CHARLES RENNIE MACKINTOSH

BACKGROUND

• Born June 7th 1868• Born in the Townhead district of Glasgow• He was in a family of 13• When he was 10, family moved to East end of

Glasgow• There he did a lot of artistic sketches and

observations at a young age• This helped lay the foundations for his future

career as an artist

EDUCATION

• His education started with an architecture apprenticeship in 1884 to John Hutchison

• In the same year he enrolled for architecture evening classes at the Glasgow School of Art where he met his future wife, Margaret MacDonald

• He also did a painting class from 1884-85 An Antique Relief,

1885

EARLY WORK

• His classes lead to him becoming a junior draughtsman in 1889, for the offices of Honeyman and Keppie – a large architecture firm in Glasgow

• In 1890 he was awarded a travel scholarship for his work, which funded a trip to Italy. This reinvigorated him gave him a new perspective for his work

• In 1896 he won a competition to design the new Glasgow School of Art building, in which the first wing was completed in 1899

Glasgow School of Art, designed by Mackintosh

THE FOUR

• He soon formed “The Four”, a group of architects that had also studied at Glasgow School of Art, made up of himself, Margaret MacDonald, Frances MacDonald and Herbert MacNair

• They became the leaders of the “Glasgow School” movement

• Mackintosh’s work with The Four is what set his reputation on a wider scale

The Argyle Chair, 1898, a prominent piece of work from his time with The Four

LATER WORK

• In 1904 Mackintosh became a partner of Honeyman and Keppie, and in 1907 the second wing of the Glasgow School of Art was completed

• He soon started to become disillusioned with architecture and wanted to change styles. He left Honeyman and Keppie in 1914 and moved to the countryside in Walberswick, where he focused on watercolour work

Portrait of Mackintosh by Francis Newberry, 1914

DEATH

• In 1927 Mackintosh was forced to move to London from his house in France, due to illness

• That year he was diagnosed with cancer, but a brief recovery left him resting at home a few months

• He later died on 10th December 1928, at the age of 60

The Fort, 1925, one of Mackintosh’s last works

INFLUENCES

• Mackintosh held the ideologies of John Ruskin and AWN Pugin, who championed the gothic revival and arts and crafts movements - honestly of craft, ethical design, etc• He was also very much influenced by Japanese

design, he liked the idea of the simple forms and natural materials used in their designs• These helped start his own design style: a

contrast of strong right angles and floral decoration

LEGACY

• To this day, Mackintosh is still influential to contemporary design. His graphic works are still looked at today as examples of art nouveau with a blend of early modernism. His combination of Japanism with the European movements is still revered today.

• Through his architectural work with The Four, we can see the concepts and principles they used are still relevant in design and architecture work currently.

• His shift in artistic style from architecture to more traditional watercolours and paintings was unheard of at the time and still is, we found it very interesting that he would give up his whole career and reputation as an architect just to pursue new styles.

Above: Invitation to Glasgow School of Art, 1892

Below: There is Hope, 1901

BIBLIOGRAPHY

• Books:• Baxter, C. & Moffat, A. (1989). Remembering

Charles Rennie Mackintosh: An Illustrated Bibliography. Britain: Colin Baxter Photography Ltd.• Buchanan, W., Macauley, J., Macmillan, A.,

Rawson, G. & Trowles, P. (1989). Mackintosh’s Masterwork. San Francisco: Chronicle Books• Cooper, J. (1978). Mackintosh Architecture.

London: Academy Editions• Nuttgens, P (1988). Mackintosh and his

Contemporaries. London: John Murry Ltd.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

• Websites:• Hunterian Art Gallery (2012). Mackintosh Online

Catalogue. Retrieved from http://www.huntsearch.gla.ac.uk/mackintosh/• Ryan, V. (2012). An Introduction to Charles Rennie

Mackintosh. Retrieved from http://www.technologystudent.com/joints/rennie1.html• Scotcities (2013). Charles Rennie Mackintosh –

Architect & Designer. Retrieved from http://www.scotcities.com/mackintosh/

BIBLIOGRAPHY

• Images part one:• Annan, J. (1893). [Photograph of Charles Rennie Mackintosh]. Retrieved

from: http://www.abbeville.com/interiors.asp?ISBN=1558597913• Annan, R. & Annan, T. (1907). [Photograph of the Glasgow School of Art].

Retrieved from: http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/media/12761/Glasgow-School-of-Art-library-by-Charles-Mackintosh-1907-09

• Mackintosh, C.R. (1892). Invitation to the Glasgow School of Art. [Drawing] Retrieved from: http://www.huntsearch.gla.ac.uk/cgi-bin/foxweb/huntsearch_Mackintosh/DetailedResults.fwx?searchTerm=41544

• Mackintosh, C.R. (1898). Argyle Chair. [Furniture] Retrieved from: http://latinlover1102.wordpress.com/2009/08/24/old-and-new-designer/

• Mackintosh, C.R. (1901). There is Hope. [Drawing] Retrieved from: http://fiddlesticksandnonsense.squarespace.com/posts-old/2009/7/14/mackintoshthere-is-hope.html

BIBLIOGRAPHY

• Images part two:• Mackintosh, C.R. (1898). Argyle Chair. [Furniture] Retrieved from:

http://latinlover1102.wordpress.com/2009/08/24/old-and-new-designer/

• Mackintosh, C.R. (1886). An Antique Relief. [Painting] Retrieved from: http://www.huntsearch.gla.ac.uk/cgi-bin/foxweb/huntsearch_Mackintosh/DetailedResults.fwx?SearchTerm=41030&reqMethod=Link

• Mackintosh, C.R. (1925). The Fort. [Painting] Retrieved from: http://www.collioure.com.au/mackintosh3.htm

• Newberry, F. (1914). Charles Rennie Mackintosh. [Painting] Retrieved from: http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/N/3620/artist_name/Francis%20Henry%20Newbery/record_id/2644

• Amy Young• Chandler Heath• Heston Hawe• Shangyuan “Giles” Yang

• Presenters: Chandler and Heston• All team members worked on all other aspects of

the project equally

THE TEAM