Japanese Influence on Charles Rennie MacKintosh

<strong>Japanese</strong> <strong>Influence</strong> on Charles Rennie MacKintosh
Clark MacLeod
9042523
Introduction
Charles Rennie Mackintosh was born, one of eleven children, in the Townhead area of Glasgow Scotland on 7
June 1868. From these beginnings, he has become one of the most celebrated architects of his generation. But
Mackintosh was more than just an architect. He was also an outstanding international artist and designer.
He was stricken at a young age with some minor disabilities which were to later shape his life. He was
encouraged to walk in the countryside and avoid the difficulties inherent with being a child in the playground.
His love of the countryside and flora found there was to manifest itself later in his life. Mackintosh trained as an
architect in a local practice, John Hutchison architectural, and studied art and design at evening classes at the
Glasgow School of Art.
At art school Mackintosh and his friend and colleague Herbert MacNair met the artist sisters Margaret and
Frances Macdonald. These four artists, known as "The Four", collaborated on designs for furniture,
metalwork and illustration, developing a highly distinctive array of weird images including abstracted female
figures and metamorphic lines. Margaret Macdonald would become his future wife and much of what can be
seen in the buildings and collections involves their artistic collaboration. Mackintosh took his inspiration from
Scottish traditions and blended them with the flourish of Art Nouveau and the simplicity of <strong>Japanese</strong> forms.
He had a masterful handling of light and space and many of the well-known pieces of furniture which have
themselves become icons. His furniture has been used extensively in movies such as Blade, Blade Runner, and
Babylon 5. His buildings are noteworthy for their lightness and elegance, occasional use of curving forms, and
openness to natural lighting. He rejected over-decorated Victorian styles in favour of a spare simplicity that
featured geometric shapes and unadorned surfaces. The design of interiors and objects was Mackintosh’s true
forte, for here his affinity for simplicity of form and his love of surface decoration could play off each other. The
most outstanding feature of a Mackintosh interior is its firm adherence to theme. Surfaces of furniture, textiles,
window panels, and screens: all are a unified means to communicate that theme, which is usually naturerelated.
Lines, Space, and Minimalism
Artists practicing Art Nouveau often borrowed motifs from <strong>Japanese</strong> wood print. These motifs had an
angular, linear look, using the lines of <strong>Japanese</strong> interior design as well as the flowing lines of the kimono. The
artists were interested in the unique look of the wood prints, with their simple palette of colors and
asymmetrical outlines, and the angles of the branching cherry blossom tree. The elegant refined detail of
craftwork evident in these and other products from Japan gave a new aesthetic input, feeding the artists desire
for a new style - new design for a new century.
Nature is very prominent in the design of many of the <strong>Japanese</strong> paintings. A variety of different flowers and
plants painted in many different styles and using many different techniques are seen.
Space is also very important. Often vast amounts of space are seen in the backgrounds of the paintings which
consist of one color or few different tones. It is obvious that this must have influenced Mackintosh as this can
be seen in the wallpaper used in Hill House. Mackintosh has a background of plain white walls with simple
petal forms on top.
The beauty of the line and the love of diagonal composition in another very important aspect of Art Nouveau
which originated from <strong>Japanese</strong> art. In one particular <strong>Japanese</strong> picture a group of flowers have a clear outline

around them which is very similar to Art Nouveau styles. You can also see many swooping natural curves
which resemble the whiplash curve associated with Art Nouveau architecture.
Nature had a great influence in many forms of art during this period, from Henri De Toulouse-Lautrec's
posters and Aubrey Vincent Beardsley's illustrations to jewelry and household appliances. Architecture, for
some, is the most impressive and exciting form of art nouveau.
The Hill House
The outside of the building has a Scottish feel where Mackintosh used traditional grey slate for the roof and
harling on the walls. In contrast the <strong>Japanese</strong> influence in the interior provided a rich contrast and
Mackintosh's skillful use of color, texture and light combine to create a dwelling which is unique.
Whereas the exterior of the building hints at a Scottish origin the entrance hall with its strong verticals and
horizontals combines many of the current stylistic movements with those of the past.
All the rooms are designed with function in mind but retain this mixture of old and new. Upstairs in the main
bedroom modern elegance in furniture and fittings combines with traditional Scottish expectations. A vaulted
ceiling embraces and enfolds a large white bed carved to represent forms taken from nature. The contrast of
curves, cool whites and warm pinks with the angularity of the darkest brown ladder back chairs is clear.
Unification is paramount to success: stenciled wall pattern echo the rose motif used elsewhere in the house. It
may be hard to imagine living in a house where every space, shape and item of furniture has been carefully
considered but Mackintosh firmly believed that the Hill House was for living in.
The hall is a complete contrast to the bedroom and the drawing room in many ways. Mackintosh tended to
keep rooms very light or very dark and the hall is one of the rooms that he designed to be dark but certainly not
dull. The hall has a cosy, slightly oriental feeling. This is in part due to the dark wood used which links back to
<strong>Japanese</strong> interiors and other elements throughout the room designed in the <strong>Japanese</strong> style. The hall tends to be
a favorite area of the house as it is so different from so many other rooms and also because of the way
Mackintosh used beams and levels to break up the shape of it. There are many forms in the room that directly
link back to <strong>Japanese</strong> architecture and in some areas Mackintosh has changed this and created his own
personal style. The heavy use of beams in the hall is particularly evident in <strong>Japanese</strong> interiors such as the
Imperial Palace, Shishinden and in the Audience hall, Momoyama Castle. Mackintosh has used this
<strong>Japanese</strong>’s influence to create different areas in the room which makes the experience of walking through it
unusual and interesting. Other <strong>Japanese</strong> elements incorporated in Mackintosh's work are the white boarder
running around the top of the walls and the way the carpet does not reach the walls of the room.

The Hall, Hill House
Imperial Palace, Shishinden
Audience Hall, Momoyama Castle
On entering you pass through a large wooden door at one end, which is on a lower level than the main area of
the hall. The door is large with two rows of squares cut out of the wood, which spans the height of the door.
This continuous theme of square is noticeable as soon as you enter the house.
The room is carpeted throughout in light beige with a similar pattern to that of the other carpets throughout
the house. It has twelve blue squares in each corner with white lines running down the side. The carpet is liked
because it is simple with just a basic pattern but it still adds to the aesthetic qualities of the room. Another
thing about the carpet is that it does not cover the whole floor. There is a perimeter of about five inches that
runs around the whole of the room, creating a border that frames the room and the furniture in it, which works
very well in this room.
Hall view, on entering
Hall, end wall shot
Hall Lighting
Mackintosh has only placed a couple of pieces of furniture in this room which leaves the room very open and
spacious. What is amazing about his rooms is that each is completely different from one another with a few key
design elements continued in each room. The two chairs and the table are different from the other pieces of
furniture in the room but still contain the small squares which are evident in the rest of the house. The main
characteristics of the furniture are the high sides of the chairs and the wedged shaped legs on the table. The
furniture seems more practical and simple and is not as elegant as in other rooms. This probably reflects the
fact that the room is used for people waiting for Mr Blackie or gatherings and is not used quite so much as the
other rooms are.
The <strong>Japanese</strong> feel continues to be seen in the lighting. The lighting is made from a large square framed
structure with white screens acting as the lampshade radiating the light outwards. These are very similar to
<strong>Japanese</strong> screens and connect with the white boarder running around the top of the room. Again this shows
Mackintosh’s skill at taking his own style and combining it with his influence to create a new design.

School of Art
The black metal fence around the north frontage is interspersed with spars surmounted by cryptic roundels
depicting stylised insect and animal forms. These shapes and abstractions from nature have been shown to
have a commonality with the traditional heraldic crests of the <strong>Japanese</strong> family clans. We can see the <strong>Japanese</strong>
influence in the windows of the western gable, the use of open screens and the wood pegging in the library and
the main stairwell. In a more general sense we can see a <strong>Japanese</strong> quality in the interpretation of spaces, the
rectilinear geometry of the building and the conception of rhythm. The School of Art also reflects the skills of
the <strong>Japanese</strong> in assembling a perfectly balanced composition from simple forms.
The use of colours is very specific : white (for Victorians associated with nudity) and black, for the contrast.
The presence in interior design of dry flowers, stones creates a minimalist feeling close to traditional <strong>Japanese</strong>
interiors, widening space, and creating emptiness. Some colours (like purple, the colour of Scotland) are
featured in wall stencils and tainted glass panels (typical of Art Nouveau).