Scotiana » Charles Rennie Mackintosh

Married at Gretna Green!

MAJA — Thu, 10 Mar 2011 17:33:40 +0000

“How far, how far to Gretna? ‘Tis years and years away,
And chaise and four will nevermore fling dust across the day;
But as I ride the Carlisle road, where life and love have been,
I hear again the beating hooves go through to Gretna Green.”

Anon.

Bonjour Jean-Claude, Janice et Marie-Agnès! Hello again from Scotland!

Isn’t this an exciting time of year? Spring is not far off, for when I paid our milk bill last week, I learned from the farmer that his first lambs had been born. As soon as the shed is full, they’ll go out to the new grass, many to the big field that surrounds our house.

It was good to hear, dear friends, that Scotiana is being read by more and more people, and pleasing for us to know that our post on St Valentine (‘St Valentine comes to Glasgow’) was the most popular on 14th February!

I do admire that line by my old schoolmate, Jim Gilchrist (of The Scotsman): “If ever a man – or a saint – could be said to amount to more than the sum of his parts, that man was St Valentine.” There do seem to be rather a lot of relics of the Saint about; on the other hand, there were in history at least two quite separate Valentines – so some room for confusion. But it’s a lovely idea, don’t you think, to have a patron saint of romance?

Gretna-Gretna Green-Carlisle-Edinburgh Scotiana modified Google map

The small Dumfriesshire towns of Gretna and Gretna Green – almost a mile apart – are particularly busy on 14th February (and also in high summer) for it’s possible to make a booking up to a year ahead to be married there. How different everything used to be, when young runaways would arrive at all hours wishing to be married instantly! For almost 200 years, couples travelling from England were able to take advantage of the Scottish practice of ‘Marriage by Declaration’; provided that they were both over 16, a couple had only to stand on Scottish soil and declare, in the presence of two witnesses, that they were husband and wife! And that was it – they were legally married, with no need to seek parental approval.

Until 1754, Gretna Green had been an unremarkable place, a tiny cluster of whitewashed cottages – including an inn – on the main road between London and Edinburgh. In that year, however, the marriage laws in England were changed, so that only those over 21 could get married without their parents’ consent. And all marriages had to be approved by the Church. Too many young people from rich families, it seems, had been choosing partners of whom their parents disapproved!

Lord Hardwicke's Marriage Act 1753 Scotiana adapted image from Wikipedia source

Soon Lord Hardwicke’s Act of Parliament brought a steady stream of young lovers north to Scotland. Most, of course, had run away from home. They travelled slowly and uncomfortably by stagecoach; the ‘Carlisle’ horses were changed at the inn at Gretna (11 miles further on, and the first stop on the Scottish side of the border). Anxious and fearful in case their parents should catch up with them, the young runaways would ask – please, can we be married here, now? Gretna Green’s romantic image was born!

Today, we think of the Old Blacksmith’s Shop – the ‘smithy’ – whenever Gretna is mentioned; and, with the horses for the coach service being changed in the village, it was natural that there should be a blacksmith there from the earliest times. Yet the astonishing thing is that none of the first Gretna marriage ‘priests’ were actually blacksmiths by trade. (Strictly speaking, of course, there was no need to have anyone at all to conduct the wedding; but it seemed right to have ‘someone in charge’ – someone to take the part played by the priest or celebrant in a religious ceremony.)

George Gordon, the first ‘priest’, was a former soldier, and wore military uniform while performing marriages. Joseph Pasley (or Paisley) a smuggler and notorious drunkard, dressed up like a minister of the Church to conduct weddings in his cottage. On Pasley’s death in 1814, his nephew, David Lang, took over. Marriage was a profitable business!

Most memorable was the Gretna ‘Bishop,’ John Linton, who had married more than a thousand couples at Gretna Hall before his death in 1851. This was the inn favoured by the rich and the famous, and Linton, a refined and dignified man, knew exactly how to treat his aristocratic guests. Captains, generals, and gentlemen of all sorts married at the Hall. In 1846, an Italian prince came – Carlo Ferdinando, brother of the King of Naples – followed in 1847 by an Italian duke!

So, there was no blacksmith at Gretna who conducted weddings in the days of the stagecoaches. Yet even Charles Dickens, the novelist (who stayed at Gretna Hall in 1852) thought that the village blacksmith performed marriage ceremonies! The idea probably arose because the house of one of the ‘priests’ had a sign outside depicting a blacksmith’s shop; a young couple were shown joining their hands over the anvil, while the smith brought down his hammer to bless the union.

A new railway service from Blackpool via the Lake District brought large numbers of tourists to Gretna Green in the early 1900′s, and the visitors simply refused to believe that the ‘smithy’ – the blacksmith’s shop – was not the special marriage place! Taking advantage of all this interest, its owner decided in 1907 to convert the smithy to a marriage museum – and, very soon afterwards, the first ‘anvil wedding’ finally took place there.

Richard Rennison was the best-known of the modern anvil ‘priests’, conducting over 5000 marriages between 1927 and 1940. Marriage by Declaration ended that year – amid the turmoil of the Second World War; perhaps there had been a rising tide of bigamy? The marriage ‘priests’ were swept away, to be replaced by professional registrars appointed throughout Scotland – only they and ministers of religion could now legally perform wedding ceremonies.

Gretna Registration Office with Mackintosh style rail Google Scotiana modified Google Map

A new registration office was opened, not at Gretna Green but in the town of Gretna. It was situated in a modest, single-storey building (which I once visited, although I didn’t get married that day!) The story of this little office is the story of its world-famous registrar, Miss Pat Bryden, MBE, who spent her entire working life there. (I seem to recall that the entrance was shared with a dentist’s surgery; you turned right for Miss Bryden’s, left for Mr Boon to have your tooth filled!) After marrying more than 10,000 couples, Miss Bryden herself got married – in church – at the age of 59, and retired soon afterwards. “I really didn’t think it would ever happen to me,” she said. “I am very, very happy.”

Miss Bryden’s small office could not cope with the demand for summer weddings, so a handsome new building was opened in 1991; containing three separate marriage suites, it is decorated and furnished in the Glasgow Style associated with the architect Charles Rennie Mackintosh.

Some couples go on to visit one of the blacksmiths for the fun part of their wedding – to be ‘married’ again over the anvil; most today are in their 30′s, and many are marrying for the second time. A typical Gretna wedding is now quite a sophisticated affair; older couples have more money to spend, and often do things in style. About half the brides wear beautiful long dresses, and many arrive in Rolls-Royces or horse-drawn carriages.

The principal change in recent years is that (since Summer 2002) registrars are now able, by arrangement, to conduct wedding ceremonies outwith their own registration offices – but only in a number of ‘approved venues’, mostly hotels.

See the webpage: http://www.gretnaonline.net

Marie-Agnès, Janice, Jean-Claude, wouldn’t it be nice if some readers were to share with us their memories of being married at Gretna?

You know, we still have, lying around somewhere, a copy of the little green guide book ‘Gretna – Your Wedding’. The advertisers include a ‘trained soprano’ (the best kind, really!) and a poet. And one hotel has an interesting brass bed that ‘does not jingle’. Just the thing when you’re tired after a long and busy day!

A bientôt, Chers Amis.

Iain.

Our Top 15 Most Popular Posts!

MAJA — Mon, 10 Jan 2011 21:54:50 +0000

Mairiuna, before the New Year ramps up, why not investigate about our most popular posts to see what are our readers’ favourite subjects?

Let’s see what the stats reveal. Suspense….

And the winners are :

1. Rannoch Moor: First Steps Into The Scottish Wilderness

People seemed to be energized in the clear and fresh atmosphere of the place and everybody looked happy and cheerful, not to say euphoric.

It’s one of our best travel memories. But beware of the appearances!

The weather is very changing in Scotland and Rannoch Moor may suddenly offer a gloomier face to its visitors and even prove to be dangerous for unprepared walkers …

Read more…. | Watch Video ( Royal Scotsman entering Rannoch Station)

The Complete Book of Tartan by Iain Zaczek and Charles Phillips

2. Scottish Tartans: “Children Of The Mist”, The Clan MacGregor

Scottish clans have more than one tartan attributed to their name and the only person to make a clan tartan an “official” one is the chief. Surprisingly enough, the “clan tartans” date no earlier than late 18^th century.

That means this tradition was not in use when the battle of Culloden took place in 1746!. The clansmen were wearing different tartans….

So how did the clansmen recognize who was who? By the colour of ribbon worn upon the bonnet !

Sherlock Holmes - Playing The Violin

4. From Conan Doyle’s Sycamore to Sherlock Holme’s Violin

If you question people about Conan Doyle’s nationality many will probably answer : ‘English’. But let’s try to render unto Caesar that which is Caesar’s.

If Conan Doyle did spend most of his life, died and was buried in England, he was born, spent his childhood and studied medicine in Edinburgh.

That is why, on 22 may 2009, the day of his one hundred and fiftieth birth anniversary, he was paid a very moving tribute in Edinburgh, his native town.

Art Nouveau in architecture - Princes Square Peacock

5. Art Nouveau Peacock On Princes Square Shopping Center In Buchanan Street, Glasgow

At the end of the nineteenth century, Art Nouveau transformed towns and countryside around the world. Even though its style had gained popularity from just the last ten years or so, Art Nouveau permeated many arts & crafts: jewellery, book design, glasswork, textiles, wrought iron, and architecture, to name just a few, with its high Victorian design and craftwork.

The peacock being the most spread Art Nouveau pattern, a great example is the one adorning the Princes Square building facade on Buchanan Street in the heart of Glasgow.

In 1985, Hugh Martin & Partners were commissioned to renovate the Princes Square building. They had several meetings with Alan Dawson to create the Princes’ building decorative art program consisting of gates, balustrades, the famous “Peacock” and other associated decorative ironwork.

While studying at the School of Art, Mackintosh met sisters, Frances and Margaret MacDonald and they were to form a group along with Herbert MacNair, to become known internationally as the Glasgow Four.

On our trip to Scotland in 2007, it was with great excitement that we arrived on Sauchiehall Street, to visit and admire one of his greatest masterpiece! We took pictures of the elements composing the building’s facade, and upon examination of these mysterious, or should I say, mystical elements, I wondered about the meaning that Charles Rennie Mackintosh, his wife Margaret, and the group all together were trying to convey through the symbols of the tree, the rose and the flower heads, to name just these few.

Glencoe Lochan

10. Lord Strathcona’s Glencoe Estate Bought Back By Macdonalds of Glencoe Descendance

Donald Alexander Smith had always been interested in Scotland’s most popular glen, Glencoe, that was owned by the McDonalds of Glencoe until 1894, when Archibald Burns McDonald put the land up for sale.

Upon taking possession of the Glencoe Estate in 1895, he moved from Canada to Scotland with his wife Isabella Sophia Hardisty and built a very imposing house, the Glencoe House.

Even though he planted a Canadian-like tree forest on the Estate to resemble his wife’s native land’s environment, she could not overcome home sickness. They consequently moved back to Canada and a portion of the land was transformed into a beautiful park offering three different walking trails, known as the Glencoe Lochan Walks.

Edmund J Sullivan, the man behind the beautiful illustrations contained in Thomas Carlyle’s Sartor Resartus.

Born in London in 1869, he studied art with his father. He was only 20 years old when he began contributing to various magazines including the Daily Chronicle, The Daily Graphic, The Pall Mall Gazette and Punch magazine.

To give you an example of his unique style, take a look at this superb drawing to illustrate one of the characters of the book, Blumine. (page 169, of the 1898 George Bell and Sons edition of Sartor Resartus, see book cover at the end of the post)

Read more… (includes links to 79 illustrations!)

12. Buchanan Street: Up and Down One of Glasgow’s Most Popular and Coloured Streets

We never stayed long enough, alas, to be able to visit all the treasures hidden in the rich and fascinating Scottish metropolis but it did not take long for us to feel the sense of place there and to love it. Glasgow speaks with a very specific accent which mixes with many other ones due to its cosmopolitanism. A harsh accent, not easy to understand for foreigners

I never saw a town singing in the rain as Glasgow does with its coloured umbrellas. “Can I help you ?” will say the Glaswegian to the drenched visitor desperately looking for his way on a map. For that and for many other reasons too, we do love Glasgow and it was love at first sight when we got out of the plane, at Paisley, one wintry day, in may 2000.

Painting by Sir Francis Grant of "Sir Walter Scott in his study at Abbotsford writing his last novel 'Count Robert of Paris' ", 1831. Source : SCRAN

14. A Writing Day For Walter Scott In Company of His Favourite Dogs

(…) to help us trigger our imagination, let us open again A Day with Scott. In this little old book I had mentioned in my last post, May Byron seems to have catched the sense of the place particularly well. I still don’t know when this book was published, but I will check that soon in our Sir Walter Scott Bibliographical History. For biographical purposes we’ll also make some incursions in Lockhart’s Memoirs of the Life of Sir Walter Scott, Bart. The author of this very interesting biography happens to be Sir Walter’s son-in-law, so he must know better.

(…) I’ve often wondered how a man like Sir Walter Scott can have posed for so many long hours with his dogs, keeping still and quiet …But I let the master speak for himself and for the dogs. In his Journal, on 7 saturday 1826, Sir Walter has written something full of humour and tenderness about the question…

I’d like to write a word or two today about the world-famous Scottish tenor, Mr Kenneth McKellar, who sadly died last week in the USA at the age of 82. Following a short but serious illness, Mr McKellar passed away at the home of his daughter, Jane, in Lake Tahoe, California, on 9th April. Scotland has lost a most worthy and distinguished ambassador.

I find it tremendously sad when a great singer leaves the stage; it’s as though a bright light has gone out.

I’m reminded of the words of John McCormack, quoted by his wife Lily in her memoir, ‘I Hear You Calling Me’ : “I live again the days and evenings of my long career. I dream at night of operas and concerts in which I have had my share of success. Now, like the old Irish Minstrels, I have hung up my harp because my songs are all sung.”

Read more… | Watch Video 1 / 2 / 3 / and 4/…

A special mention and great thanks to our dear Scottish friends, Iain & Margaret, who provided such great and moving Scottish stories in ”Letters from Scotland“ .

We wish to thank everyone who visits and reads, on the site or via email or RSS feed. Your feedback/comments on the blog are very much appreciated and we love to hear from you.

I’d also like to call your attention to Mairiunas’s series-of-posts (7) featuring our travel on the ”Blue Road” through the Province of Quebec, inspired by Kenneth White’s novel: The Blue Road

Following the Blue Road on the Steps of Kenneth White in Quebec =>

As soon as Mairiuna recuperates her voice, we will continue the ongoing audio recording of Walter Scott’s most popular novel: Rob Roy

We’re looking forward to an even more active 2011. Stay tuned for more reporting on our favourite Scottish authors and themes. We’ve already introduced a few of them on Scotiana but there is so much more to read and share with you.

Of course, we’ll go on with our reading of Sir Walter Scott, Robert Louis Stevenson, Iain Rankin, Thomas Carlyle, Kenneth White but we also intend to introduce many other Scottish writers (Neil Gunn, Iain Crichton Smith, George Mackay Brown, Margaret Oliphant, George Douglas Brown, Lewis Grassic Gibbon…)

We are also eager to introduce on Scotiana some of our favourite subjects in the historical and archaelogical fields (The Pictish Stones – The massacre of Glencoe…) and, while preparing our next trip to Scotland, we will share with you many more photos of our previous Scottish travels. There is so much to say about the Scottish landscapes, cities and towns, the old abbeys and castles… and what about Scottish lifestyle : whisky and food… and delicious recipes : scones, pancakes, soups!

If there is a subject you would like us to tackle, do not hesitate to contact us and share your thoughts.

Have a wonderful 2011!

Best,

Mairiuna and Janice

Charles Rennie Mackintosh Trail in Roussillon, France

MAJA — Thu, 22 Apr 2010 22:46:31 +0000

Panorama de la Côte Vermeille depuis la tour de Madeloc. Vue sur Argelès-sur-Mer, Collioure, Port-Vendres et Banyuls-sur-Mer. Wikipedia

Margaret MacDonald is my spirit key. My other half. She is more than half – she is three quarters – of all I’ve done. We chose each other and each gave to the other what the other lacked. Her hand was always in mine. If I had the heart, she had the head. Oh, I had the talent but she had the genius. We made a pair. (Charles Rennie Mackintosh)

What has been done in Glasgow to celebrate the memory of Charles Rennie Mackintosh is now being done in Roussillon, France, where the Scottish artist spent the last years of his life. In 2004, an association was formed ” initially to organise an exhibition for the celebration of the centenary of the Entente Cordiale in Roussillon. Subsequently it has engaged in a programme to increase awareness of the life and work of CRM and in the spirit of Mackintosh to encourage and to pioneer cross-cultural exchange initiatives. The association is administered by an elected committee and has a French and a Scottish president. It is affiliated with the CRM Society in Glasgow.”

The ‘Chemin de Mackintosh’ was also inaugurated in 2004 with the Lord Provost of Glasgow, Liz Cameron, and Lord Steel. In 2006, Monsieur Mackintosh, a very interesting biographical book, written by Robin Crichton, was published. I’ve just finished it and I’m eager to follow the Mackintosh trail with my fellow-travellers, hoping to do it soon with a pocket version of the book in my hand

Monsieur Mackintosh Robin Crichton Luath Press Limited Edinburgh 2006 bilingual edition

In the introduction of his book, published in a bilingual form, Robin Crichton explains that the aim of the Charles Rennie Mackintosh project is to create a permanent exhibition of Mackintosh’s work in the Pyrénées Orientales, to establish a programme of Franco-Scottish cultural exchange and to draw up a Mackintosh Trail placing reproductions of Mackintosh’s paintings in situ and a permanent exhibition in three episodes recounting the story of his life :

-   in the valley of the Tech
-   on the Côte Vermeille
-   in the valley of the Têt

This book literally carries the reader along Mackintosh Trail. It can be read as a lively biographical story, as a book about Mackintosh’s art and also as a fascinating travel book. It’s remarkably well documented and illustrated. I’ve learned a lot of things in it, not only about the Mackintoshes but also about my own country. It contains many pictures, black and white and colour ones, as well as the reproductions of most Mackintosh’s watercolours, about 40 of them having been listed to this day. The quotations by Charles Rennie Mackintosh and by Margaret MacDonald are particularly appropriate and very moving. I like this book very much.

Walberswick beach Suffolk England on Flickr © monkeyinfez

The subject of my last post told how The House for an Art Lover has been built in Glasgow, seventy years after the artist’s death. This beautiful house had been designed towards 1900, when Mackintosh’s popularity was at its peak. Ten years later, however, the wind turned. Mackintosh’s art began to be considered as old-fashioned and commissions declined. As life was becoming more and more difficult in their own country, the Mackintoshes decided to move to England and, in 1914, they settled in Walberswick, a popular sea-side resort in Suffolk, where they rented a fisherman’s hut for a studio. Here, Mackintosh devoted most of his time to painting, an activity he had always dreamed to do. ‘During the day’ writes Robin Crichton, ‘he concentrated on his painting but when the light began to fail he would don his deerstalker hat and Inverness cape and stride off, pipe in mouth, across the dunes to gaze out to sea’. But only three weeks after the Mackintoshes’ arrival in Walberswick, war broke out with Germany and, in such a context, the pre-war German and Austrian connections of the Mackintoshes, the letters written to them and the daily walks along the coast soon became suspect. Accused of being a spy Mackintosh was asked to go away. The couple moved to London, settling in the artistic community of Chelsea but their financial difficulties increased. The pressure on them only diminished when Margaret’s mother died, in 1923, leaving them a small inheritance. Following their friends’ advice, Charles and Margaret decided to take a holiday in the south of France. This was to be a new start for them….

France Roussillon Pyrénées orientales Vacances-Location.net map

Charles and Margaret were at once very enthusiastic about their French journey, exploring every area of this very nice region during the following months, from Perpignan up the river valleys of the Tech and of the Têt. All the places which enchanted them during this first journey are very well described in Robin Crichton’s book. For example, the Mackintoshes stopped at Amelie-les-Bains, the ‘Pearl of the Pyrénées’ which stands in the shadow of Mount Canigou. Here they rented a tiny old toll house with only two rooms one on top the other for studios, living at a nearby hotel. The place offered them a great variety of beautiful landscapes, luxurious vegetation, picturesque towns and villages rich in history and architecture. The ideal place for them to spend holidays and find inspiration.

Charles Rennie Mackintosh Mymosa watercolour 1924

“The mild micro-climate, writes Robin Crichton, “with hot sunshine, little wind and pure mountain air, creates a natural garden with a profusion of plants and flowers, which delighted Mackintosh. He and Margaret made expeditions into the surrounding countryside, collecting flowers. Mackintosh had always painted studies of flowers which he gathered in his walks and a picture of Mymosa dated January 1924 is one of the few which survive from this time. ‘Art is the flower – Life is the green leaf,’ he said in a lecture. “You must offer… flowers that grow from but above the green leaf… the flowers of the art that is in you’ … And of course Mackintosh could never resist visiting old churches in the surrounding villages. They went up to Montbolo, which clings to the heights on the north side of the town, where they marvelled at the ‘simple stone structure’ of the massive fortified tenth century church complete with slit windows.”

Port Vendres Pyrénées Orientales Source : Wikimedia

In the winter of 1925, after their long journey which had led them up and down the Pyrénées and, beyond the French frontiers, up to Spain and Italy, the Mackintoshes finally chose to settle in the nice little fishing village of Port Vendres, not far from Collioure which was one of their favourite places and where some of their best friends were staying.

Collioure Pyrénées Orientales Source Wikimedia

But ‘Toshie’, as Margaret used to call her husband, was more and more anxious to find tranquillity and time to concentrate on his painting, far from mundane life. He had already made a lot of beautiful watercolours in the previous months, drawing inspiration from all the places where they had stopped. In Amélie-les-Bains, Ille-sur-Têt, Fetges near Montlouis and Collioure, Mackintosh had painted some of his most beautiful watercolours.

Charles Rennie Mackintosh La Ville watercolour 1926

But Port Vendres was to become his main source of inspiration for the last two years of his life. Charles and Margaret rented rooms at the Hotel du Commerce. They were much appreciated by the local people. Charles spent hours and hours walking in the neighbourhood and painting the town.

Charles Rennie Mackintosh The Fort 1825-1826

Apart from the harbour and the beach, one of his favourite places was Fort Mailly, a ruined 16th fortification on the outskirts of Port Vendres. ‘Fort Mailly’, writes Robin Crichton, ‘was one of his favourite subjects. Apart from The Fort, it also features in Le Fort Mailly, The Road Through The Rocks and Port-Vendres. The actual road through the rocks is partly an open cutting and partly a tunnel. When he was working up there Margaret would go and meet him at the other end’.

On 28 may ‘I got up at 6.30 and was down soon after 7.00. The air was clear and perfect and hardly any wind – I was at work well before 8 o’clock at our castle [Fort Mailly], not at the ‘Rock’. It seemed to be the thing I was ready to do – I got on very well and worked till 12 o’clock. This drawing is now practically finished and I think it is very good of its kind – I shall give it another short morning as there are one or two things that might still be done – little points of closer observation – I find that each of my drawings has something but none of them have everything. (Charles Rennie Mackintosh)

Charles Rennie Mackintosh The Road Through the Rocks watercolour 1925-1926

I let you imagine the last scene of this very moving story.

Mackintosh left France in the autumn of 1927. In 1928 the Leicester Gallery finally agreed to show some of his paintings in a forthcoming exhibition. Several were still unsigned. He was sitting up in bed signing one of them when he died with the pencil in his hand. Shortly afterwards an invitation arrived from Vienna asking him to be Guest of Honour at a dinner to mark ‘his influence upon the art and architecture of his time.’ He was cremated on 11 December. (Monsieur Mackintosh – Robin Crichton)

In May 1929 Margaret returned to the Hotel du Commerce. It is said she fulfilled his wish and walked through the tunnel to Fort Mailly and on along the road through the rocks, to the mole at the entrance to the harbour, from where she scattered his ashes on the waters. (Monsieur Mackintosh – Robin Crichton)

I hope to have made you want to read Robin Crichton’s book or, still better, to come and walk on the Mackintosh Trail, in Roussillon.

Charles Rennie Mackintosh Slate Roofs Fetges watercolour 1925

A bientôt. Mairiuna

The House for an Art Lover : Building the Dream of Charles Rennie Mackintosh – Part 2

MAJA — Thu, 15 Apr 2010 22:05:35 +0000

The House for an Art Lover : Building the Dream of Charles Rennie Mackintosh –Part 1

For Charles Rennie Mackintosh’s admirers it’s something to find oneself in front of this elegant white building with its emblematic façade, so representative of the artist’s style and to think it has been built, more than seventy years after his death! If they came back to earth, the Mackintoshes would certainly be the first to be surprised not only to see the house of their dreams proudly standing amidst a beautiful park, but also to see it there, in Bellahouston Park, in Glasgow.

For, after their disqualification at Darmstadt competition, in 1901, not only did they lose all their hopes to build the expensive House for an Art lover but, after a decade of popularity in the artistic circles, they fell into such disgrace in their home town and country that they decided to look for kinder climes, first in England and then in the south of France. But here, in the midst of Glasgow, stands the beautiful house, as a posthumous masterpiece of the great Glaswegian artists.

No better tribute could have been paid to them. Here’s the second part of this incredible story whose main protagonists are Charles Rennie Mackintosh and Margaret MacDonald, his wife and alter ego, but also Graham Roxburgh, a most fervent admirer of these great artists, without whom the dream could have never come true…

Mackintosh's House for an Art Lover South elevation drawing - Building the Dream - Graham Roxburgh 2006

So it was that, after a relatively short period of recognition in the artistic world, and following the undeserved fate of their genial designers, the fourteen Mackintoshes’ drawings for the Art Lover’s House, sunk into oblivion for a long time up to their discovery by Graham Roxburgh, the author of the book Building the Dream …

Craigie Hall, Rowan Road, Glasgow © Flickr EllieS'

It had all begun in 1985 when Graham Roxburgh, looking for a new building to house his firm of consulting engineers, fell upon Craigie Hall, a beautiful old mansion which, as he soon discovered, happened to contain several examples of Mackintosh’s earliest work. The house had been built in 1873 to the designs of Glasgow architect John Honeyman and bought in 1893 by Sir Thomas Mason, the great Glasgow builder who had just completed the City Chambers in George Square.

Sir Thomas appealed to John Honeyman, now associated with John Keppie, for the decoration and enlargment of the house and some work was entrusted to young Charles Rennie Mackintosh. He was then aged 25 and had been employed by the architectural firm since 1889.

Graham Roxburgh immediately fell in love with the house, bought it and began to restore it to its original magnificence. It was a nice place to install offices so he partly used it for his own business and partly rented it to other companies, opening it some days to visitors.

This adventure awakened in him a natural taste for architecture and triggered a passion for the Mackintoshes’ art, which made him visit all sites devoted to them. During his visit of the Hunterian Gallery, among other treasures, he fell upon a folio containing the Mackintoshes’ drawings for the Art Lover’s House and they made a strong impression on him…

It was a bright June day in 1980 when I drove along the motorway towards Glasgow Airport. I was considering the acquisition of a new office for my expanding firm of consulting engineers.

Spotting some rhododendrons in flower at the Dumbreck exit, I changed lanes and turned left next to Bellahouston Park. Facing me was a sales board in the grounds of a mansion hidden by trees, so I immediately turned left again and discovered a property hidden amongst the trees of a neglected walled garden. The windows were boarded up and the building was in a state of considerable dilapidation. It had stood empty for over two years, the lead had been stripped from the roof and it was reaching a point where restoration might have been impossible. I did not know at this time that the house had recently been saved from demolition by the prompt A-Listing of the house as a ‘building of national architectural importance’.

Yet the house contained some of Glasgow’s finest late Victorian interiors including, as I found, examples of Mackintosh’s earliest surviving work – particularly his incredible organ case dominating the Music-Room. With all of this in mind, I moved quickly to purchase the property.

My interest in architecture, ‘inherited’ from my father, was greatly stimulated by the ownership of Craigie Hall. We had many a visit from Mackintosh enthusiasts and experts and each one seemed to discover details of the building which had not been apparent at first sight.

Seeking to increase my knowledge, I visited most of the Mackintosh sites including the Hunterian Gallery of the University of Glasgow. Pamela Robertson, the Curator, directed me to the archive containing numerous architectural drawings by Mackintosh. Among them was a folio of his competition designs for the House for an Art Lover. Untying the binding cords the drawings fell open at : “Sheet No 7 – ‘Living Room and Music Room’. Panels by Margaret MacDonald Mackintosh. Charles Rennie Mackintosh 1901”.

The Braes of Glenlivet - Project 404 on Flickr

Snow can be inspiring …
In Building the Dream, Graham Roxburgh tells us how, one winter day in 1987, he suddenly had an idea which all Mackintosh’s admirers would qualify as genial: “A planned skiing trip to Cairngorm had been aborted due to snow and gales so, stuck in a snowdrift on the drive home, provided a useful two hours thinking time. ‘Why don’t we build the Art Lover’s House ?’ I mused, as I doodled with a ball point pen on the back of a used envelope.” Not everybody would have launched out into such a risky adventure but Graham Roxburgh was known as being “un homme de métier” with a very entrepreneurial mind and he did it.

Most of all, he had a strong motivation … the Mackintoshes’ dream had become his.

Mackintosh's music room drawing - Graham Roxburgh Building the Dream 2006

From its original design by Mackintosh, dating back to 1900, to its final realization in 1996 one can easily imagine how difficult it must have been to build the House for an Art Lover. Only fourteen drawings to begin with, and of a rare beauty, but some of them were incomplete and much more drawings would have been needed.

The first thing to do was to find a suitable site in Glasgow to build the house. Once more, Graham Roxburgh was lucky enough to fall upon such a place, let us say the ideal one, not far from Craigie Hall : “On an autumnal jog that same year [1987] through the neighbouring Bellahouston Park, I litterally ‘ran across’ a near perfect site on the location of the former Ibroxhill House, demolished some 80 years earlier but, amazingly, having all the principal features of the parkland site portrayed in the folio. It was time for Mackintosh’s dream to become a reality.”

If one accepts that the architect’s primary design is of mass, space, light and colour,

then there now exists a full-scale realization of Mackintosh’s astounding scheme.

(Graham Roxburgh - Building the Dream 2006)

But from dream to reality there is often more than one step !

Once the building site had been found, Graham Roxburgh had to get the authorization to build on it a private building as the place happened to be a public park, then he had to secure financial support for his project and finally to recruit a very qualified team of designers, artists and craftsmen.

Last but not least, the building work had to begin very quickly for the contract signed with the authorities stipulated that the Art Lover’s House should open in 1990, as an illustration of the cultural dynamism of Glasgow which had been nominated for the title of European City of Culture.

This was a big challenge but Graham Roxburgh took it up : “Three and a half years later the House and its interior were almost complete”.

It would have been only fair that, having devoted so much of his time, energy and money in the building of this house, Graham Roxburgh was allowed to lead the project up to its final conclusion in 1996. Sadly enough, due to a combination of unlucky circumstances, it was not the case.

Thanks to him, however, the House for an Art Lover will stand forever in the beautiful Bellahouston Park, as a unique testimony to the Mackintoshes’ artistic genius.

The re-discovery of Mackintosh as a design icon for Glasgow has provided the City with a brand image to match that of Antoni Gaudi in Barcelona. Mackintosh’s reputation as a designer has been central to the emergence of Glasgow as a tourist and cultural destination. The House for an Art Lover exceeded even my expectations by quickly becoming one of Glasgow’s iconic tourist and visitor attractions.

If you can find it, do read Building the Dream… it’s a very interesting story, full of information and lively anecdotes, illustrated by a lot of photos and reproductions of the Mackintoshes’ drawings. Also, if you can, go and visit the House for an Art Lover… Not having been able to visit it we’ve been lucky to find a very interesting little film. It’s worth the visit ! It’s all there : the drawing and living rooms, the music room, the oval rooms, the nursery room, the beautiful furniture, the lights and colours, the Mackintosh rose…etc…etc… Enjoy!

House of an Art Lover video was produced by Catswhiskerstours.co.uk

Musical arrangement by Jean-Claude Leducq of Scotiana.com

A bientôt.

Mairiuna.

The House for an Art Lover : Building the Dream of Charles Rennie Mackintosh – Part 1

MAJA — Sat, 27 Mar 2010 23:28:34 +0000

The House for an Art Lover : Building the Dream of Charles Rennie Mackintosh – Part 2

After our virtual visit of Queen’s Cross Church, let’s open the gates of the House for an Art Lover. Who could believe that this Mackintosh-style house has been built seventy years after the death of the great Scottish architect?

Mackintosh House for an Art Lover Garden

In Bellahouston Park, the colourful and well designed garden pays its seasonal homage to the memory of the invisible “maître des lieux”… here flowers intertwine their vivid colours round a black Mackintosh-style stand…

On the white façade, the sand-coloured sculpture of a superb Tree of Life, one of Mackintosh key symbolic motifs, invites the visitor to enter. Unfortunately, as I mentioned it in my last post, when we came there we could not visit the house because of a wedding reception. How I would have liked to tell you about our experience inside this Mackintosh temple, which I know is full of treasures. We are very eager to return to Glasgow to complete our Mackintosh trail, beginning with this famous House of an Art Lover…

That day we compensated our frustrations by sharing a delicious and very refined meal in the House’s restaurant and lingering a long time in the garden, with our bags of postcards, books and “petits souvenirs” …

Building the Dream Graham Roxburgh 2006

Here is the book we’ve bought at the shop of the House for an Art Lover. I’ve just read it. With its beautifully designed ‘clair-obscur’ cover, a ‘trompe-l’oeil’ perspective with a door letting in just a ray of light and a Mackintosh stylised rose standing out like a picture on a wall, this volume invites the reader to enter a dream…

Try to find the book if you can and read it. Then, you’ll understand what I mean when I say that after reading this book I feel as if I had visited this house. I’ve read it very quickly from first to last page, following the narrator in this incredible adventure. The artistic dream of Charles Rennie Mackintosh and of his wife Margaret had begun a long time ago and, if it had only been partly realised during their life, it is now given a second life thanks to men like Graham Roxburgh in Glasgow, or Robin Crichton in southwestern France . Both of them have written the story of their Mackintosh adventure, the first one in Building the Dream and the second one in Monsieur Mackintosh .

Monsieur Mackintosh Robin Crichton Luath Press Limited Edinburgh 2006

When I opened Building the Dream I had no idea where this book would lead me. It’s very interesting, full of anecdotes and, last but not least, there are a number of very beautiful illustrations in it. I’ve made a lot of complementary research since, constantly shifting from the book to my computer, losing myself in the unfathomable cultural mines of Internet in order to learn more about the places mentioned by the author. So, here is the marvellous story of the House for an Art Lover which would have probably never existed without Graham Roxburgh’s intervention…

But let us begin with the beginning, as does Graham Roxburgh does in his book.

Darmstadt Museum Source Wikipedia

It all began in 1899, in the German town of Darmstadt, not far from Frankfurt, in the southwest of the country. The town was part of the Grand Duchy of Hesse-Darmstadt and its sovereign was the Grand Duke of Hess, Ersnt Ludwig, who happened to be Queen Victoria’s grandson. Under the influence of this charismatic leader whose motto was: “My Hesse should flourish, and the art in Hesse too”, Darmstadt had become one of the centres of the Jugendstil, or Art Nouveau. Below is an extract of a Wikipedia article which gives much information about this artistic movement.

Art Nouveau is an international movement and style of art, architecture and applied art—especially the decorative arts—that peaked in popularity at the turn of the 20th century (1890–1905). The name ‘Art nouveau’ is French for ‘new art’. It is also known as Jugendstil, German for ‘youth style’, named after the magazine Jugend, which promoted it, and in Italy, Stile Liberty from the department store in London, Liberty & Co., which popularized the style. A reaction to academic art of the 19th century, it is characterized by organic, especially floral and other plant-inspired motifs, as well as highly-stylized, flowing curvilinear forms. Art Nouveau is an approach to design according to which artists should work on everything from architecture to furniture, making art part of everyday life.

German magazine Die Jugend Source Wikipedia

The movement was strongly influenced by Czech artist Alphonse Mucha, when Mucha produced a lithographed poster, which appeared on 1 January 1895 in the streets of Paris as an advertisement for the play Gismonda by Victorien Sardou, starring Sarah Bernhardt. It was an overnight sensation, and announced the new artistic style and its creator to the citizens of Paris. Initially called the Style Mucha, (Mucha Style), this soon became known as Art Nouveau.

Art Nouveau’s fifteen-year peak was most strongly felt throughout Europe—from Glasgow to Moscow to Madrid — but its influence was global. Hence, it is known in various guises with frequent localized tendencies. In France, Hector Guimard’s metro entrances shaped the landscape of Paris and Emile Gallé was at the center of the school of thought in Nancy. Victor Horta had a decisive impact on architecture in Belgium.

Magazines like Jugend helped spread the style in Germany, especially as a graphic artform, while the Vienna Secessionists influenced art and architecture throughout Austria-Hungary.

Art Nouveau was also a movement of distinct individuals such as Gustav Klimt, Charles Rennie Mackintosh, Alphonse Mucha, René Lalique, Antoni Gaudí and Louis Comfort Tiffany, each of whom interpreted it in their own individual manner.

Ernest Louis, Grand Duke of Hesse 1905 Photograph: Jacob Hilsdorf (1872-1916) Source Wikipedia

In 1899, in order to make his artistic dream a reality and also to make his town flourish by stimulating the local craft industries, Ernst Ludwig founded the artists’ colony in Mathildenhoehe, a hill in a Darmstadt park, and he invited artists and designers of Art Nouveau to come and live there, offering them not only a place to work but also good living accommodation, plus an exhibition building.

Darmstadt Mathildenhoehe Exhibition Building - Wikipedia

Art and design periodicals were created to promote the work of the artists’ colony and they flourished. In December 1900, Alexander Koch, the publisher of Magazine for Interior Decoration launched a competition to design “A House for an Art Lover”. The deadline was 25 th March 1901.

The entry rules were very detailed and extremely strict (room sizes, parkland setting, original modern design, maximum budget). Added to a prize of 2400 marks, the winner would be “appointed for the development of the design and the artistic direction of the building work”. This would also contribute to establish the architect’s reputation on the continent. The competition was to attract 36 competitors. Two were British, one of them being Charles Rennie Mackintosh. He was then aged 32. But there were only three months to do the job! This must explain why the Scottish architect did not have time to complete his drawings. His set of 14 drawings were much praised and considered to be the best but the artist was disqualified because of the missing perspectives.

Finally there was to be no first prize. And the second one was attributed to the other British competitor, Baillie Scott, who lived and worked in England. However, Charles Rennie Mackintosh was offered the opportunity to submit finished drawings, which he did. He finally won a Purchase Prize of 600 marks and at the 1902 Turin Exhibition, Alexander Koch decorated his stand with reproductions of his drawings. After publication here and there in magazines the drawings seem to have begun a more obscure life, as their author who finally chose to lead a happier life far from his country…

It could have been the end of the House for an Art Lover if, several decades later, a man had not been there to get the drawings out of the dust… his name is Graham Roxburgh… but I will tell you more about his story next time… the dream is going to come true soon…

A bientôt for Part 2

Mairiuna

Charles Rennie Mackintosh designs Queen’s Cross Church in Glasgow, Scotland

MAJA — Tue, 23 Mar 2010 13:35:13 +0000

Queen’s Cross Church story begins when John Honeyman of Glasgow’s Honeyman & Keppie architectural practice was given, from the Free Church of St Matthew, the contract to build a new church, near Maryhill, a poor neighbourhood with tenements and warehouses.

We are in 1897.

A young artist, studying at the Glasgow School of Art is gaining popularity inside the city’s architectural realm.

His name is Charles Rennie Mackintosh.

He was only fifteen years of age when he began evening classes at The Glasgow School of Art.

A year later, in 1884, he began an professional training of 5 years with Glasgow architect John Hutchins. Once his term was completed, he joined the Honeyman & Keppie practice.

Charles Rennie Mackintosh

Mr Honeyman decides to allocate the new church project to Mackintosh who starts the sketchings in 1897. The construction begins in June 1898 and the first service is celebrated no later than September 10th, 1899!

The Queen’s Cross Church was not an easy project to deal with due to cadastral constraints which had Mackintosh work with asymmetry, but he managed, against all odds, to draw a plan to fit everything together.

Upon visiting the church in 2007, (under which roof are now located the offices of The Charles Rennie Mackintosh Society), we easily noticed the contrast between the exterior of the building and the inside.

As shown on the photos above, the Gothic and Medieval Art happily influenced the young architect in his exteriors and facade drawings.

But the magic really starts to operate when you step inside the church…

While you gradually immerse yourself in the spacious, quiet and relaxing atmosphere, the natural light shining in from all sides of the main room, leaves you breathing easy and deep. It’s simply wonderful!

Queen's Cross Church - Interior photos Wikipedia

One might think that the dark color of the wood would cause the hall to shed darkness, but surprisingly enough, the magnificent stained glasses, especially the blue-heart window, allows light to flow inside the church in a very gentle manner.

Mackintosh’s pictorial style of organic motifs adorns the pulpit, suggesting bird wings protecting young shoots on a fertile soil and as you lift your eyes to the “barrel-vaulted” timber ceiling, you can admire the “ark-like” boat, which references St Matthew’s text inside the bible. (See quotation below).

(…) Within the asymmetrical exterior, a hulking sculptural mass that suggests a rock, the interior glows with abstract stained glass. At first it was to be called St. Matthew’s, so there are details with a ‘Matthew’ theme … plus usual Christian symbols and some that are offbeat: apples, bees and an astounding ship’s hull of a ceiling. Banded with steel and barrel-vaulted, it’s an Ark upside-down, reminiscent also of medieval barns.

Queen's Cross Church, Glasgow, Scotland © Scotiana 2007

Only stems and leaves adorn the pulpit and communion table, as if to hint faith brings forth its own fruit and flowers.

Charles clearly felt at home with the Queen’s Cross project, even though the institution was of the Free Church of Scotland chain, whereas his own religious background was Catholic. Whatever his and Margaret’s deepest spiritual beliefs may have been … perhaps principally in those ” flowers’ of art that can blossom above our everyday leaves … they sustained them when tested.

Source: www.glitzqueen.com

The Queen’s Cross Church is a great example of Mackinstosh’s audacity where he mixes the traditional and modern elements of design to form an holistic view.

Fact to keep in mind: this building was the only complete church building designed by Charles Rennie Mackintosh.

Be it said also that the original rood beam inside the church, a pre-Reformation style element, as mentioned in Wikipedia, is unique in Scotland.

Richill Church Hall Tea Room, Glasgow (Wikipedia)

Mind you, he did design the Free Church Halls at Ruchill Street in Glasgow, inside which there is today a “Mackintosh Tea Room”. Wow…Mairiuna, tea lover by excellence, let’s be sure to include this church on our itinerary for the next trip to Glasgow.

Talk soon,

Janice

Charles Rennie Mackintosh’s Modern Style Makes Glasgow Flourish!

MAJA — Thu, 18 Mar 2010 00:19:47 +0000

Hi everybody!

No green leaves on the trees yet, but my window is wide open this morning and a very pleasant spring atmosphere is coming up from the garden! Here’s the spring, at last! This winter seemed to be a never ending one this year!

House for an Art Lover - Dining room - Glasgow © Dalbera (Flickr)

Now, if you could have a look at the sunny room where I’m writing, you would be amazed by the number of books which are piling everywhere. Never-ending too, those piles! On my desk you would find leaflets, postcards, articles and two or three beautifully illustrated volumes about Charles Rennie Mackintosh. If you have read our recent posts, you must already know that we are now focusing on this great artist on Scotiana. With his modern style motifs Mackintosh is doing as well as St Mungo with his legendary emblems on the city’s coat of arms to make Glasgow flourish!

Art Nouveau - Roses - Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum © mike.thomson75's (Flickr)

Just read what Janice has written in her last post about the Glasgow School of Art, and the symbolic designs which are to be found on its façade. It’s a very good beginning to enter the world of Mackintosh !

Art Nouveau- Window -Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum - mike.thomson75's (Flickr)

We are no experts, neither in artistic matters nor in Mackintosh art but we like very much the Glasgow Style, as we’ve found it expressed in design and architecture, with its sober lines and delicate colours, its floral and geometrical motifs. The feminine touch is omnipresent and some Celtic and Japanese influences are clearly perceptible. Charles Rennie Mackintosh, the internationally famous architect and designer was the leader of a group of artists who came to be known as The Four and who included the painter and glass artist, Margaret MacDonald, who was Mackintosh’s wife, also MacDonald’s sister, Frances, and Herbert MacNair. As soon as we discovered these marvellous artists we were fascinated!

Margaret MacDonald - White Rose and Red Rose ( Wikipedia )

So, if you intend to visit Glasgow don’t forget to put Mackintosh on your agenda. There is really something magical in his art! There are many places designed by or devoted to Mackintosh in Glasgow, so you will need to plan your Mackintosh trail very carefully. We didn’t and we lost precious time.

Glasgow Mackintosh Trail Scotland with Style Leaflet - 2007

We could have tried the one-day £12 Charles Rennie Mackintosh Trail Ticket. Not only does it give you unlimited travel on the city’s subway and First bus services in Greater Glasgow but it also includes entry to the main Mackintosh attractions. If you limit your visits to The Glasgow School of Art and The Hill House, which will already take you a lot of time, this ticket will be well worth the purchase, for an adult entry to the School of Art will cost you £ 6.50 and one to the Hill House £8.

Charles Rennie Mackintosh Scotland with style leaflet map

(Click on the map to enlarge)

The three of us are quite impatient to go back to Glasgow to visit and revisit all the Mackintosh places.

Below are some pictures of our favourite attractions:

The Willow Tearoom where we arrived too late to share a good cup of tea with style! So beware of the closing hours.

We were very disappointed to learn that we could not visit The House for an Art Lover that day because a wedding reception was going to take place there. The building architecture and the garden are well worth the trip , not to speak of the very refined meal we had there, in the very nice setting of the restaurant, but we’ll have to come back there anyway !

Here’s an article from Wikipedia which explains quite well the origins of the house.

The House for an Art Lover is based on a design produced in 1901 by Charles Rennie Mackintosh with his wife, Margaret MacDonald. The building is situated in Bellahouston Park in Glasgow, Scotland. Construction began in 1989 and the house was finally opened to the public in 1996. Mackintosh’s original designs were interpreted and realised by John Kane and Graeme Robertson (up to 1990) under Andrew MacMillan, with contributions by many contemporary artists. Original portfolio designs are displayed in each room to allow comparisons.

The house was originally designed for an ideas competition set by the German design magazine Zeitschrift für Innendekoration for a “Haus eines Kunstfreundes” (Art Lover’s House). Despite disqualification due to late entry, the portfolio was awarded a prize for “pronounced personal quality, novel and austere form and the uniform configuration of interior and exterior”. (Wikipedia)

Not being able to visit The House for an Art Lover, we’ve bought a very interesting book about this house. I can only recommend it to those who are interested by Mackintosh’s architecture even if this house was realised 70 years after his death. In Appendix 1 of this book I’ve found a reproduction of the original “Ideas Competition” German document published in December 1900, together with its English translation . The following passage is particularly interesting :

Given the importance of colour in modern architecture, the inclusion of one or more coloured sketches would be welcomed.

Only genuinely original modern designs will be considered, they must be of distinguished aspect and truly artistic construction using space to good advantage; care must be taken throughout that furniture and fittings reflect what modern day trends have achieved in both technical and artistic regard; it ought to represent a kind of ideal modern home. It should not have a character of splendid luxury, but rather that of a refined well-to-do family home. The cost of building (excluding the heating and light installations, furniture, wall paper and decoration but including the staircase and the floors) shall not exceed 100-120,000 Marks. The façades are to be artistically distinctive but, above all, simple. The architectural features, such as cornices, window and door frames are to be realised in sand stone, with the ornamental details in sand stone or other applied material.

It is permissible and even desirable that an Architect and a Decorative Artist of modern tastes develop and submit the design jointly.

(from Building The Dream by Graham Roxburgh 2006)

Our guided visit of the School of Art by a student of the school proved to be extremely interesting, especially that of the library. It’s no longer a secret, on Scotiana, that we are very fond of libraries. How we would have liked to be forgotten there. Alas, we were not allowed to take photos inside the building so to compensate for our lack of images I give you a description of the library I’ve found my Mackintosh “bible” :

The library is quite possibly Mackintosh at his most brilliant. Soaring oak posts support substantial beams holding up the gallery and rhytmically dividing the room into a space of unequalled harmony. There is an undeniable parallel between the physicality of the room and the concept of the tree of knowledge seen through the heavy oak posts reaching towards the central grouping of 13 lights suspended from the ceiling on tendril-like cords. The symbol of the tree was one that Mackintosh used repeatedly through his career and in all areas of his art. ( Mackintosh Tamsin Pickeral Flame Tree Publishing 2005)

I always try to imagine an old building as it must have been when it was new, standing there in its past environment, without traffic lights, roadsigns and markings, and with stage-coaches passing in the street instead of our modern cars… By the way, this church is not so old since its only dates back to 1897. Here is what I’ve read on the church’s website:

The Mackintosh Church at Queen’s Cross is one of Glasgow’s hidden architectural gems. The only church in the world designed by the great Scottish architect, designer and artist, Charles Rennie Mackintosh. Commissioned in 1896 by the Free Church, the simplicity of the design is inspiring. The windows are Gothic in character, yet are infused with the Mackintosh spirit, and the floral motifs he affected can be easily recognised, particularly on the tracery of the large western window above the chancel.

Queen’s Cross Church was turned into the headquarters for the Charles Rennie Mackintosh Society in 1977 and when we went there our visit happened to be quite restricted because of a special event which was taking place there at the same moment. A very beautiful place and quite peaceful too !

“Every detail inside, as well as outside, received his careful, I might say loving, attention”. (Walter Blackie)

Last but not least, here’s Hill House, a beautiful house situated outside Glasgow, in a peaceful environnement and surrounded by a very nice garden …No doubt, it’s one of our favourites !

Alas, here again, we were not allowed to take photos inside the building.

Here are two other very interesting extracts from my Mackintosh “bible”, describing the exterior of the building :

The Hill House was commissioned by Walter Blackie in 1902 and is considered to be one of the most successful domestic buildings that Mackintosh completed in contrast to the Scottish vernacular treatment of the exterior, the interior is evocative of Oriental influence and has a continuing theme of the rose motif.

Mackintosh’s L-shape floor plan allowed the living quarters to sit on one axis, while the service areas were kept separate on their own axis. At The Hill House the join between them is marked by an unusual, round stairwell encased within a turret. This design was unusual in domestic architecture at this time and was further emphasized by the smaller turreted tool shed sitting below it. The exterior looks to the tradition of Baronial Scottish architecture in spirit and rendering with the time-worn use of harling on the outside walls. The surprising Mackintosh twist, however, is displayed through his use of highly varied window shapes. ( Mackintosh Tamsin Pickeral Flame Tree Publishing 2005)

Monsieur Mackintosh: The Travels And Paintings of Charles Rennie Mackintosh in the Pyrenees Orientales 1923-1927 Luath Press Ltd 2006

But I would not end this post without adding a French note… did you know Mr Mackintosh and his wife Margaret, had spent several years of their life in the south of France… I will tell you more about that as soon as I receive the above book…

A très bientôt !

Mairiuna

Glasgow School of Art, an Architectural Expression of Charles Rennie Mackintosh Symbolic Art

MAJA — Sun, 14 Mar 2010 23:05:27 +0000

: Germany – Art Nouveau – Sheet 3 Stamps

As a “suite” to the great post that Mairiuna wrote about Mrs Kate Cranston’s tearooms, revealing Charles Rennie Mackintosh as the artist behind the magnificient decorative style of its interiors, I would like to emphasize today on the symbolism that lies underneath Mackintosh’s creative designs.

But first, to put ourselves into context, let’s step back a century ago…

In the late 19th century, as a reaction to “copyism” with machine made products of industrialism, an international artistic style called ‘Art Nouveau’ emerged into the cultural life of many countries. The artistic revolution was in favor of returning to natural forms and individual craftmanship.

Charles Rennie Mackintosh - Wikipedia

The purpose of this “new style” was to unite architecture and decorative art in order to create high quality design based on writhing plants forms.

Over the span of approximately twenty years, from 1890 to 1910, the enthusiasm for this creative style is clearly visible in many areas of the Arts, mainly painting, architecture, fashion, interiors, posters, and handicrafts.

In the realm of Architectural art, the leading light was the Glaswegian Scot Charles Rennie Mackintosh.

His best known work is the Glasgow School of Art, which by the way appears on a Great Britain stamp set issued to commemorate Glasgow’s 1990 designation of the European City of Culture.

Glasgow School of Art.

Art school founded in 1840 as the School of Design in Ingram Street, Glasgow. In 1869 it moved to its present site in Sauchiehall Street, and in 1896 Charles Rennie Mackintosh won a competition to design a new building. This was erected in 1897–9, with a library block and other extensions added in 1907–9.

Together they form one of the most original and dramatic works of architecture of the period anywhere in Europe. At this time the School was enjoying its golden age, under the directorship (1885–1918) of the painter Francis ( Fra) Newbery (1855–1946), who had admirable skill as an administrator and a flair for recognizing and encouraging talent. He had good connections abroad and helped the School to win an international reputation.

It continues to enjoy high status and produced a particularly outstanding crop of graduates in the 1980s, including the painters Steven Campbell (1953– ), Stephen Conroy (1964– ), and Alison Watt (1965– ). Their work marks a return to an interest in figurative art after the ‘anything goes’ 1970s.

IAN CHILVERS. “Glasgow School of Art.” The Oxford Dictionary of Art. 2004. Encyclopedia.com. (March 14, 2010). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O2-GlasgowSchoolofArt.html

Painting by Dugal Cameron - Postcard

I happily found a very in depth answer to my question in the article written by A Glasgow Gnostic on his blog. A must read for everyone interested in Charles Rennie Macintosh and the Art Nouveau movement! An extract is quoted below.

Mackintosh was searching in his work for “the soul that lies beneath appearances” and he found that this soul was best expressed through a poetic mood of symbolic illumination. In the 1890s and early 1900s a spiritual atmosphere pervaded Scotland’s cultural life, and many influential artists and writers were either group members or followers of Rosicrucian, Theosophical, or Gnostic thought. There are many indications that the Glasgow Four’s ideas and inspirations were deeply affected by such movements

The Glasgow Four used the rose so often as an iconic symbol that it was characteristic of them. The rose is the grandest and noblest of nature’s symbols. It is the symbol of Nature, of the ever prolific and virgin Earth, or Isis, the mother and nourisher of man.

The Glasgow School of Art © 2007 Scotiana

From his earliest 1894 pencil and color wash drawings Mackintosh depicted the Tree of Life. The sculpted relief carving above the entrance to the Glasgow School of Art portrays two maidens guarding a central tree, which is an emblem, both of the Tree of Life and the Tree of Knowledge. Mackintosh also sets another Tree of Life within the oval glass insets on the doors of the ground floor, while the library is closely linked with the Tree of Knowledge in a series of visual puns (leaves on balusters, leaves in books).

The meaning of Mackintosh’s stylized abstract concepts seems to have eluded many commentators, but they are more ethereal and less eerie or melancholic than the images of the sisters and MacNair.

Mackintosh said, “You must be independent, shaking off all the props tradition and authority offer you, and go on alone. The artist’s motto should be, ‘I care not the least for theories or for this or that dogma so far as the practice of art is concerned—but take my stand on what I consider my personal ideal.’”

From the highest antiquity trees were connected with the gods and mystical forces in nature. Every nation had its sacred tree, with its peculiar characteristics and attributes based on natural, and also occasionally on occult properties, as expounded in the esoteric teachings.” The symbol for sacred and secret knowledge in antiquity was a tree; hence dragons (symbols of wisdom) guard the Trees of Knowledge.

The Glasgow School of Art - Scotland © 2007 Scotiana

Among the many representations of the rose, the cross, the square, and the circle, it is the tree, in various stylized forms, that dominates Mackintosh’s art and architecture.

In his architectural lectures, Mackintosh quoted from W. R. Lethaby’s Architecture, Mysticism and Myth, which propounded a cosmic symbolism whereby a tree is both a symbol of the universe and a basic form of building construction; so the Tree of Life now becomes a symbol for inspired architecture.

Mackintosh wrote: “You ask how you are to judge architecture? Just as you judge painting or sculpture form, color, proportion, all visible qualities—and the one great invisible quality in all art, soul“.

Mackintosh - The World Greatest Art - Flame Tree Publishing - 2005

The Glasgow Style - Laura Euler - Schiffer Publishing Ltd - 2008

Talk soon,
Janice

Teatime at Miss Cranston’s Willow Tearooms in Glasgow

MAJA — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 23:41:13 +0000

Hi everybody ! Try to imagine we’re all sitting on a Mackintosh chair round a Mackintosh table, in the very special atmosphere of the Willow Tearooms in Glasgow, chatting about everything Scotland, our favourite subject !

Jane Haining

To begin with, have you read our friends’ second Letter from Scotland? This time, Iain and Margaret have told us a very moving story. I must confess I didn’t know anything about Jane Haining before reading this marvellous page about her. What I will retain about this remarkable Scotswoman, who lost her life protecting the school-girls she was in charge of in a Hungarian school, during WWII, is not only her intelligence and courage but the very kindness with which she has always acted from beginning to end.

Her story has now entered world history and her name has been inscribed, with so many others, on the walls of impressive Holocaust memorials but, under the talented pen of Iain, Jane keeps a human dimension. She becomes so lively that we feel as if we knew her, following the young woman along her short life, from her native Dumfriesshire to Glasgow and Budapest. We lose trace of her in the deadly mist of Auschwitz but a picture, a poem on a stone, a written page will speak of Jane forever.

Iain told us he had found a little book about Jane Haining which he used to write his post. He recently mentioned something which may well interests some readers. I quote him : “did you wonder that Jane should have a step-sister alive in 1997? It comes about in this way…. Jane’s father remarried in 1925 (when he was about 55). Just six months or so later, he died. But in November of that same year, a child was born to his new wife.. .. a girl, Agnes.. .. known as ‘Nan’.. .. who was to become Mrs O’Brien. I wonder whether she’s still alive.. .. she’d be almost 85?”

The Sauchiehall Street Willow Tearooms - Wikipedia

But now, back to the Willow Tearooms where we are supposed to be sipping our tea, nibbling delicious Scottish scones. I’ve nearly forgotten that, in spite of the magical decor and the very tempting menu card. Jane, who “used to bring each week a bag of cream buns for her pupils”, would certainly have liked to be here with her girls!

Quite astonishing the modern look of this tearoom! It has been renovated in its original “Modern’ Style” which, as the name doesn’t indicate, dates back to the end of the 19th century. What we have here is a marvellous example of what we call in France “Art Nouveau” . It’s simply beautiful. No wonder! It is the result of a unique collaboration between two very talented persons : Kate Cranston and Charles Rennie Mackintosh…

Charles Rennie Mackintosh - Wikipedia

Catherine Cranston - Wikipedia

Kate Cranston was born in Glasgow in 1849. Her social and family background partly explain why she has become a successful entrepreneurial lady. Her father, a baker and pastry cooker, had bought a hotel situated in Glasgow city centre. After some renovations he finally renamed it “Cranston’s Hotel and Dining Rooms” offering his customers no less than : “Convenient Coffee room and detached Smoking Rooms on Ground Floor, commodious Commercial Room and Parlour, comfortable Bed-rooms and Baths, etc. Coffee always ready. Cigars, wines, spirits, ales, Newspapers, Time-Tables, Writing Materials. Superior and varied Bill of Fare at the usual moderate charges.”

Catherine’s brother, a tea-dealer, had already opened several tea shops offering sandwiches to their customers when Catherine Cranston, launched herself in the business, carrying it a step further. With the opening of her ‘art tea-rooms”, Miss Cranston was the first to offer men and women a beautiful and cheerful place to meet in a city where industrialization was making life of people more and more difficult and grim. By the way, these tea-rooms proved to be a good alternative to pubs in times when alcoholism was widely spread and quite destructive…

Kate Cranston successively and very successfully opened four tearooms :

1878 : The Crown Luncheon Room in Argyle Street
1886 : Ingram Street Tearoom
1896 : Buchanan Street Tearooms
1903 : The Sauchiehall Willow Tearooms.

Charles Rennie Mackintosh had been born in Glasgow in 1868 and when Kate Cranston first commissioned him to design the wall murals of her Buchanan Tearooms he was only 28. This was the beginning of a long partnership between them. The Willow Tearooms opened at 217 Sauchiehall in October 1903. For the first time, Charles Rennie Mackintosh was given the opportunity to fully express his art, designing not only the interior fittings, but also the exterior and internal layout of the building. The Willow Tearooms quicky became a favorite meeting place in Glasgow.

The Willow Tearooms - Mackintosh 1903 - Wikipedia

The Willow Tearooms - Mackintosh Room de Luxe - Wikipedia

The location selected by Miss Cranston for the new tearooms was a four-storey former warehouse building on a narrow infill urban site on the south side of Sauchiehall Street. The name “Sauchiehall” is derived from “saugh”, the Scots word for a willow tree, and “haugh”, meadow. This provided the starting point for Mackintosh and MacDonald’s ideas for the design theme.

The decoration of the different rooms was themed: light for feminine, dark for masculine. The ladies’ tea room at the front was white, silver, and rose; the general lunch room at the back was panelled in oak and grey canvas, and the top-lit tea gallery above was pink, white, and grey. In addition to designing the internal architectural alterations and a new external facade, in collaboration with his wife Margaret, Mackintosh designed almost every other aspect of the tearooms, including the interior design, furniture, cutlery, menus, and even the waitress uniforms. Willow was the basis for the name of the tearooms, but it also formed an integral part of the decorative motifs employed in the interior design, and much of the timberwork used in the building fabric and furniture. (Wikipedia)

The art of Mackintosh is omnipresent in Glasgow and our enthusiasm never failed when visiting other places or admiring objects he or his talented wife, Margaret MacDonald, had designed.

Time to share another cup of tea !

Chin Chin !

A bientôt. Mairiuna

The Willow Tearoom, 217 Sauchiehall Street, Glasgow

MAJA — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 14:31:51 +0000

If it is pouring with rain, as is often the case in Scotland, and if you are not lost in the midst of nowhere in a most desolate and remote place of the Scottish countryside with only a thermos of black coffee to cheer you up, it would be unthinkable not to be able to find a castle, a museum, a pub or a tearoom to shelter in and spend your time in a most agreeable way. Beware of the closing time, however, for many places close as soon as five in the afternoon. We’ve been had several times!

That day, in Glasgow, “il pleuvait des hallebardes” or, as we would also say in France “il tombait des cordes” which means in English, that “it was raining cats and dogs”, a favourite expression of mine which I had no problem to remember at school! I wonder what is its origin. We could ask Iain and Margaret. I’d be much surprised if our dear Scottish friends would not have a very interesting and learned answer to that funny question…

Glasgow Scotiana modified Google map

We had been walking for a while under the rain in the very busy shopping thoroughfare of Glasgow which is composed of Argyll Street, Buchanan Street and Sauchiehall Street …

…when we fell upon the very colourful and stylish Mackintosh sign standing in front of a bright and luxury window. On the ground floor there was a jewellery, Henderson’s it read, and on the first floor a tearoom. Guess what! We had arrived at 217 Sauchiehall Street, a number which has become as famous in Glasgow, though more tangible, as 221 b Baker Street in London.

We immediately felt like going into this very inviting secular temple to share a hot cup of tea and taste some of the specialities offered there but drenched as we were, with our dripping parkas and dirty walking shoes, we hardly dared to enter this mythical place.

Tea and scones source : wikipedia

In the very welcoming Scottish B&Bs, hotels and restaurants, tearooms, pubs and other places, we had very often been given the opportunity to taste and appreciate the delicious and inimitable local pastries, in the form of scones, pancakes and various other delicacies generally served with an abundance of butter, jam or cream and we are always quite eager to renew the experience each time a new occasion occurs, especially when it’s wintry and rainy outside. Soon, indeed, we’ll open a page on Scotiana in which we intend to introduce Scottish specialities and even try to give recipes… tested recipes…

Menu card design for Miss Cranston's Cafes at the 1911 Glasgow International exhibition Source Wikipedia

We finally entered Sauchiehall Willow Tearoom but so limited was our time that day and so long was the queue of people waiting to be served that we finally decided to come back another day. We didn’t, but no need to say how the three of us are eager to sit down at one of the little tables in the very relaxing atmosphere of this marvellously decorated tearoom.

But The Willow Tearooms of Glasgow, for there are several ones, have an old story to tell. Its main characters happen to be a lady and a whole team of genial Glaswegian artists… but I will tell you more about all that in my next post …
In the meantime enjoy our photos to try and get the sense of this unique place in Glasgow which has repeatedly won awards of excellence.

A bientôt. Mairiuna.

Kelvingrove Art Gallery & Museum Margaret MacDonald Mackintosh frieze