Mysticism and aestheticism with a strong touch of lilac The Scottish architect, designer and painter Charles Rennie Mackintosh (1868-1928) was one of the early pioneers of modern architecture and design. His multifaceted oeuvre is an important link between the movement towards artistic reform in Britain and continental Modernism. Mackintosh's avant-garde designs for the Glasgow School of Art, the legendary Willow Tea Rooms or the Hill House in Helensburgh are a blend of functional simplicity and poetic decorative details. The result is a cool elegance which combines and " and "mysticism and aestheticism with a strong touch of lilac... and a