THE REBELLIOUS

ARNE JACOBSEN

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be happy to produce in five.

Arne Jacobsen & Fritz Hansen

It is said that as a child growing up in Copenhagen,

Arne Jacobsen painted over the Victorian wallpaper

in his bedroom. But young Arne did not cover his

walls with typical childish drawings or paint the

ornate wallpaper boyish blue. Instead, he decided

to paint his room entirely white.

His decision may seem commonplace today, but in

the early twentieth century white walls were not yet

in fashion. From the very beginning, Arne Jacobsen

was ahead of his time.

For more than half of the twentieth century, Arne

Jacobsen’s ideas shaped the landscape of Danish

design, rippling out from Scandinavia to influence

architects and designers around the world. He

directed projects ranging from complex buildings like

Denmark’s National Bank to meticulous challenges

as humble as a special teaspoon for his cutlery set,

working with a relatively small studio staff driven

by an unquenchable desire to create.

Jacobsen’s creative process centred on his strict

consideration of detail. He brought his visions to

life for patrons and builders with scrupulous, hand-

painted watercolour sketches. In any given year,

Jacobsen managed to design what others might