Art Nouveau
Growing up in Scotland, I believed that Art Nouveau meant Charles Rennie Mackintosh. Glasgow loves him: ’Wegians built the House for an Art Lover in the 1980s from designs submitted by him for a competition in 1901. I was delighted to play its piano. The Willow Tea Rooms is one of Glasgow’s major attractions, as they say, though I would also recommend the Burrell Collection and the Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum.
Only when I went to Manchester did I see Klimt reproductions, and researching this I find Art Nouveau was initially named Mucha style after Alphonse Mucha, after his poster for Gismonda appeared in 1895. I am glad to know of the great Scottish architect and designer, and when I learned of the European achievements, the new understanding enriched me. But then, England has no Art Nouveau greats of its own.
