JENSEN, Georg
Danish silversmith and sculptor. Jensen was apprenticed to a goldsmith in his teens; he later studied sculpture at the Kunstakademiet in Copenhagen. Unable to make a living as a sculptor, Jensen returned to silversmithing and worked for Mogens Ballin (1871-1941), whose fleshy and organic interpretation of Art Nouveau strongly influenced his designs. Jensen set up his first workshop, primarily making jewellery, in Copenhagen in 1904. His early designs show the influence of Art Nouveau, often characterized by full, simple forms incorporating stylized bird and flower motifs.
In 1906 he produced his first complete set of flatware, ‘Continental’, which was still in production in the 1980s. Distinctive for its restraint and the interplay between its strong silhouette and a surface animated by small hammer marks, it is a clear expression of his involvement with the Arts and Crafts Movement. Many of Jensen’s most famous pieces were produced between 1908 and 1918. In 1914 the Louvre, Paris, bought a silver bowl (1912), subsequently known as the ‘Louvre bowl’. It shows both the slightly low, bulbous profile and the use of discrete bands of decoration that are typical of his hollow-ware.
In 1907, Jensen entered into a lifelong partnership with the painter Johan Rohde (1856-1935), who was responsible for several important designs, including the successful flatware pattern ‘Acorn’ (1915).
Jensen designs are displayed at the Georg Jensen Museum in the company’s main Copenhagen shop.
