CHARLES RENNIE MACKINTOSH 7TH JUNE 1868-10 DEC 1928

BIOGRAPHY Charles Rennie Mackintosh was born in Glasgow on 7th June 1868 and died 10 Dec 1928 he was a Scottish architect, designer, water colourist and artist . He attended Reid’s Public school and Glasgow School of Arts in 1890 he became the second winner of Alexander Thomson Traveling Studentship which was set for Architecture students to further their studies.

CAREER LIFE On his return, he resumed work with the Honeyman and Keppie architectural practice where he started his first major architectural project, the Glasgow Herald Building, in 1899. He met with artist Margaret MacDonald at the Glasgow School of Art and they became members of a collaborative group known as “The Four”. They married in 1900. After successful project he resigned and started his own practice.

Unable to sustain an office due to economic hardships, Mackintosh and his wife went to Suffolk where he created many floral water colours He then moved to London where he created textile designs In 1916 he designed a home of W.J. Bassett-Lowke. This undertaking would be his last architectural and interior design project.

DESIGN APPROACH Mackintosh makes an illusion to the difference between art and design when he stated “’Life’ is the leaves which shape and nourish a plant, but ‘art’ is the flower which embodies its meaning.”The ‘life’ is the design, the different facets that make up a piece, but ‘art’ is the beauty that embodies the meaning behind it.

Mackintosh subscribed to the Rosicrucian way of thinking, which explored the connection between man and nature. They encouraged independence of thought and the notion of pursuing one’s personal artistic ideals.  It is, however, curious that for all Mackintosh’s statements of artistic free thinking and individuality, he heavily relied upon his wife Margaret for guidance; they were in a sense, very co-dependent artists, influenced and inspired by each other. Mackintosh wrote to Margaret that she was ‘half, perhaps even three quarters, of the inspiration for his work’.

Projects undertaken by Mackintosh Mackintosh furniture

Mackintosh Rose

Mackintosh jewelry

Mackintosh water colour painting

Mackintosh Font

Glasgow school of arts Exterior interior

Design influence/ significance of mackintosh designs Glasgow building has become a favored destination for a growing number of cultural tourists, so much so, that in excess of 20,000 visitors a year are accommodated on regular guided tours. Balancing the needs of a working art school, a heritage building and a tourist attraction all under the one roof remains far a great achievement

The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City held a major retrospective exhibition of Charles Rennie His furniture, rose and jewelry was seen as ornament that displayed the wealth of its owner and the value of the piece was established according to the length of time spent creating it.

References Wikipedia the free encyclopedia Photographs courtesy of Google

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