Today we would like to introduce Arne Jacobsen, the master of modernism born in Denmark.
Arne Jacobsen (1902-1971) was a Jewish modernist architect and designer.
His representative works include the architecture of the Scandinavian airport building, the Danish National Bank, the Radisson SAS Royal Hotel, and the various pieces of furniture that were produced to compose the architecture. The "Ant Chair (1952)" and "Seven Chair (1955)" designed by him are said to be the most sold chairs in the world. Chair" is still loved all over the world.
You may have seen it at least once in various scenes such as restaurants, offices, and hotels.
Born and raised in Copenhagen in 1902, Jacobsen is said to have painted over the ornate Victorian wallpaper in his bedroom as a child with white paint.
White walls are popular in modern times, but at the beginning of the 20th century, white walls were by no means commonplace. You could say I had a feeling.
By the time he turned 20, Jacobsen wanted to be a painter, but his father objected and he left home to work as a sailor on a passenger ship.
After that, his friend and architect Fleming Lassen recommended that he take up the path of architecture where he could make use of his talent for painting, and his talent blossomed. In 1929, together with Lassen, he presented a modernist-style "Future House" for a competition.
That same year, he opened his own architectural firm, and in 1934 designed one of his early masterpieces, the Bellavista Housing Complex on Bellevue Beach. Today, Jacobsen is well-known as a designer of furniture such as the Seven Chair and the Egg Chair, but he is also an architect with considerable ability. Jacobsen himself says that he designed the "Bella Vista Housing Complex" under the influence of Le Corbusier, a leading modernist architect and designer of the time.
In 1940, when Denmark was occupied by Nazi Germany, Jacobsen, a Jew, fled to Sweden for fear of persecution. He spent the rest of World War II in Sweden, and after the war he resumed active design activities.
Many of Jacobsen's furniture designs are examples of the modern style, and his best-known work, the Seven Chair, was used in Louis Morley's famous 1963 photograph of Christine Keeler nude. It is also famous for (It is said that the chair actually used in the photo was not the real Seven Chair, but an imitation. is said to have been implied.)
Jacobsen is very stoic about his work, and instead of taking care of his family, he demands that the staff work virtually day and night, and if they don't like it, they can quit. He was notorious for being picky about his manufacturers and being acerbic and uncompromising.
On the other hand, like the painter Rousseau, he was absorbed in watercolor painting, learned about nature, and took care of plants.
He also has a lovely side, and Jacobsen's favorite food was baked goods. Even while I was there, I was conflicted that I wanted to stop thinking in work mode.
Also, since he was a child, Jacobsen loved to joke around and make people laugh, and even as an adult, he wore a hollowed-out melon and behaved like a clown, inviting laughter from those around him. You can feel his humane and adorable side.
All the furniture he designs are so smart and beautiful that you can't believe they were created more than 50 years ago, and you can feel the newness every time you look at them.
Next time, we will introduce in detail the masterpieces handled by SUPER VINTAGE from among the furniture designed by Jacobsen.
Please look forward to it.