Japanese Influence on Charles Rennie MacKintosh

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).