Charles Rennie Mackintosh was one of the most intriguing and influential artists of his time. 

Charles Rennie Mackintosh Masterpieces of Art reveals a selection of some of his most important and popular works, from stained glass pieces and furniture through to architecture, at the same time giving an overview of his life and career. 

The introduction reveals his journey from early Symbolist watercolours and Japanese-influenced details to his influence on the Vienna Secession and crowning works of architecture such as the Glasgow School of Art. 

The informed text and beautiful images of key artworks give depth and fuller understanding to create a beautifully rich and enjoyable tribute to the father of the 'Glasgow Style'.

Glasgow Style: The life and work of Glasgow School pioneer, Charles Rennie Mackintosh

Scottish architect, designer, and painter Charles Rennie Mackintosh (1868 - 1928) was one of the earliest pioneers of modern architecture and design. While he never received major recognition in his hometown of Glasgow, his bold new blend of simplicity and poetic details inspired modernists across Europe.

Mackintosh s avant-garde approach embraced a variety of media as well as fresh stylistic devices. His multi-faceted oeuvre incorporated architecture, furniture, graphic design, landscapes, and flower studies. He embraced strong lines, elegant proportions, and natural motifs, combining a healthy dose of japonisme with a modernist sensibility for function. He preferred bold black typography, restrained shapes, and tall, generous windows suffusing rooms with light.

Mackintosh's projects in Glasgow include the famous Willow Tearooms, the private residences Windyhill and The Hill House, and the Mackintosh Building at the Glasgow School of Art, widely considered his masterwork. Much of his work was collaborative practice with his wife, fellow artist Margaret Macdonald. The couple made up half of the loose Glasgow collective known as The Four; the other two were Margaret's sister, Frances, and her husband, Herbert MacNair.

On the continent, this Glasgow Style was met with delight. In Italy, Germany, and, in particular, Austria, artists of the Viennese Secession and Art Nouveau drew much from its rectilinear, yet lyrical, forms. In this introductory book, we take in Mackintosh's practice across art, architecture, and design to explore his particular combination of the statuesque and sensual and its vital influence on modernist expression across Europe.

About the series:

Each book in TASCHEN's Basic Art series features:

- a detailed chronological summary of the life and oeuvre of the artist, covering his or her cultural and historical importance
- a concise biography

"Mackintosh" is a celebration of the extraordinary career of one of the most intriguing and influential artists of his time, Charles Rennie Mackintosh. The book reveals a selection of some of his most important and popular works, from stained glass pieces and furniture through to architecture, at the same time giving an overview of his life and career. Secondary images draw on connections and echoes with each main entry to give depth and fuller understanding to create a beautifully rich and enjoyable tribute to the father of the 'Glasgow Style'.

Traces the extraordinary career of one of Scotland`s (and Britain`s) most fascinating and original artist-designers of the twentieth century. This stunning new book is illustrated with nearly 176 illustrations, designs and paintings which demonstrate Mackintosh`s technique, influences and associations.

Charles Rennie Mackintosh’s finest work dates from about a dozen intensively creative years around 1900. His buildings in Glasgow, and especially his craggy masterpiece the Glasgow School of Art, are more complex and playful than anything in Britain at that time. His interiors, many of them designed in collaboration with his wife, Margaret Macdonald, are both spare and sensuous, creating a world of heightened aesthetic sensibility.

Finally, during the 1920s, he painted a series of watercolours which are as original as anything he had done before. Since his death, Mackintosh has been lauded as a pioneer of the Modern Movement and as a master of Art Nouveau.

This book, with illustrations that include specially prepared plans and sections, takes a clear-eyed view of Mackintosh and his achievement, revealing a designer of extraordinary sophistication and inventiveness.