i heart nouveau

On a recent trip to Glasgow I was turned on to famed Scottish architect, Charles Rennie Mackintosh. After seeing his building-the Glasgow School of Art, I wanted to know more. I have always been a fan of Art Nouveau but never seen such an early and simply streamlined interpretation. I love the way his designs, at times, look more modern, danish, or mid-century than the Art Nouveau. Mackintosh (June 7, 1868–December 10, 1928) started his career focusing on painting and design and eventually apprenticed with a local architect all by the age of sixteen. Later in college he became interested in Japanese design because of its restraint, simple form, the use of natural materials, texture, light and shadow rather than pattern and ornament. It was also around this time that the Modernist movement began, developing designs based on innovative ideas and new technology. These things shaped Mackintosh's signature and he became know as a pioneer in this design movement. Though his career was short it made an amazing impact. All his major commissions were between 1896 and 1906, where he designed private homes, commercial buildings, interior renovations, furniture, prints and also had a font created that bears his name. His works are considered to be the some of the earliest examples of Art Nouveau. The Glasgow School of Art is regarded as Mackintosh's architectural masterpiece - being not only innovative and his largest project, but perhaps one of the most influential buildings ever constructed in Great Britain.