Mackintosh, Charles Rennie

Scottish architect, designer, and painter, whose highly original work represents a dramatic break with the late Victorian style. He worked initially in the Art Nouveau idiom but later developed a unique style, both rational and expressive, that is more angular and stylized than the flowing, full-blown art nouveau style.

Influenced by the Arts and Crafts Movement, he designed furniture and fittings, cutlery, and lighting to go with his interiors. Mackintosh was initially influential, particularly on Austrian architects such as Joseph Maria Olbrich and Josef Hoffman. However, he was not successful in his lifetime, and has only recently come to be regarded as a pioneer of modern design.