Dear Readers,
Thanks to those of you who sent us good weather vibes; it worked! Do it again for tomorrow!
Today was devoted to Charles Rennie Mackintosh. You will recall that I mentioned him yesterday as the designer/architect of the Willow Tearooms. He is probably Scotland’s most famous architect, although many of the accolades came after he died.
In 1901 Mackintosh submitted a competition entry for a house. He didn’t win and the house was never built in his lifetime. However, in 1996 the house was completed based on his original drawings. It is now situated in a park and is called the House for an Art Lover. The house contains permanent exhibitions based on his designs for the various rooms as well as decorative pieces he & his wife Margaret created.
I found his work to be reminiscent of Frank Lloyd Wright’s. They were born within a year of each other.
Next we went to the Burrell Collection which is in another park. The building is built of pink sandstone and stainless steel.
The museum houses 8,000 exhibits of all types from ancient Egyptian, Greek & Roman artifacts to Chinese ceramics, bronzes & jade to medieval tapestries, stained glass, Rodin sculptures & French Impressionist paintings. The collection was donated to Glasgow by the eccentric millionaire Sir William Burrell. Here are some that caught my eye.
From there we went to the Kelvingrove Museum & Art Gallery. From the outside it looks like a combination of a cathedral & a castle. This magnificently ornamented red sandstone edifice dates from the early 20th century.
It too has a wide ranging collection including 17th century Dutch art, a selection from the French Barbizon school, French Impressionism, Scottish art from the 17th century to the present, silver, ceramics & glass. Here are some I especially liked:
And guess what? They had a gallery devoted to Mackintosh.
Last on my agenda today was the Hunterian Art Gallery which is part of Glassgow University. It includes a replica of Mackintosh’s town house which used to stand nearby. The rooms contain his distinctive art nouveau chairs, tables, beds & cupboards & the walls are decorated in the equally distinctive style devised by him & his wife.
It was a wonderful art filled day & the rain held off for most of it.
I had high hopes for dinner as well, but that was a disappointment. It was an Italian restaurant. One of you told me (today!) not to eat Italian food in Scotland, but how much Scottish food can you eat?! Ah well. Here’s hoping for tomorrow (our last supper in Scotland).
Keep sending those good vibes for no rain.
❤️
Irene