| Charles Rennie Mackintosh was an
architect, designer and artist. He was born in Glasgow and from a very young age was
interested in drawing and painting. He founded the Glasgow Four with Herbert MacNair and the MacDonald Sisters, Margaret and Frances, and was quickly recognised as the leading figure in Scottish Art Nouveau and Scottish Arts and Crafts. The image on the right shows Mackintosh's use of the flowing line of Art Nouveau coupled with the symbolism of the rose motif and the repeated female forms. The use of the repeated flowing line creates a flat decorative image, and in influences by Art Nouveau and Symbolist artworks.
|
|
Charles Rennie Mackintosh A House for and Art Lover - portfolio cover 1902 Lithograph Hunterian Art Gallery, University of Glasgow. |
|
| Charles Rennie Mackintosh The Musical Review 1896 Hunterian Art Gallery, University of Glasgow |
 |
Mackintosh was influenced by
Symbolism and the decorative arts of the continent. He exhibited with the Vienna Secession in 1900, and the above image demonstrates
the influence of graphic artists such as Jan Toorop,
who also made use of linear decorative elements. His work on the left also shows the use of symbols and their linear decorative quality which was also influential of the Continent. Here one can also see the use of the bird motif which was also often use by Talwin Morris. Art Nouveau was one of the main trends in artistic taste at the turn of the century and he demonstrates his influence of this style in his use of fluid organic flowing lines in his decorative designs. This became influential to Charles Rennie Mackintosh and he transformed it into what became known as the Glasgow Style, which Tschudi defines as "Constructive and geometric art nouveau" (Tschudi page 21) |
|
