The Series 7 Chair by Arne Jacobsen is, by far, the best-selling chair in the history of Fritz Hansen and, perhaps, in the history of furniture altogether.
Made from die-cast plywood, it can be considered the culmination of the research undertaken by Arne Jacobsen to make best use of the possibilities offered by the lamination technique, which Søren C. Hansen, grandson of the founder Fritz Hansen, had developed in the twenties and thirties.
Arne Jacobsen first designed the Ant chair, which he evolved to design the Series 7, more stable and comfortable. Light and stackable, available in numerous versions (padded, with armrests, casters, etc.), the Series 7 chair fits into all environments, from dining rooms to offices, including kitchens and bathrooms. meetings, making it the chair with the greatest range of use in the Fritz Hansen collection.
Arne Jacobsen is born on February 11, 1902 in Copenhagen. His father, Johan Jacobsen, is a wholesale trader in safety pins and snap fasteners. His mother, Pouline Jacobsen, a bank clerk, paints floral motifs in her spare time. The family lived in a typical Victorian style home. As a contrast to his parents’ overly decorated taste, Arne paints his room in white.
Background & school relations
He met the Lassen brothers at Nærum Boarding School: later, Flemming Lassen was to become his partner in a series of architectural projects. Arne Jacobsen is a restless pupil, always up to pranks, with a self-deprecating humour. Already as a child, he showed an extraordinary talent for drawing and depicting nature through scrupulous studies. He wants to be painter, but his father felt that architect was a more sensible choice.
The Pleasant and the necessary trips abroad
Jacobsen’s travelling begin already in his twenties, when he went to sea to New York. Then followed an apprenticeship as a bricklayer in Germany and a series of study and drawing excursions to Italy. Jacobsen produced some of his finest watercolours during this period, capturing atmospheres and shapes accurately and carefully. From the beginning of his career, Jacobsen turned his gaze abroad, without abandoning Danish traditions.
Arne Jacobsen behind the design
Jacobsen production reflects his personality: an insistent, perfectionist modernist, to whom no detail was trivial, although the main picture was basically black/white and unambiguous. On the other hand, the nature-loving botanist and jovial family man: like him, his work is precise and warm, Danish and universal, modern and timeless.
