Arne Jacobsen (1902-1971)
Born in Copenhagen in 1902, the Danish architect and designer
Arne Jacobsen trained as a stonemason before studying architecture at the Kongelige Danske Kunstakademie in Copenhagen until 1927. He began his career as an employee in Paul Holsoe's architecture practice. In 1929 Jacobsen opened a practice of his own in Hellerup.
Arne Jacobsen is best known for the chairs he designed. For the firm of Fritz Hansen, he designed the "Ant" (Model No. 3100: 1951/52), a chair whose name was inspired by the nipped in waist of the back as well as its thin tubular steel legs. In 1955 he designed a similar chair for Series 7 (Model No. 3107), which was one of the most commercially successful lines in chairs ever produced.
In 1958 Arne Jacobsen designed, for the interior of the Royal SAS Hotel in Copenhagen, the "Egg" and "Swan" chairs, which today are numbered among the design classics of the 20th century. Most of his architecture projects were conceived as total works of art, which meant that Arne Jacobsen designed a building down to the most minute detail, creating for it wallpaper, carpets, utilitarian appliances, lighting, and furniture.