Georg Jensen

Georg Arthur Jensen (31 August 1866 – 2 October 1935) was a Danish silversmith and founder of Georg Jensen A/S (also known as Georg Jensen Sølvsmedie).

Early life Born in 1866, Jensen was the son of a knife grinder in the town of Raadvad, just to the north of Copenhagen. His apprenticeship with the firm Guldsmed Andersen ended in 1884, and this freed Georg to follow his artistic interests.

In 1884 he became a journeyman and in 1887 he enrolled at the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts (Kongelige Danske Kunstakademi), where he studied sculpture with Theobald Stein. This led Jensen to make a landmark decision, when in 1904, he risked what small capital he had and opened his own little silversmithy at 36 Bredgade in Copenhagen.

Jensen's training in metalsmithing along with his education in the fine arts allowed him to combine the two disciplines and revive the tradition of the artist craftsman. Soon, the beauty and quality of his Art Nouveau creations caught the eye of the public and his success was assured. His silver and jewelry designs from this period often featured plump abstract organic shapes and were accented with gemstones like amber, garnet, citrine, malachite, moonstone, and opal. This approach reflected his personal style, which was rooted in the Art Nouveau movement, but also transcended it with a more streamlined version popular in the 1920s and 1930s. The Copenhagen quarters were greatly expanded and before the end of the 1920s, Jensen had opened retail stores in Berlin (1909), London (1921), and New York City (1924).

In 1930, Adda Husted Andersen worked for Jensen in New York City, enameling homewares.

Museum collections and exhibitions During his lifetime, Jensen's work was collected by museums including the Danish Museum of Decorative Art and the Museum Folkwang.

Georg Jensen brand signs When he was twenty Georg Jensen signed his first sculpture with "My Father" (1887). In 1894 he used the markings GJ as brandsign and from 1899 he often used GJ. In most cases the year was put next to the brand sign.

Brand signs of Georg Jensen

1. Used 1904–1908 2. Used 1909–1914 3. Used 1910–1925 4. Used 1915–1930 5. Used 1915–1927 6. Used 1925–1932 7. Used in the years 1930–1939 for engravings 8. Used 1933–1944 9. Used 1945–1951 for items that were sold in Copenhagen 10. Used 1945–present

Brand signs from the designers of Georg Jensen

Source:

1. Johan Rohde (1856–1935) 2. Gundorph Albertus (1887–1970) 3. Harald Nielsen (1892–1977) 4. Arno Malinowski (1899–1976) 5. Sigvard Bernadotte (1907–2002) 6. Henning Koppel (1918–1981) 7. Bent Gabrielsen (b. 1928) 8. Nanna and Jørgen Ditzel 9. Nanna Ditzel (1923–2005) 10. Vivianna Torun Bülow-Hübe (1927–2004) 11. Allan Scharff (b. 1940)

Family tree Georg Jensen