“Wall Panel for the Dug-Out (Willow Tea Rooms, Glasgow) – right,” created by Charles Rennie Mackintosh in 1917, is a symbolic painting representative of the Art Nouveau (Modern) movement. The artwork, which was designed as a decorative wall panel for the Willow Tea Rooms in Glasgow, exhibits the intricate and organic forms characteristic of the movement.
The artwork features a symmetrical composition with a complex, densely packed arrangement of shapes and patterns. Dominating the visual field are two elongated, ethereal figures, suggesting human forms, draped in flowing garments that cascade downward. These figures are adorned with an array of geometric and organic motifs. Above and around these forms, delicate, intertwining lines and shapes fill the rest of the panel, adding to the intricate and almost otherworldly quality of the piece. The color palette is muted yet varied, with earthy tones interspersed with subtle hints of greens and purples, lending a subdued elegance to the artwork.
