HANS J. WEGNER
The driving force behind Danish Modern
Danish architect Hans J. Wegner is considered a pioneering furniture designer of the twentieth century
Among Danish furniture designers, Hans J. Wegner (1914-2007) is considered one of the most creative, innovative and prolific. Often referred to as the master of the chair, Wegner created almost 500 in his lifetime – many of them considered masterpieces. His iconic Wishbone Chair is probably the most well-known and has been in continuous production since 1950.
Wegner was part of the spectacular generation that created what is today referred to as ‘the Golden Age’ of modern Danish design. “Many foreigners have asked me how we created the Danish style,” Wegner once said. “And I’ve answered that it was a continuous process of purification and of simplification – to cut down to the simplest possible design of four legs, a seat, and a combined back- and armrest.”
The son of a cobbler, Wegner was born in 1914 in Tønder, a town in southern Denmark. He began his apprenticeship with Danish master cabinetmaker H. F. Stahlberg when he was just 14 years old. Later on, he moved to Copenhagen and attended the School of Arts and Crafts from 1936 to 1938 before setting out as a furniture designer.
In 1938, Wegner was approached by architects and designers Arne Jacobsen and Erik Møller, and started designing furniture for the new Aarhus City Hall. During the same period, Wegner began collaborating with master cabinetmaker Johannes Hansen, who was a driving force in bringing new furniture design to the Danish public at the Copenhagen Cabinetmakers’ Guild Exhibitions.
The core of Wegner’s legacy is his focus on showing the inner soul of furniture pieces through a simple and functional exterior. Wegner’s background as a cabinetmaker gave him a deep understanding of how to integrate exacting joinery techniques with exquisite form. His aesthetic was also based on a deep respect for wood and its characteristics, and a vast curiosity about other natural materials that enabled him to bring an organic, natural softness to formalistic minimalism.
Wegner established his own design studio in 1943 and created a series of lightweight chairs for Carl Hansen & Søn from 1949 until 1968, including the Wishbone Chair, which has been in production at Carl Hansen & Søn ever since.
Wegner is seen as one of the most renowned and creative Danish furniture designers. He received many design awards, including the Lunning Prize in 1951, the Grand Prix of the Milan Triennale in 1951, the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts’ Eckersberg Medal in 1956, Sweden’s Prince Eugen Medal in 1961, the Danish Furniture Prize in 1980, the C. F. Hansen Medal in 1982, and the 8th International Design Award in 1997. He was made an Honorary Royal Designer for industry by the Royal Society of Arts in London in 1959, became an honorary member of the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts in 1995, and was awarded an honorary Doctorate by the Royal College of Art in 1997.
Almost all of the world’s major design museums, from the Museum of Modern Art in New York and Designmuseum Danmark in Copenhagen to Die Neue Sammlung in Munich, exhibit his works. Hans J. Wegner died in Denmark in January 2007, aged 92.
Featured designs by Hans J. Wegner
Our designers
Anker Bak
Met een onconventionele achtergrond en persoonlijke designaanpak verlegt Anker Bak conceptuele en fysieke grenzen met hoogwaardige materialen, subliem vakmanschap en functionaliteit. Zijn designs maken een verschil in het leven van mensen en voldoen aan echte behoeften.
Arne Jacobsen
Als een van ’s werelds meest bekende en gerespecteerde Deense architecten, wordt Arne Jacobsen over de hele wereld vaak in een adem genoemd met het modernisme. Zijn precieze maar expressieve esthetiek blijft een bron van inspiratie voor hedendaagse ontwerpers.
Bodil Kjær
Danish professor and architect Bodil Kjær has significantly contributed to the spread of Danish Modern design principles through her travels, knowledge gathering and promotion of the relationship between design and architecture.
Bonderup & Thorup
After graduating from the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts’ School of Architecture in Copenhagen in 1969, Claus Bonderup and Torsten Thorup began a collaboration that led them to join forces on design projects across the globe for more than 20 years.
Brad Ascalon
Brad Ascalon is an American designer born in 1977. He entered the art and design world at a young age. His grandfather, a sculptor and industrial designer, and his father, a renowned artist, encouraged a passion for design, craftsmanship and materials that would last.
Børge Mogensen
Børge Mogensen’s creative process produced long-lasting pieces with humans at the center. He worked primarily with wood and pioneered democratic design, becoming a highly-influential, post-war representative of Danish Modern.
EOOS
Het Oostenrijkse collectief, EOOS, werd in 1995 opgericht door Martin Bergmann, Gernot Bohmann en Harald Gründl. Het trio bestudeert historische wortels in een hedendaagse context en richt zich op mythen, rituelen en intuïtieve uitdrukkingen, om originele verbindingen te creëren.
Frits Henningsen
Frits Henningsen was een compromisloze designer die bekend stond om zijn perfectionisme en levendige persoonlijkheid. Hij gaf nieuwe uitdrukking aan traditionele ontwerpen en vond kwaliteitsvakmanschap essentieel. In tegenstelling tot de meeste meubelmakers ontwierp hij altijd zijn eigen meubelstukken.
Kaare Klint
Kaare Klint wordt gezien als de vader van modern Deens design en was een bekend meubeldesigner, docent en visionair. Hij stond op een duidelijk, logisch ontwerp, strakke lijnen, de beste materialen en uitstekend vakmanschap, zoals te zien is in zijn iconische Safari Chair uit 1933.
Larsen en Bender Madsen
Ejner Larsen en Aksel Bender Madsen ontwierpen ongeveer 300 werken, waaronder de Metropolitan Chair. Hoewel de stoel hun favoriete object was, maakten ze ook ander werk, van slaapkamersuites tot boekenplanken. De resultaten waren altijd eenvoudig en tijdloos.
Linie Design
Linie Design, a Danish design company, was founded in 1980 and since then has specialized in the development of handmade rugs in elegant designs and of the highest quality materials.
Mads Odgård
The dream of becoming a designer has lived in Mads Odgård for as long as he can remember, so when the time came, he left his birthplace, the Danish town of Kjellerup, and moved to Copenhagen to work in the creative business.
Mogens Lassen
Architect Mogens Lassen created works rooted in cubist architectural ideals inspired by Le Corbusier. Considered a pioneer of functionalism in Denmark, Lassen’s designs showcased his ability to express ideas through diverse materials.
Morten Gøttler
Born in Copenhagen, and originally trained in shipping, Morten Gøttler became a self-taught designer and architect recognized for his exceptional understanding of wood and strong belief that innovation is the foundation for successful design.
Naja Utzon Popov
Danish designer Utzon Popov’s life-long exposure to contemporary design is reflected in her work, where she translates her encounters with nature into textiles, glassware, ceramics and sculptures. Her inspiring designs can be seen around the world.
Nanna Ditzel
Her desire to explore spaces and experiment with techniques on the edge of what is possible led Nanna Ditzel – one of Danish design’s most distinctive personalities – to become acquainted with the entire design universe.
Ole Wanscher
Ole Wanscher was integral to the aesthetic and functionality of modern Danish design. Having studied under Kaare Klint, he helped shape Danish furniture design as a designer and as an educator when he took over Klint’s professorship at the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts.
Poul Kjærholm
Poul Kjærholm mixed his strict, modern idiom with superior quality and materials rooted in Danish craftsmanship traditions. Despite his short career as a furniture designer, Kjærholm’s craftsmanship and clear expression resulted in timeless designs with a global influence.
Fabricius & Kastholm
Het designduo specialiseerde zich in meubeldesign en eengezinswoningen en hun ontwerpen kenmerkten zich door minimalisme, verfijning, functionaliteit, kwaliteit en hun oog voor detail.
Rikke Frost
Danish designer Rikke Frost has always been curious about the combination of different craft traditions and types of material, a fact clearly reflected in her design portfolio where traditional and contemporary design is expressed in sofas, tables, chairs and lamps with an organic idiom.
Strand & Hvass
The Strand + Hvass duo is part of a new breed of Danish designers whose work continues in a direct line from their celebrated predecessors. With the Extend Table design, they infused the modern Danish furniture tradition with a bold new expression.
Tadao Ando
Japanese architect Tadao Ando bases his work on a design philosophy that unites Japanese design traditions with modern Western expression. Inspired by Le Corbusier, Ando’s style is minimalistic and innovative, with a focus on functionality.
Thomas Bo Kastholm
Thomas Bo Kastholm creates designs that unite diverse materials into compelling compositions with clear purpose. The TK8 Daybed, with its close ties to the core principles of classic, modern Danish design, exemplifies Kastholm’s ideals.
Wanneer u kiest voor een product van Carl Hansen & Søn, krijgt u meer dan alleen een meubelstuk. U wordt onderdeel van een trotse traditie van onderscheidend, prachtig vakmanschap, waar niets aan het toeval is overgelaten. Wij zijn de grootste fabrikant ter wereld van meubelen die zijn ontworpen door Hans J. Wegner en we produceren ook meubelen van gerenommeerde meubelontwerpers zoals Arne Jacobsen, Børge Mogensen, Ole Wanscher, Kaare Klint, Poul Kjærholm, Bodil Kjær en Tadao Ando. Carl Hansen & Søn staat voor meer dan 100 jaar Deense designgeschiedenis. Onze meubelen worden over de hele wereld verkocht.
*Bij aankopen vanaf € 59