One of the most influential designers of modern furniture and icon of Danish design style, Arne Jacobsen is remembered for his simple, yet elegant and functional chair designs.
Image source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arne_Jacobsen#/media/File:Arne_Jacobsen_photo.jpg
About his life
Arne Emil Jacobsen was born on 11 February 1902 in Copenhagen. He first hoped to become a painter, but would end up being admitted to the Architecture School at the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts, studying there from 1924 to 1927 under Kay Fisker and Kaj Gottlob, both leading Danish architects and designers. As early as 1925, the talented architect student was awarded an impressive silver medal for the Paris Chair, which was his very first piece of furniture at the world exhibition in Paris.
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Image source: https://search.creativecommons.org/photos/79e6e544-9c7e-4b69-9abf-bb1b740d793e by lglazier618
Curves and proportions
Arne Jacobsen is noted for his sense of proportion. Indeed, he himself saw this as one of the main features of his work. In an interview he said;
The proportion is exactly what makes the beautiful ancient Egyptian temples […] and if we look at some of the most admired buildings of the Renaissance and Baroque, we notice that they were all well-proportioned. Here is the basic thing.
– Arne Jacobson
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He is considered one of the fathers of Danish modern design, as well as having his work recognized as one of the most personal and productive interpretations of Functionalism. Mixing it with Danish traditional aesthetic style, he aimed to create a modern and contemporary style.
Jacobsen is one of the most outstanding Danish architects and industrial designers of the twentieth century, introducing modern architecture to Denmark and contributing to its further development, providing it with versatility and a clear understanding of the functions of design.
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His first works are the reflection of Danish tradition, of the style known as Nordic Neoclassicism, with pure volumes, sloping roofs, brick façades of alternating colours; but soon this Romantic-Nationalist style’d undergo the influence of the Bauhaus and Functionalism.
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Image source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bellevue_Teatret#/media/File:Arnje_Jacobsen_Bellevue_Teater_2005-02.jpg
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Major works
His most famous project was the Royal Hotel in Copenhagen (1956-1960), for which he designed every detail from textiles and lamps to cutlery and furniture. The AJ lamps, designed for the Royal Hotel and manufactured by Louis Poulsen, are an example of streamlined and elegant design. Also the cutlery designed for the Royal Hotel, and produced by Georg Jensen, represents a stylish design that is still today much praised and be-loved.
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Also the famous Egg and Swan chairs were designed for the Royal Hotel, and in particular for its lobby and lounge areas. As often happened with Arne Jacobsen’s designs, they were initially realized for a certain project and later on put into serial production – and the same happened for the AJ lamps, the cutlery and the furniture he designed for the Royal Hotel.
Image source: https://search.creativecommons.org/photos/d3bc7697-e9ab-4201-82eb-6ebde7d5bd88 by Steve Bellamy
Arne Jacobsen is well-known also for the Cylinda Line range, designed for Stelton in 1967. Since the very beginning the range has been an undisputed icon of Scandinavian design and today the range is part of numerous permanent collections in design museums all over the world.
Images source: https://www.scandinaviandesign.com/stelton/0305.htm
Info sources:
http://sika-design.com/designers/arne-jacobsen/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arne_Jacobsen#Style_and_legacy
