Showing posts with label Renee Mackintosh Gold Jewellery. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Renee Mackintosh Gold Jewellery. Show all posts

Friday, April 3, 2009

Renee Mackintosh and His Influence on Gold Jewellery Design

The influence of Charles Renee Mackintosh (1868-1928) presently extends to gold jewellery design. So much so that Renee Mackintosh gold jewellery is often sought out. His greatest contribution to design was marrying Japanese influences with the design traditions of his native Scotland. But did you know that he never worked with jewellery?

Renee Mackintosh graduated from the Glasgow School of Art and worked as an architect in the 1890s. The buildings he designed, such as The Lighthouse and The Martyr’s School, became famous for the skillful use of light and space. Designing pieces of furniture, lighting, and even cutlery were all a natural extension of his work in architecture.

Later, he formed the group known as “The Four” with his classmate-turned-wife Margaret Macdonald, Margaret’s sister Frances, and Henry McNair. This group formed the foundation of the ground-breaking Scottish design movement known as “The Glasgow Style.” It was coincidence that they banded together right when the Art Nouveau movement was making its presence felt
all over the Western world.

To be fair to Mackintosh, he may actually have helped pioneer the style. After all, he was reworking Japanese aesthetics to fit Western sensibilities before the 1900s. His favorite motifs included flowers and plants, particularly roses and tulips – all popular in Japan. He also wove interlaced knotwork, a key visual element of the Celtic culture that he grew up in, into his designs.

However, what set him apart from other Art Nouveau artists was his preference for angles. He mixed boxes and tapers with the curves and flowing lines associated with Art Nouveau-era design. Moreover, he evolved a more rational, expressive style from Art Nouveau. This may have eased the transition from Art Nouveau into the Art Deco movement during the last years of his life.

Today, Mackintosh’s works have been immortalized as jewellery. For instance, stylised roses set on sturdy, interlaced, knotted chains remain popular today. As if to borrow from the meaning of “Renee,” “reborn,” his designs are continuously being reinterpreted not just in jewellery-making, but in all other fields of design.

Further Reading:
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For More quality and unique Information on the topic of Designer Jewellery, please visit the following reference site:
http://www.myjewelersplace.com/categories/Designer-Jewellery/

Kinds of Renee Mackintosh Gold Jewellery

Renee Mackintosh Gold Jewellery is the outcome of talent and devotion. Charles Renee Mackintosh (1868-1928) has been regarded as one of the most illustrious creative talents of the 20th century. In his lifetime, he did not only practice architecture, but he took up furniture design, font design and painting (due no doubt to his wife and collaborator, the painter Margaret) as well. And now, his designs have influenced even the production of gold jewellery.

What are the secrets to the world’s enduring love for his works?

First, his designs testify to the beauty of Art Nouveau design. Although he began as a member of the Arts and Crafts movement, he realized that he could use an Asian – particularly Japanese – flavour and other Western sensibilities while designing with Scots like himself in mind. This was due to his exposure to the Japanese who were on ships in Scottish ports, and the Italians who he mingled with after spending his prize money on travel.

The jewellery inspired
by his cross-cultural tastes use space and colour to create a light feeling in their wearers. They refer to basic geometric shapes like squares, rectangles and circles. They bear no hints of curlicues and hardly any gemstones, which marked the Victorian age. The designs are also very nature-oriented, with plants and flowers dominating.

Secondly, he wasted no time in refining his skill. He excelled in his art and drew constant inspiration from other art forms. He excelled in architecture, by bringing light into and organising dark, cluttered Scottish spaces. He may have borrowed heavily from water colour painting elements and techniques in order to add more lightness to his works.

Finally, he tried to find ways to create a unified, harmonious environment for the people who would use his buildings. These were structured with rectangles, and contrasted with long, delicate curves. They contain only two patterns at the most, though they do not lack in details. And so, ultimately, the jewels made to honour him share his sensibilities of marrying form with function.

Further Reading:
===============
For More quality and unique Information on the topic of Designer Jewellery, please visit the following reference site:
http://www.myjewelersplace.com/categories/Designer-Jewellery/