His furniture was usually intended for specified environments, few of his designs would have been available through normal retail outlets. Working for private, style-conscious clients and free from commercial restraints, Mackintosh was able to design imaginative, and often daring furniture .
The best known and most characteristic of Mackintosh’s designs is the high-backed chair. He was not concerned with the craftsmanship or comfort of his high-backed chairs, more of the look. There came a time in Mackintosh’s career when his high-backed chairs became so unfunctional that they were merely being produced to be pleasing to the eye. The high-backed chairs for the Argyle Street Tea Rooms can be seen to resemble stylised tree forms, symbols similar to the upwards, surging vitality of so much of Mackintosh’s work. Among the bold outlines and boxy shapes of the furniture commissioned for Miss Cranston’s Argyle Street Tea Rooms, one chair stood out as the first of it’s kind (see pic. 1). This was one Mackintosh’s earlier designs and the most characteristic of his famous high-backed chairs. It has a very simple design, probably from his Japanese influences, and Mackintosh has used plain wood surfaces and few colours. This design was very different from the usual Victorian Style because it was so simple. I quite like this chair because even though it is very plain it still looks good.
Unfortunately, high-backed chairs of this type were liable to damage when subjected to constant use in the tea rooms; some were reinforced with metal brackets while others had to be reduced in height. The chairs’ tall backs did serve some sort of function though. In the crowded tea rooms they helped to define and divide the space; their oval panels being visible over the heads of seated customers. These chairs added vertical emphasis and provided decorative elements in a large, high room. Also, if grouped around a table they allowed a sense of intimacy and enclosure for dining.
In 1902, Mackintosh produced designs on a whole range of furnishings as well as his architectural designs. Many of these were purely functional but he also produced many artistic pieces. The Mackintosh Room at the Turin International Exhibition of Modern Decorative Art was enthusiastically received and he went on to exhibit in Moscow and Berlin. The second chair I have chosen to look at was made for this exhibition (see pic. 2). This chair is the tallest of the high-backed chairs and also one of the most decorative. This chair appears to have a very low seat, being only a quarter of the height of the actual chair. The construction of the low seat and tapering back makes the chair look almost abstract because of these bizarre proportions. This chair is very different from the first one because it is a lot more decorative and the first one was very simple. There is a painted stylised rose bush design on the padded portion of the chair. Beneath this is what appears to be wilting petals falling from the bush. At the top of the chair carved into a piece of wood is an organic form of sorts. I prefer this chair to the first one because it is a lot more decorative and looks very stylish. Mackintosh was renowned for his stylised design- taking the natural form of something, for example, a flower, and altering it to fit his style.
Overall, I think that Charles Rennie Mackintosh was, and still is, a very good designer, whose designs will never go out of fashion. He made a significant contribution to the Art Nouveau movement and his work exerted an important influence on the growing 20th century trend towards simplification and functionalism. Mackintosh’s furniture has become very well known and the pieces of furniture themselves have icons. He is celebrated around the world today as one of the most significant talents to emerge in the period which spans from the mid 1890’s to the late 1920’s. In fifty years time I’m sure that Mackintosh will still be recognised as a great designer and whatever happens his designs will never lose their timelessness. Much of his work has survived and most of his surviving work can be found in or around Glasgow. Although Mackintosh died relatively unnoticed in Britain his work was not going to be forgotten. Today things are made based on his designs, which usually involve unopened flower buds or roses and stripes. Sadly, when Mackintosh was alive his designs were never recognised, but with the recent revival of interest, it is clear that they are still as relevant as they were a century ago.