This evening, I am posting a selection of images from yesterday's Charles Rennie Mackintosh themed tour of Glasgow.

Mackintosh (1868-1928) was a designer and artist whose work encapsulated a wide range of skills including jewellery, graphics, wall decoration, paintings, pottery, furniture, cutlery, light fittings and much more. He designed complete buildings from their foundations and structural steel, ventilation systems and plumbing. At the heart of his work was the design of places to be occupied in context of form, light and material.

Our first stop was the famous House for an Art Lover to which the following nine images relate.

This was designed in 1901 but not completed until 1996. The catalyst was a competition in a German design magazine which sought entries to design "a grand house in a thoroughly modern style". Mackintosh did not win the competition but was awarded a special prize.

Front elevation
Interior light fitting
Furniture
Sequence of rooms demonstrating their form.

Piano in music room. Visitors are welcome to play this instrument.

Light fittings
Fire place
Chairs, windows and light in the music room ( set up for a wedding).

Another front elevation

After the House for an Art Lover we moved to Scotland Street School Museum. This was Mackintosh's last public commission in Glasgow and was built between 1903 and 1906.
Mackintosh reversed tradition and gave the towers with conical roofs walls of glass and barrow stone mullions. He played off the verticality of the towers against the horizontal nature of the rest of the building.



For lunch we went to the Corinthian Restaurant which has no connection with Mackintosh but, nevertheless, an architectural gem. It was built in 1842 and for the next century housed various banks and subsequently the city's High Court. The stunning interior was refurbished in 1999.

Here is the roof dome.
A detail of cornice
External view of the Corinthian.

After lunch we moved on the Glasgow School of Art for a tour lasting over an hour. This is acknowledged as Mackintosh's masterpiece. For more information, see yesterday's blog posting.
Image below is the main entrance.
Our final stop was the Mackintosh Church ( 1897-9) which is contemporary with the School of Art. This design reveals a sophisticated handling of form, ornament and symbolic meaning.
This building is no longer used for worship but is the main office of the Mackintosh Society.
Regrettably, light conditions were sub-optimal at time of the visit and hence images below are not of high quality but, nevertheless, should give the viewer a basic appreciation for Mackintosh's work.






Overall, a good tour lasting from about 0930 to 5.15pm

Labels: Mackintosh Tours

posted by Nigel Cole @ 10:45 AM