Art Nouveau's legacy in Havana is picked
up for the most part through its architecture. It includes exiguous,
isolated buildings, tardily generated between 1900 and 1920. The most
significant examples are found along wide avenues in central city areas,
while others are disseminated here and there as small pieces shaping the
grid of compact blocks in denser zones, or in distant neighborhoods; all
of them proudly figure as part of this style's repertoire, bounded
predominantly to the residence topic.
In essential difference with Europe, Art Nouveau in Havana appears
more as an elegant skin than a conception that organically impacts the
form of space. The style is mainly circumscribed to an ornamentation
superposed to neoclassical and eclectic facades. This tropical version
is indebted to Catalonian masters, which migrated from their native land
between 1790 and 1840, looking for better economic opportunities.
This important Hispanic community, deeply rooted in the island by the
second half of the XIX century, contributed its savoir faire in
construction techniques and handcrafts. Catalonians took roles as
promoters and authors; one of their major contributions was the creation
of workshops for the production of prefabricated decorative elements,
decisive for the dissemination of modernism which led to the term of
mould architecture . The most recognized were perhaps the ones
known as Ornaments in cement and plaster property of
Baltazar Ustrell and Fabrication of artificial stone and all
kinds of cement ornaments which belonged to architect Mario
Rotllant .
Elements of art nouveau inspiration went beyond masonry in
architectural design; they widely appear in carpentry, iron work, stain
glass, ceramic tiles in floors and socles, stairs balustrades and garden
and urban furniture. It is also common to find them in interiors, in
wood and metal furniture, lamps and in an incredible variety of
utilitarian and decorative objects.
There are a few places in Havana which concentrate exponents of this
style. One of them is Cárdenas street , to the southwest limit
of Havana 's Historic Centre; the other in Manrique street
within the compact grid of Central Havana Municipality . These are
unique examples of conjunction at urban level scarce as the Art
Nouveau's own print in the city.
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