 Ant chair on display in Design Museum Denmark | |
| Designer | Arne Jacobsen |
|---|---|
| Date | 1952 |
| Materials | Plastic, veneer |
| Style / tradition | Modernist |
| Sold by | Fritz Hansen (Denmark) |
The Ant (Danish : Myren) chair is a classic of modern chair design. [1] [2] It was designed in 1952 by Arne Jacobsen for use in the canteen of the Danish pharmaceutical firm Novo Industries (now Novo Nordisk).
The Ant was named for its approximate similarity to the outline of an ant with its head raised. [3] [4] [5] The chair was designed to be light, stable, easy to stack up, and to minimise tangling the user's feet. The original model had three plastic legs and a seat made from form-moulded laminated veneer;
Jacobsen designed his first building for NOVO Industries on Nordre Fasanvej in 1934-1935 and continued to work for them throughout his career, building several factories in Denmark and Germany. The Ant chair was created for the canteen of the Novo factory in Frederiksberg. Allegedly, Fritz Hansen had already been presented with Jacobsen's Ant chair design but was reluctant to put it into production. When a Novo director visited Jacobsen's studio and showed interest in the model, Jensen told him that it had been created for use in their canteen. [6] Novo Industries ordered 300 of chairs, enough to convince Fritz Hansen that it should go into production. The chair has since proved very popular although the plastic in the legs was replaced by tubular steel, and a version with four legs was also made. [7] [8]
Arne Emil Jacobsen, Hon. FAIA 11 February 1902 – 24 March 1971) was a Danish architect and furniture designer. He is remembered for his contribution to architectural functionalism and for the worldwide success he enjoyed with simple well-designed chairs.
Hans Jørgensen Wegner was a Danish furniture designer. His work, along with a concerted effort from several of his manufacturers, contributed to the international popularity of mid-century Danish design. His style is often described as Organic Functionality, a modernist school with emphasis on functionality. This school of thought arose primarily in Scandinavian countries with contributions by Poul Henningsen, Alvar Aalto, and Arne Jacobsen.
Verner Panton is considered one of Denmark's most influential 20th-century furniture and interior designers. During his career, he created innovative and futuristic designs in a variety of materials, especially plastics, and in vibrant and exotic colors. His style was very "1960s" but regained popularity at the end of the 20th century. As of 2004, Panton's best-known furniture models are still in production.
The Egg is a chair designed by Arne Jacobsen in 1959 for the Radisson SAS hotel in Copenhagen, Denmark. It is manufactured by Republic of Fritz Hansen.
The Model 3107 chair is a chair designed by Arne Jacobsen in 1955. It is a variation on the Ant Chair, also designed by Arne Jacobsen. Over five million units have been produced exclusively by Fritz Hansen.
Danish design is a style of functionalistic design and architecture that was developed in mid-20th century. Influenced by the German Bauhaus school, many Danish designers used the new industrial technologies, combined with ideas of simplicity and functionalism to design buildings, furniture and household objects, many of which have become iconic and are still in use and production. Prominent examples are the Egg chair, the PH lamps and the Sydney Opera House (Australia).
Danish modern is a style of minimalist furniture and housewares from Denmark associated with the Danish design movement. In the 1920s, Kaare Klint embraced the principles of Bauhaus modernism in furniture design, creating clean, pure lines based on an understanding of classical furniture craftsmanship coupled with careful research into materials, proportions, and the requirements of the human body.
The Swan is a lounge chair and sofa designed by Arne Jacobsen in the Danish modern style in 1958 for the Radisson SAS Royal Hotel in Copenhagen. It is manufactured by Danish furniture manufacturer Republic of Fritz Hansen.
Fritz Hansen, also known as Republic of Fritz Hansen, is a Danish furniture design company. Designers who have worked for Fritz Hansen include Arne Jacobsen (1902–1971), Poul Kjærholm (1929–1980), Hans J. Wegner (1914–2007) and Piet Hein (1905–1996). Fritz Hansen also collaborates with contemporary furniture architects including Hiromichi Konno, Cecilie Manz, and Kasper Salto.
The Grand Prix is a stackable plywood chair, designed by the Danish architect and designer Arne Jacobsen in 1957 and presented at the Spring Exhibition of Danish arts and crafts at the Danish Museum of Art & Design in Copenhagen.
The Bellavista housing estate designed by Arne Jacobsen is the clearest example of Bauhaus architecture in Denmark. Completed in 1934, the estate is located just north of Copenhagen, in Klampenborg, Gentofte Municipality, next to Jacobsen's Bellevue Beach, which had been completed a couple of years earlier.
Flemming Lassen was a Modernist Danish architect and designer, working within the idiom of the International Style. Among his most notable buildings are libraries and cultural centres. He was the brother of Mogens Lassen, also an architect.
Aksel Bender Madsen was a Danish furniture designer who worked closely together with Ejner Larsen (1917-1987) producing a wide variety of items during the Danish modern period.
The Tongue Chair is a classic chair designed by Arne Jacobsen in 1955 for Munkegaard School in Denmark. The Tongue is a typical piece of Arne Jacobsen's style and his second completed chair design, which was created just after the Ant.
Carl Hansen & Søn is a family-owned Danish furniture company based on the island of Funen. Carl Hansen & Søn is the company behind many classical furniture designs by leading figures of the Danish modern movement but the company is also collaborating with contemporary designers. Knud Erik Hansen, its current owner and CEO, is the grandson of the founder.
Ørgreen Optics is a Danish eyewear company based in Copenhagen. They are most commonly known for their colour combinations, Danish design and Japanese-made titanium frames.
The Dot stool is an example Danish Mid-century modern seating design. It was designed and developed by Fritz Hansen in the early 1950s and refined for production in 1954 through a collaboration with Arne Jacobsen (1). The Dot stool design was modified in the 1960s by Jacobsen and was produced in 1969 (2)(5).
The Wishbone Chair, also known as the CH24 Chair or Y Chair is a chair designed by Hans Wegner in 1949 for Carl Hansen & Søn. The chair features a bentwood armrest and a paper cord rope seat in a woven envelope pattern. The chair is named after the Y or wishbone-shaped backrest. The design was inspired by Ming-era chairs.
The Round Chair is an armchair designed by Hans Wegner in 1949. The chair was a collaboration of Wegner and the now-defunct furniture maker Johannes Hansen. It is still in production today by the Danish furniture manufacturer PP Møbler.
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