The late 19th century and early 20th century was a pivotal moment in the history of design.
The flourishing Art Nouveau period, initiated by Belgian architect Victor Horta, was giving way to the work of figures such as architects Joseph Hoffmann and Adolf Loos in Europe who were steering towards a more minimal approach. Architect Charles Rennie Mackintosh, with his wife, English-born artist Margaret Macdonald Mackintosh, were also making ‘waves’ in Scotland – working together to create more simple interiors in the houses of Glasgow.
The iconic Hill House chair, designed by Charles Rennie Mackintosh in 1904, also demonstrated a more holistic approach to design, where there was a dialogue between the interior and the home’s exterior.
The Hill House in Helensburgh, approximately 45 kilometres from Glasgow, was designed for publisher Walter W. Blackie and has some of the hallmarks of the Hill House chair that was just one of many pieces designed for it. The home’s series of long and slender chimneys, for example, create a ‘dialogue’ with the chair’s high backrest. Eschewing the Art Nouveau lines which generally include floral motifs, this chair is considerably more minimal, with its extruded ladder-style backrest ending beyond the velvet-covered seat to the floor.
The Cassina Hill House chair designed by Charles Rennie Mackintosh
Mackintosh designed a number of similar variations of this chair for the different houses he designed in Glasgow, many of which were exhibited in 1900 at the Secession Exhibition in Vienna. It’s been said that some of the great creatives of the 20th century, such as artist Gustav Klimt and architect Joseph Hoffmann, were inspired by Mackintosh’s architecture as well as his furniture.
The Hill House chair, available through Mobilia in Australia, had a resurgence of interest in the 1980s with Cassina releasing it in Ashwood and stained black— the original design was made of ebony. As well as a slightly different material palette, the Hill House chair is now more likely to be used as a side chair in a bedroom or as a singular item in an entrance rather than placed around a dining table, as was the case in the early 20th century. Today, a dining chair is more relaxed rather than demanding the seater have a straight back.
Irrespective of where it’s found in a home today, it has been a milestone in design. For furniture designer Damien Wright, who established his practice Wright Studios in the 1990s, the Hill House chair remains a watershed moment. “It’s that balance of ornamentation and restraint that started to appear, particularly in the work of Mackintosh, that provided a sense of the modernist movement that was about to occur,” Damien says, who, unlike Mackintosh, tends to steer towards using Australian timber in his designs. “You can see the rigour in Mackintosh’s chairs. There’s also a certain ‘tension’ that can be seen as the more decorative Arts & Crafts period was starting to wane,” Damien adds.
The Cassina Hill House chair in Elizabeth Bay Apartment by Handelsmann + Khaw | Photography by Anson Smart
The Cassina Hill House chair in Son Serra by BonVivant Concept | Photography by Salva Lopez
The Cassina Hill House chair in Son Serra by BonVivant Concept | Photography by Salva Lopez
The Cassina Hill House chairs | Photography courtesy of Mobilia
The chair’s simple design, with its lattice-style arrangement at the top of the backrest, also has a strong Japanese aesthetic, not surprising given the influence Japan and the orient, had on the time this chair was designed.
While Mackintosh had an illustrious career as an architect, with many still travelling to Glasgow to see his buildings, including the Glasgow School of Art and the Argyle Street Tearooms, it’s the furniture, including the Hill House chair, that continues to reverberate around the world— a chair that was ahead of its time, but also of its time.
