Sunday Read: The Designs of Arne Jacobsen

In The Designs of Arne Jacobsen: Interiors, Furniture, Lighting and Textiles, 1925–1971, authors Thomas Dickson and Henrik Lund-Larsen trace the life and work of one of Denmark’s most visionary modernists. Best known for his Egg, Swan, and Series 7 chairs, Arne Jacobsen was a designer who helped define the clean, functional aesthetic now synonymous with Scandinavian design. His belief in total design — that every element, from the building to the cutlery, should form a harmonious whole — shaped the look and feel of modern living across the 20th century.

Book Jacket for The Designs of Arne Jacobsen: Interiors, Furniture, Lighting and Textiles, 1925–1971. Courtesy of Prestel.

Yet, as this extensively researched book reveals, Jacobsen’s legacy is richer and more collaborative than history often records. Alongside his celebrated furniture and architecture, he designed over 150 textile patterns, many of which were created in partnership with his wife, Jonna Jacobsen. A trained printer and designer, Jonna’s contribution was essential to bringing Arne’s ideas from paper to print. Her technical skill, eye for rhythm, and sensitivity to colour gave life to his painted motifs, translating them into vivid, repeatable designs for fabric.

Kløver (Clover), 1944. Photo: Arne Jacobsen Design.

Their creative partnership began during the Second World War, when the couple fled Nazi-occupied Denmark and sought refuge in Sweden. It was here that their shared work with pattern began to flourish. While Jacobsen turned his attention to botanical studies, Jonna’s mastery of textile printing helped turn those sketches into textiles filled with light, hope, and nature as a quiet antidote to the darkness of war...

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Image Credits:

Lead: Arne Jacobsen, Hyacinter (Hyacinths), 1948.

All other further images as credited in captions.