I’ve been interested in Charles Rennie Mackintosh’s
architecture for a long time, but it took me a while to realise that there was
a Japanese influence on his work, and that maybe this is the reason I’m so
attracted to his art.
There were strong Japanese influences in Scotland at the
time that Mackintosh was learning his craft. Japan had opened to trade with the
west not long before Mackintosh was born, and so Japanese art and crafts began
to appear on the market. Many other Scottish (and particularly Glasgow) artists
were also influenced by Japanese art.
From Mackintosh’s own living room, it was obvious that he
had been exposed to Japanese art. There were Japanese ukiyo-e prints on the
walls and mantelpiece, Japanese tea bowls, and ikebana-style flower
arrangements.
It’s difficult to put your finger on what is specifically
Japanese about Charles Rennie Mackintosh’s work, but it evokes a Japanese
feeling of simplicity and calm. Charles Rennie Mackintosh’s interiors seemed
simple, modern and minimalist to Scottish eyes at the time, with their strong
horizontals and verticals, and strong contrasts between light and dark. He made
good use of light, bringing as much light as possible into his interiors. He
made good use of natural materials, had respect for the materials and worked
with their natural properties
His furniture was either very dark or very light, and the shapes
of the furniture had a Japanese aesthetic. He designed a number of kimono
shaped storage units, which are narrower at the bottom than the top, or have
doors that open at the top and are designed to be left open to create a kimono
shape.
Many of his windows were reminiscent of Japanese shoji
screens, with a framework of squares or rectangles. This is particularly
visible on the windows of Glasgow School of Art, particularly the library
windows. Many of his chairs also repeat this design of squares, and he repeated
the design of squares with patterns of tiles, and on his clock designs and various other places.
He made a lot of use of projecting timber roof beams, which
look very Japanese. Many of his lights, which are square in shape and consist of panels, look similar to Japanese
lanterns. The Janitor’s room at Glasgow School of Art is actually said to have
been designed to look like a Japanese teahouse.
The finials on the posts outside Glasgow School of Art are based on the idea of Japanese family crests (mon), and with their designs based on insects and birds they take their theme from the natural world as many of the Japanese crests do. Like the Japanese artists producing the crests, Mackintosh simplified and abstracted the designs. He also used similar designs elsewhere, for example on the windows at the front of the Willow Tearooms.
One of Mackintosh’s trademarks is elongated female figures
in flowing garments that are reminiscent of Japanese ukiyo-e prints (and his
wife Margaret MacDonald Mackintosh also produced similar designs). The
beautiful flower watercolours which he produced in his later years, with their
crisp edges and muted colours are also reminiscent of ukiyo-e prints
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