Japanese Influence on Charles Rennie MacKintosh

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.