 ess
flamboyant and perhaps consequently less well known than other branches
of AN, the Glasgow style is no less elegant or viscerally pleasing. The
Glasgow Four, led by Charles Rennie Mackintosh, spearheaded the creation
of a unique style of decor that bears elements of several contrasting styles,
but nonetheless it is distinct. Its hallmarks are long, long, rectilinear
lines, reaching up as if appealing to the heavens, and offset within this
lattice are subtly elegant curves and natural designs such as the Mackintosh
rose. Curves and colours are sparse against the geometric backdrop and
so seem accentuated. The lines hold back the flamboyance of the curves,
creating a delightful visual tension. Mackintosh is the Mozart to Horta’s
Beethoven; the John Lennon to Guimard’s Paul McCartney; the Larry to Gaudi’s
Curly. Like other innovative AN designers across Europe, Mackintosh’s work
was not immediately embraced by local art purveyors. Though now revered
by Scotland as an artistic champion, the cruel irony was that he was unable
to find work for most of his life in his homeland and worked in England
to make a living.
 he
Mackintosh style clearly derives from the rustic Arts and Crafts style
popular in the Britain in the 19th century. For this reason, his work is
often categorized in Arts and Crafts rather than Art Nouveau, which is
understandable. The Arts and Crafts style pioneered by William Morris believed
in sturdy, high quality craftsmanship in harmony with the natural environment,
and this is consistent with Mackintosh’s conception of his work. He liberally
borrowed and adapted Arts and Crafts motifs such as the rectilinear grid
and its distinctive typefaces. However, his vision also surpassed Arts
and Crafts creators, reaching with sinuous tendrils into the future and
absorbing the ethereal and imaginary delights of Art Nouveau, rather than
simply concentrating on recreating nostalgic sentiments of life as it might
have been in bygone days (before the Industrial Revolution). It’s this
forward brashness that sets Mackintosh apart from Arts and Crafts predecessors
and c atapults him squarely into the forefront of Art Nouveau. Chance encounters
with Victor Horta and Hector Guimard early in the 20th century undoubtedly
influenced his thinking, and likewise Mackintosh's involvements with German
and Austrian designers would later play a pivotal role in the nascent Secessionist
movement.
 ll
of Mackintosh's masterworks are situated in the Glasgow area. Like Guimard
and Gaudi, his first commissions were for public fixtures, in this case
streetlamps in Arts and Crafts style. His first major creation was the
Glasgow
School of Arts, which still stands and functions to this day. The GSA
conducts visits of the school interior and explains the functional considerations
of his work. Some original Mackintosh furniture is still used today in
conference rooms and classrooms and you too can sit on them, though photography
is prohibited. The dangling rectilinear lamps in the GSA library would
foreshadow his use of lamps in later buildings. By and large, however,
the GSA bears a stronger connection to more austere Arts and Crafts style
than to the less restrained Art Nouveau style.
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of the Willow
Tea Rooms in downtown Glasgow, designed in 1904 by Mackintosh for the
patron Kate Cranston, are still in operation today as tea rooms. The Sauciehall
Street Tea Room (217 Sauciehall St.) features the exquisite Room de Luxe,
which is often reserved for special functions, though you can simply walk
upstairs from the main floor of the Gallery to take a peek. The use of
the Mackintosh rose motif is used more extensively in these tea rooms than
in any other of his works.
he
Hill
House in the peaceable town of Helensburgh 22 miles north of Glasgow
is Mackintosh's masterpiece. Designed for patron Walter Blackie in 1902,
Mackintosh had free rein with his imagination to run rampant with its interior
designs. Like other Mackintosh buildings, the exterior is unremarkable
and conservative. The dearth of images available from the inside, due to
the National Trust for Scotland's zealous photography prohibition, is unfortunate,
because it's not easy to imagine how the interior might be after seeing
the exterior. A few decent images of interiors can be found on here
and here.
A rich indigo glow pervades the airy open spaces of the house, and the
horizontally-challenged f urniture (especially the chairs) in the Hill
House are now characteristic icons of the Mackintosh style. Though access
to the site is relatively difficult, and opening hours are limited, efforts
to reach the Hill House by AN fans will be rewarded.
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southern Glasgow, the most recent Mackintosh construction, in 1996 to be
precise, is also one of his oldest grand designs (1901). Almost a century
after its conception,
The
House for an Art Lover was constructed according to a submission to
a German design competition by Mackintosh and his wife Margaret Macdonald,
another member of the Glasgow Four. This Wohnhaus eines Kunstfreundes earned
a special prize for its distinct personal qualities. The resulting contemporary
construction of the house permits the visitor the rare opportunity to see
an authentic Art Nouveau house as it might have appeared at the turn of
the century, in pristine condition. Used now as a site for functions, the
house is easily accessible and open for public visits.
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GLASGOW
GLASGOW
SCHOOL OF ART 
HOUSE FOR AN ART LOVER 
