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.
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About his life
Arne Emil Jacobsenwas born on11 February 1902inCopenhagen.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 from1924to1927underKay FiskerandKaj Gottlob, both leading Danish architects and designers. As early as1925, the talented architect student was awarded an impressivesilver medalfor theParis Chair, which was his very first piece of furniture at the world exhibition in Paris.
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Curves and proportions
Arne Jacobsen is noted for hissense 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 ofDanish modern design, as well as having his work recognized as one of the most personal and productive interpretations ofFunctionalism. Mixing it with Danish traditional aesthetic style, he aimed to create amodernandcontemporary style.
Jacobsen is one of the most outstanding Danish architects and industrial designers of the twentieth century, introducingmodern architectureto 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 ofDanish tradition, of the style known as Nordic Neoclassicism, withpure volumes,sloping roofs,brick façadesof alternating colours; but soon thisRomantic-Nationalist style’d undergo the influence of theBauhausandFunctionalism.
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Major works
His most famous project was theRoyal Hotelin Copenhagen (1956-1960), for which he designed every detail fromtextilesandlampsto cutlery and furniture. TheAJ lamps, designed for the Royal Hotel and manufactured byLouis Poulsen, are an example of streamlined and elegant design. Also thecutlerydesigned for the Royal Hotel, and produced byGeorg Jensen, represents a stylish design that is still today much praised and be-loved.
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Also the famousEggandSwanchairswere 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.
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Arne Jacobsen is well-known also for theCylinda Line range, designed forSteltonin 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
