The Silver Fund

In an article about a Danish designer published in 1931 in the prominent journal Samleren, it was stated that “Denmark is grateful to him for his major contribution to Danish applied art” and that his designs in silver exemplify “excellent taste and sense for beautiful lines.”  The subject of the article is Johan Rohde and the author is none other than his close friend and colleague, Georg Jensen, Jensen’s profiles a tribute to his old friend and his respect for Rohde is underscored by the fact that it is one of only two articles he ever wrote; the other is an autobiographical piece that also appeared in Samleren.

Johan Rohde (1856-1935) was a distinguished Danish painter, graphic artist, designed and critic.  Born into a well-to-do merchant family in Randers, he went on to a career in art.  In 1875, he studied painting and drawing in the studio of Fredrik Rohde, Wenzel Tornøe, and C.F. Andersen.  In 1881-82, he attended the Kunstakademiet (Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts).  From 1883 through 1887, he studied at the Kunsternes Studieskole (Artists’ Studio School), where on the his teachers, acclaimed painter P.S. Krøyour, passed along a strong interest in progressive trends in French painting.

By the late 1880s, Rohde had achieved recognition for his painting and his work was included in important exhibitions held in Denmark and Germany.  He was a member of the avant garde and a prominent rebel within the Danish art world.  In 1882, he took the lead in creating the Kunsternes Studieskole (Artists’ Studio School), which was in opposition to the antiquated methods of instruction at the Kunstakademiet.  As a consequence of these, several years later he also took the lead in creating Den Frie Udstillingen (The Free Exhibition) in order to provide an exhibition venue for secessionist artists whose work was rejected by the establishment’s exhibition, Charlottenborg Udstillingen (Charlottenborg Exhibition).  The first Den Frie Udstillingen, held in 1891, was a success.  The exhibition became an annual event and Denmark’s premier showcase for progressive art.  Rohde, whose artistic taste was extremely advanced, was responsible for organizing a remarkable special exhibition of the work of Paul Gauguin and Vincent van Gogh at the Den Frie Udstilling of 1893.  It is interesting to note that a sculpture by an aspiring young artist named Georg Jensen was included in the 1897 Den Frie Udstillingen.

Like a number of Danish artists of his day, Rohde became interested in applying his artistic skills outside the boundaries of painting.  Subsequently, he drew the architectural plans for his own home and set about designing furniture, silver flatware and hollowware, and other objects that would be used within it.  It was this excursion into applied art that led his to Georg Jensen.

In 1907, having drawn designs for pieces of hollowware for his own use and crafted clay models of them, Rohde went to see Georg Jensen, who had by then established a small silver workshop, about having the designed executed in silver.  He was drawn to Jensen because of the way his workshop treated silver, particularly the high quality of its chasing and its preference for a matt finish, Jensen took on Rohde’s commission and produced a tea set from his designs, one with greater refinement of form and less ornamentation than was the norm.  The collaboration was pleasing to both men and it led to an agreement that Rohde would create designs for silver objects and Jensen would make and sell them.  Jensen and Rohbe worked well together and they forged a friendship that continued for the rest of their lives.

During the early years of the Jensen Silversmithy, two designers were preeminent – George Jensen and Johan Rohde.  Their styles were quite different, however.  Jensen favored complex, exuberantly ornamented forms in the skønvirke manner, while Rohde preferred to downplay ornament in order to emphasize form and line.  Rohde’s principal contribution to the silversmithy was the large number of impressive holloware designs he created.  Perhaps the most famous is pitcher number 432A, designed in 1920.  An extremely modern design, it was considered so advanced that it was withheld from production until 1925.  It has since become an icon of twentieth-century design.  Rohde also created designed for flatware and jewelry.  His flatware patterns are “Konge” (Acron) – the most successful of all Jensen patterns – “Dronning” (Acanthus; 1917), “Scroll” (1927), and “Rune” (Mayan; 1937).  The few items of jewelry he designed tend to be fairly complex compositions characterized by curved lines and dense, feathery filigree work.

Without a doubt, Johan Rohde’s “excellent taste and sense for beautiful lines” had a profound impact on the development of a distinctive “Jensen style” during the silversmithy’s first two decades.  In addition, Rohde’s engagement as a designer confirmed the wisdom of bringing in talented designers whose fresh ideas and creative energy could help the firm stay at the forefront of contemporary design – a policy to which the firm has subscribed ever since.