Designer
Arne Jacobsen
Arne Jacobsen (1902–1971) was a Danish architect and furniture designer born in Copenhagen. He trained in architecture at Copenhagen's Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts (1924–1927), won a silver medal for a chair at the 1925 Paris…
Biography
Background
Arne Jacobsen (1902–1971) was a Danish architect and furniture designer born in Copenhagen. He trained in architecture at Copenhagen's Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts (1924–1927), won a silver medal for a chair at the 1925 Paris exhibition, and opened his own office in 1930 after winning the "House of the Future" competition with Flemming Lassen.
Signature Style
Remembered for his contribution to architectural functionalism, Jacobsen often designed a building together with its furniture and fittings, as at the SAS Royal Hotel. Fritz Hansen describes a process centred on strict consideration of detail, hand-painted watercolour sketches and constant refinement: "as thin as possible and never in the middle."
Notable Works
- Buildings: Bellevue Sea Bath and Bellavista (Klampenborg), Aarhus City Hall, SAS Royal Hotel, St Catherine's College Oxford, Danmarks Nationalbank
- Furniture (Fritz Hansen): Ant™, Series 7™, Egg™ (1958), Swan™, Drop™
Legacy
His simple, well-designed chairs enjoyed worldwide success and remain in production; his work shaped Danish design for more than half of the 20th century and influenced architects and designers around the world.
Collections
Products
Swan Chair
Arne Jacobsen's 1958 Swan lounge chair: a moulded CombiPUR shell on a swivel base
Egg Chair
Arne Jacobsen's 1958 lounge chair: a moulded PUR shell on a tilting, swivelling four-star base
AJ Royal Pendant
Arne Jacobsen's AJ Royal pendant for the SAS Royal Hotel, with ridges that emit light upwards
AJ Trolley Side Table
Arne Jacobsen's 1955 trolley for his tea, revived as a mobile side table
AJ Table Lamp
Arne Jacobsen's 1957 table lamp for the SAS Royal Hotel, with a tiltable shade for directed light
AJ Floor Lamp
Arne Jacobsen's AJ Floor Lamp for the SAS Royal Hotel: white inner shade and tiltable light
AJ52 Society Table
Arne Jacobsen's 1952 writing desk with a leather-wrapped top on a tubular steel frame, 160 x 70 cm
AJ Wall Lamp
Arne Jacobsen's AJ Wall Lamp: shade adjustable about 90° up or down and 60° to either side
Ant Chair 3101
Arne Jacobsen's 1952 Ant chair, four-legged model 3101: a waisted veneer shell on tubular steel
Ant Chair 3100
The three-legged Ant: a plywood shell on a tubular steel frame, stackable, 1952
Circular Café Table
Arne Jacobsen’s 1968 Circular café table A623, with a 90 cm top and star pedestal
Series 7 Chair 3107
Arne Jacobsen's 1955 Series 7 chair 3107: a nine-layer veneer shell on four slim steel legs
