Knud W. Jensen

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Knud John Peter Wadum Jensen (born December 7, 1916 in Frederiksberg , Denmark , † December 12, 2000 in Humlebæk , Denmark) was a Danish art collector, museum director and businessman. He is best known for being the founder and director of the Louisiana Museum of Modern Art for decades .

Life

Jensen came from a wealthy, educated background and was interested in literature from a young age, later he was friends with Tania Blixen for decades . In order to further his education in languages ​​and commerce, he stayed in Germany, Switzerland, France, Belgium and Great Britain between 1936 and 1938, briefly studying art history in Lausanne. In 1939 he joined his father's company "Ost en gros". Before and during the Second World War, Jensen belonged to the group "Ringen" ("Ring") of young Danes who sympathized with German culture and literature and National Socialism. After his father's death in 1944, he took over the company, Denmark's largest exporter of cheese and dairy products, and sold it to Kraft Foods in 1956 following a takeover bid . In 1945 Jensen founded the Wivel publishing house together with Ole Wivel . In 1948 Jensen was one of the founders of the literary magazine Heretica . In 1952 he acquired the majority of shares in the traditional Gyldendag publishing house . In 1956 he established the Louisiana Foundation to operate the museum of the same name and in 1966 a second foundation ("Museum Foundation") to enable acquisitions of the museum.

In 1984 Jensen received an honorary doctorate from Lund University . In 1991 he received the Ingenio et arti medal .

Louisiana Museum of Modern Art

Gardens of the Louisiana Museum of Modern Art with works by Alexander Calder

Jensen was the founder of the Louisiana Museum of Modern Art ("Louisiana"), which opened in Humlebæk (between Copenhagen and Helsingör ) in 1958 , which he headed until 1993 and was responsible for its very successful museum concept. The museum combines the landscape of its location directly on the sea with architecture (historical summer villa and modern museum buildings embedded in the landscape) and modern art, etc. a. in the form of large sculptures in the park surrounding the museum.

The Louisiana site was a historic property. Jensen commissioned the two architects Vilhelm Wohlert and Jørgen Bo to build the art museum . Construction began in the summer of 1957. Louisiana's original curatorial program was based on modern Danish art. But soon after the museum opened on August 14, 1958, Jensen changed his focus towards international western art (Europe and North America) , under the influence of the documenta II in Kassel organized by Arnold Bode in 1959. Large exhibitions on archaeological topics, such as Egypt and Mexico, were also shown. As early as the 1960s, Louisiana achieved international fame as a museum and exhibition venue for contemporary art, in whose conception the experience of art through the viewer plays a central role. For this purpose, Jensen worked directly with artists whose works shape the collection and the image of Louisiana to this day, in particular Alexander Calder , Henry Moore and Alberto Giacometti .

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c d e f Knud W. Jensen: My Louisiana life . Ritter Verlag, Klagenfurt 1991, ISBN 3-85415-081-4 .
  2. ↑ a b Knud W. Jensen. In: Dansk Biografisk Leksikon. Retrieved June 9, 2020 .
  3. ↑ a b c d Sager, Peter: The possessed: Encounters with art collectors between Aachen and Tokyo . DuMont, Cologne 1992, ISBN 3-7701-2741-2 , pp. 158-173 .
  4. ↑ When Louisiana stole the picture. An illustrated book about the Museum of Modern Art on the Oresund. In: Kulturhus Berlin. Retrieved June 9, 2020 .
  5. ^ Dust jacket of the book My Louisiana Lives by Knud W. Jensen, Ritter-Verlag, Klagenfurt, 1991
  6. ↑ Jensen, Knud W. In: Boghandlere i Danmark. Retrieved June 9, 2020 .
  7. ^ The Louisiana History. In: Louisiana Museum of Modern Art homepage. Retrieved May 30, 2020 .
  8. ↑ Knud W. Jensen. In: The Danske store. Retrieved June 9, 2020 .
  9. ^ Dey, Reinhold: Denmark . 4th edition, completely revised. and newly designed edition Baedeker, Ostfildern (Kemnat) 1994, ISBN 3-87504-185-2 .
personal data
SURNAME Jensen, Knud W.
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Jensen, Knud John Peter Wadum
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Danish art collector, museum director and businessman
DATE OF BIRTH December 7, 1916
PLACE OF BIRTH Frederiksberg , Denmark
DATE OF DEATH December 12, 2000
Place of death Humlebæk , Denmark