Xavier Schoellkopf

Xavier Schoellkopf (1869 Moscow, Russian Empire – 1911 Paris, France), was a Russian-born French architect, now recognized as one of the handful of Parisian masters of Art Nouveau at the turn of the twentieth century.

[2] Although Guadet and Paulin had distinguished themselves as rather conservative designers, Schoellkopf became one of the leading practitioners of the upstart new style that took hold in Paris during the 1890s, Art Nouveau, which was characterized by its asymmetry, emphasis on line, whiplash and irregular curves, movement, and in many cases its frank use of iron, glass, and modern, non-traditional materials.

Schoellkopf's career virtually paralleled that of Art Nouveau's existence in Paris, as he launched his practice at almost exactly the same time that the style arrived in the city, and died just as the fad's popularity had expired, just before the outbreak of the First World War.

[3] That same year, he completed probably his best-known work, the townhouse on the avenue d'Iéna for the singer and cabaret performer Yvette Guilbert (now demolished), whose façade might be described as a wedding cake of arabesques and contours translated into stone.

Schoellkopf's opportunity for creativity seems to have declined as the popularity of Art Nouveau quickly vanished for a variety of reasons, chiefly political, over the first decade of the twentieth century.