The Great Fire of Glasgow – Mackintosh’s Immense Creation Set for Re-Birth
The Great Fire of Glasgow –
Mackintosh’s Immense Creation Set for Re-Birth
If you saw the great fire of Glasgow in 2014 you’ll know that the national treasure that was the Glasgow School of Art went up in smoke when a carelessly left light set fire to the building which was just about totally destroyed. After which there was a dreadful hoo-ha about whether to rebuild this, the work of Scotland’s greatest artist, or shove some concrete blocks up instead. It made quite a stink and I wrote about it here at the time. But the decision was finally taken to rebuild the beloved old pile. Now Charles Rennie Mackintosh’s architectural drawings hold the key to the proper and authentic reconstruction of Glasgow School of Art, with nary a concrete block in sight.
Original Papers Original Intentions
Now the rebuilders have been able to see Mackintosh’s original papers with his scribbles in the margins for the first time since fire destroyed part of the Edwardian masterpiece. The papers are lodged at the new home of the Hunterian museum collection. About 800 drawings and watercolours of the art school are held in the Hunterian museum, and were made available at its new premises in Kelvin Hall, Glasgow The notes showed his true intentions in the building and interior design and they will enable an authentic build. It will take the building back to its original state, before the twentieth century add-ons and sticking plaster renovations which marred the Glasgow School of Art building in its latter years. Like spots on a fine complexion.
The Great Man’s Thoughts Outlined in Doodles and Foot Notes
The Hunterian collection, owned by the University of Glasgow, was already boxed up in preparation for the move to Kelvin Hall before the fire and so was saved on that infamous day. There are beautiful watercolours Mackintosh made in the South of France, along with designs for fabrics and so on.
Bring Beauty In
If you want to bring some of the beauty of nature and art into your home we have some lovely pieces of crystal in which to display the finery of nature. Many of our vases will bring a catch to the breath and be heirlooms in the making. So take a look at the splendours of crystal and bring a little life into the house.
