Robert Jacobsen
Robert Julius Tommy Jacobsen (born June 4, 1912 in Copenhagen , † January 26, 1993 in Tågelund near Egtved ) was an internationally known Danish sculptor , painter and graphic artist . He was a representative of abstract art after the Second World War . His specialty was Concrete Art .
life and work
As a sculptor, Jacobsen was an autodidact . He made his first sculptures out of wood. In 1947 he went to Paris on an art scholarship . There he developed a close friendship with the artists Richard Mortensen and Asger Jorn . Jacobsen lived and worked in Paris until 1969. He was accepted into the artistic circle of the Denise René gallery . From 1947 he made his first iron sculptures, some of which he had his artist friend Jean Dewasne painted. He made his sculptures from open iron structures. Jacobsen distanced himself with his sculpture from closed forms to open space. His iron sculptures solve the problem of how space is to be encircled by three-dimensional, strictly geometric, sometimes cubic forms on the one hand, and how to make it visible as negative volume on the other, from different approaches and in series of works that are laid out according to the principle of free variations of a theme. These sculptures with their rigid or curved surfaces, which a frame gently and compulsorily hold in a single correct position, so that an immovable constellation has arisen, which delimits, even defines, a certain space possibility smoothly and sharply - these sculptures are of great persuasive power . This is a way of sculptural design that strives for a figure that has something to do with music, with ballet: an elegant, yet extremely strict figure who “stands” for a moment, holds its breath - and in this sense Jacobsen's sculptures hold The 1950s to 1960s catch their breath, thus providing proof of Lessing's theory, which he formulated by the Laocoon group : Jacobsen also uses it to show the “fertile moment”, not the “extreme”, the moment whose form definition is to be thought further can put into motion. He colored his sculptures black. In addition to sculpture, Jacobsen also created colored graphics and numerous paintings. In 1959 he was a participant in documenta 2 in Kassel in the plastic department .
“At the beginning of the 1950s, sculptures followed that were conceived much more strictly: distinctly built, constructive works that are characterized by their clear tectonics. In them, different spatial levels are interwoven in a very unusual way. Fragile, extremely graphical elements confidently network and tension the space: gusset-shaped iron parts suggest centrifugal dynamics, rhomboid or diamond-shaped frames - hung vertically or horizontally - dissolve the weight of the material through the impression of floating and at the same time undermine them through their intrinsic diagonal the classic references from vertical to horizontal, punched sheets dissolve the matter, vertically standing, bow-shaped welded iron strips - sometimes pointing outwards, sometimes pointing inwards - stabilize these spatial structures from one of the sides, similar to the buttresses of Gothic architecture. The works of Jacobsen's creative period shaped the dialectic between what is concretely enclosed and the medium of the surrounding space: the hermetic, inwardly related always corresponds to the opening to the outside, indeed the aggressive adaptation of the surrounding space, making it tangible. As Lothar Romain puts it, force fields arise. "
His son-in-law Bernard Léauté was a close confidante and collaborator. With his beloved jazz music, Robert gave his works the "finishing touch" with playful ease and with high concentration - a meditative state of trance. Every nuance was carefully considered.
In addition to his life in France, Jacobsen held the chair for sculpture at the Academy of Fine Arts in Munich . He taught there from 1962 to 1981. From 1976 to 1985 Robert Jacobsen was professor at the Royal Danish Academy of Art in Copenhagen .
Jacobsen has received numerous prizes and awards for his work, including:
- Grand Prize for Plastic at the Venice Biennale (1966)
- Thorwaldsen Medal (1967)
- Prince Eugene Medal of Sweden (1974)
- Honorary member of the Academy of Fine Arts Munich (1979)
- Officer of the Legion of Honor of the Académie Française (1980)
- Commander of the Dannebrog Order (1983)
- Commandeur des arts et des lettres , Paris (1987).
Robert Jacobsen died in 1993 on his country estate in Tågelund near Egtved .
Artistic legacy
Jacobsen left an extensive graphic and painterly work. Plastic works, however, played the main role in his artistic work.
In 1993, in his memory, the Robert Jacobsen Prize of the Würth Foundation was launched, which is awarded every two years to visual artists to promote them.
"... everyone, of course, must know with whom he is dealing. A former badminton champion, a film actor, a former sailor, a whale butcher, an ex-barman, an antiquarian, a musician (jazz to be sure) a chaufeur, a confectioner and a croupler, a grandfather at thirty-seven, the Danish Robert Jacobsen is certainly one of the best sculptors of our time, a worthy successor of the Rumanian Brâncuşi, of the Russian Pevsner, of the American Calder and of one or two others whom you may choose according to you tastes ... "
“... everyone should of course be aware of who they are dealing with here ... The Dane Robert Jacobsen is certainly one of the best iron sculptors of our time, a worthy successor to the Romanian Brancusi, the Russian Pevsner, the American Alexander Calder and one or two others which you can choose according to your personal taste ... "
"Your sculpture is very beautiful and exceptional in its balance."
"Jacobsen's art is the expression of this state of permanent grace, this inner wealth."
“... He was successful, received honors and taught at the Munich Academy from 1962 to 1982. In the 1950s, Robert Jacobsen, the sculptor born in Copenhagen in 1912, was one of the great artistic personalities who led the avant-garde of the profession. He was particularly successful in Paris, and his work was awarded the Grand Prize for Sculpture at the 1966 Venice Biennale, together with that of Etienne Martin ... The work is living art history and continues into the present. "
“The black-painted sculptures have simply become classics within post-war constructivism. They are like simple signs that have been drawn freely in space with a filled ink brush. The heavy iron was made light and floating. The sculptures are sleek and graceful, but also reserved and puritanical in nature. The material iron has been neutralized by the anonymous color, the sculptures have become one with their purpose of being the nerve cords of the construction. "
"Art is the vitamin C of the soul."
"My ideal has always remained the same: to force the unknown into shape."
Museums with works by Robert Jacobsen:
Denmark:
- Statens Museum for Kunst, Copenhagen
- NY Carlsberg Glyptotek, Copenhagen
- Louisiana Museum, Humlebæk
- Esbjerg Statskole, Esbjerg
- Fyens Abbey Museum, Odense
- Kastrup Museum, Kastrup
- Nordjyllands Art Museum, Aalborg
- Herning Art Museum, Herning
Belgium:
- Musee d'Art Wallon, lounger
- Musee d'Ixelles, Brussels
Brazil:
- Museo de Arte Moderna, São Paulo
Germany:
- From the Heydt Museum , Wuppertal
- Lehmbruck Museum, Duisburg
- Glaskasten Sculpture Museum, Marl
- Kunsthalle Kiel , Kiel
- New Pinakothek Munich
- Municipal gallery in the Lenbachhaus, Munich
- Art gallery in Emden Foundation Henri Nannen, Emden
- Museum Würth, Künzelsau
- Kunsthalle Würth, Schwäbisch Hall
- Wilhelm Hack Museum, Ludwigshafen
- Municipal art gallery, Mannheim
Finland:
- Didrichsenin Taidemuseo, Helsinki
France:
- Musee National d'Art Moderne, Paris
- Center Pompidou, Paris
- Musee des Beaux-Arts , Rennes
- Fond National d'Art Contemporain
- Musee Rodin Paris
- Musee d'Art Contemporain, Dunkirk
- Musee de la Princerie, Verdun
- Musee de Peinture et de Sculpture, Grenoble
- Musee des arts contemporain, Abbaye Saint-André, Meymac
Netherlands:
- Stedelijk Museum , Amsterdam
- Rijksmuseum Kröller-Müller, Otterloo
- Gemeentemuseum, La Haye
- Cobra Museum , Amstelveen
Norway:
- National Gallery, Oslo
- Bergens Billedgallerie, Bergen
- Sonja Henies and Niels Onstads Stiftelser, Hovikodden
- Stavanger Museum, Stavanger
Sweden:
- Moderna Museet, Stockholm
- Arkiv for Decorative Art, Lund
Switzerland:
- Musee des Beaux-Arts, La Chaux-de-Fonds
Hungary:
- Magyar Nemzeti Muzeum, Budapest
UNITED STATES:
- Museum of Art, Carnegie Institute, Pittsburgh
- Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, Washington
- Herzog Foundation, New York
- Carnegie Institute, Philadelphia
- Portland, Oregon
Selection of large sculptures:
- Tientsin, China
- UNESCO Headquarters, Paris, France
- UNIQA Group, Vienna, Austria
- Olympic Park, Seoul, South Korea
- Abbaye Saint-André, Meymac, France
- Art pavilion, Esbjerg
- Danish Technical University, Kgs. Lyngby, Denmark
- Lego plant, Billund
- Lindø Shipyard, Odense
- Fountain, Gladsaxe, Denmark
- Roskilde, Denmark
literature
- Exhibition "Le Sculpteur. Robert Jacobsen sculpteur danois" Jean Dewasne. Denise René Gallery. Copenhague 1951
- Exhibition catalog for documenta II (1959) in Kassel: II.documenta'59. Art after 1945 Catalog: Volume 1: Painting; Volume 2: Sculpture; Volume 3: Graphic Art; Text tape. Kassel / Cologne 1959
- Exhibition catalog "Robert Jacobsen" Eugene Ionescu. Stedelijk Museum. Amsterdam 1960
- Exhibition in the Stangl Gallery; "Robert Jacobsen" Munich February - March 1965
- Exhibition Kunsthalle zu Kiel "The sculptor Robert Jacobsen and his world" Kiel 1975
- Exhibition "Robert Jacobsen" Gunnar Jespersen. Oslo 1978
- Exhibition "Robert Jacobsen - Le createur d'Espace" Hans Moestrup. SDS spare cash registers. 1984
- Exhibition Städtische Kunsthalle Mannheim "Space and Signs Works by the Sculptor" Mannheim 1987
- "Robert Jacobsen. Ny Glass Art" Hebsgaard, Per Steen. Edition Hebsgaard 1991
- Exhibition "Biographical Sketches - Works from 50 Years" Museum Würth by Lothar Romain and C. Sylvia Weber. With contributions by Werner Hofmann, Eugene Ioneso, Jens Christian Jensen, Willi Lindermair, Lothar Romain and C. Sylvia Weber.
- Exhibition "Robert Jacobsen & Paris. 1947-1959" Mette Höjsgaard Statens Museum for Kunst. Köbenhavn 2001
Web links
- Robert Jacobsen at Andreas Ostler, art consultant
- Examples of his work ( Memento from February 13, 2013 in the web archive archive.today )
- gallery ostler sculptures; painting; graphics.
- Literature by and about Robert Jacobsen in the catalog of the German National Library
- Materials by and about Robert Jacobsen in the documenta archive
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Jacobsen, Robert |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Jacobsen, Robert Julius Tommy (full name) |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Danish sculptor, painter and graphic artist |
| DATE OF BIRTH | June 4, 1912 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Copenhagen |
| DATE OF DEATH | January 26, 1993 |
| Place of death | Tågelund at Egtved |