of 1901.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Scherwinsky, Max 1859 births 1909 deaths People from Tilsit Architects from Riga Emigrants from the German Empire to the Russian Empire Architects from the Russian Empire

Biography

Work as a teacher and designer

Architecture

See also

References