In Depth

Danish Design

While there's been a massive postwar output of modern furniture in Norway and Sweden, and architectural innovations by such Finnish designers as Alvar Aalto, the streamlined, uncluttered look of modern Scandinavian design is most associated with Denmark. This is due in part to innovations made during the 1950s by such local luminaries as Hans Wegner, Poul Kjærholm, and Arne Jacobsen, who were trained as architects. Connoisseurs who appreciate their radical departures from previous styles avidly showcase their mid-century furniture and tableware designs.

The original inspiration for Danish design is believed to be the organic curves of Art Nouveau, where critics have defined sinuousness and an uncluttered elegance as "the curved line in love with itself." Danish modern managed to transform Art Nouveau from a decorative, nonessential adornment into an aesthetically pleasing, utilitarian stylistic approach that coincided with the industrial boom in Europe after World War II.

What makes a desirable and sought-after piece of Danish design? Some critics have referred to it as "structural vigor," others as "the visual expression of a socially just society" or "aesthetic functionalism," through simple and straightforward materials, including wood (usually oak, maple, ash, and, to a lesser degree, walnut and teak), steel, aluminum, silver, and copper. The best pieces of Danish modern stress flawless craftsmanship, a design that suits the ergonomics of the object's intended use, and subservience of form to function. Respect for the beauty of the components of a piece demands use of the finest materials. The artful simplicity of each piece is achieved only after laborious hours of lathering, polishing, mortise-and-tenoning, and fitting the components into a simple whole.

As the postwar years progressed, new industrial processes developed experimental materials (which later became mainstream): Bakelite, high-grade plastics, spun aluminum, and spun steel. All these were carefully integrated into the growing canon of tenets associated with Danish modern, especially the integrity of design plus aesthetically pleasing functionalism.

Home design before World War II embodied clunky bourgeois ideals. Following the devastation of the war and its aftermath, the modern design movement emerged from the peculiar corner of the world that was Denmark, a land that during the 1950s found itself uncomfortably positioned between eastern and western Europe. Danish joie de vivre rose to the challenge. Within the streamlined designs, there's an implicit belief in the intelligence of the consumer as typified in the socialist idealism of the 1930s, and an implied rejection of the romantic ideals, arrogant nationalism, and imperialism that motivated some of the carnage of World War II. There's also an endearing (perhaps even quaint) sense of optimism that science and technology can alleviate many of society's problems and ills.

The style was unusual for what it was, and perhaps even more unusual for what it was not. There isn't a trace of kitschiness about it -- the very fact that the best examples of the style have endured for almost half a century (with few alterations or adaptations) attests to its timelessness. In contrast, the Naugahyde sofas and Eisenhower-era "moderne" accessories that swept across other parts of the world look hopelessly outdated today.

The allure of Danish modern hasn't been lost on art historians: Most visitors to Copenhagen's Museum of Decorative and Applied Art head straight for the Danish modern exhibits, featuring works that were purchased directly from the designers and artists in the 1950s. Hot objects on the auction circuit that fetch high prices today include mid-century cocktail shakers and the ergonomically balanced "egg chairs."