Modern Style

The Modern Style is the British form of Art Nouveau - in fact the first Art Nouveau style to appear anywhere. It emerged in the mid-1880s as an evolution of the Arts and Crafts movement, keeping that movement's devotion to beautifully made objects while pushing past its medievalism toward fully modern design. Its earliest master was Arthur Heygate Mackmurdo, whose 1883 chair and book-cover design are recognized as the first works in the new style. The style found its richest soil in Glasgow, where Charles Rennie Mackintosh and the circle known as 'The Four' developed its elongated forms and stylized roses, and it reached a wide public through the Liberty department store and The Studio magazine. Aubrey Beardsley's sinuous black-and-white graphics defined its graphic dimension.

Defining characteristics

• Sinuous, whiplash curves and stylized plant forms, above all the elongated 'Glasgow rose'
• Strong outlines and flat decorative patterning, especially in black-and-white graphics
• Elongated vertical forms and slender, elegant proportions
• Total design: architecture, interiors, furniture, metalware and graphics conceived as one aesthetic
• Arts and Crafts craftsmanship married to industrial production (Liberty's Cymric and Tudric metalware)
• Japonisme and Celtic Revival ornament combined

Key figures

• Charles Rennie Mackintosh (1868-1928) — Leading architect-designer of the Glasgow School; creator of the 'Mackintosh rose'
• Arthur Heygate Mackmurdo (1851-1942) — His 1883 designs are recognized as the first fully realized works in the new style
• Aubrey Beardsley (1872-1898) — Defining figure of the style's graphic and illustrative side
• Archibald Knox (1864-1933) — Designer of Liberty's Cymric and Tudric metalware lines

Example works

• Wren's City Churches (cover design) — Arthur Heygate Mackmurdo (1883)
• Glasgow School of Art — Charles Rennie Mackintosh (1897-1909)
• Hill House — Charles Rennie Mackintosh (1902-1904)

Sources

• Modern Style - Wikipedia encyclopedia

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