Arne Jacobsen Swan Lounge Chair #4325 in Teak & Black leather, Fritz Hansen 60s

Literature: C. Thau and K. Vindum, Arne Jacobsen, Copenhagen, 2001, p. 438
A. Karlsen, Danish Furniture Design: in the 20th Century, Volume 2, Copenhagen, 2007, pp. 214-217.

The Swan was designed as part of Arne Jacobsen’s elaborate total interior design for the SAS Royal Hotel (now Radisson Collection Royal Hotel). During the 1950s, its free, sculptural form made the Swan the image of a new era, and today, more than 60 years later, the design is found in public space and private homes around the world.

When the SAS Royal Hotel opened in 1960, it was Copenhagen’s first skyscraper and a symbol of a new age of prosperity, travel and international outlook. Both inside and out, the hotel was designed by Arne Jacobsen, and today, it is widely considered his principal accomplishment. With Swan and Egg chairs as pivotal features, Arne Jacobsen composed an elaborate total design characterized by harmony and resonance throughout and with rich detailing in materials, patterns, colours and shapes. In this holistic design, the Swan’s soft, organic lines struck a contrast to the right angles and minimalist aesthetic of the architecture.
The chair’s organic expression is the result of Arne Jacobsen’s artistic approach to design and a novel technological method that Fritz Hansen had secured the rights to in the mid 1950s. With this new method, furniture could be shaped in a hard foam material, and the design was thus no longer limited to the technical capacities of wood. Like a sculptor, Arne Jacobsen could model his chairs in plaster and clay before continuing the development process at the factory in collaboration with Fritz Hansen’s technical experts. The result was groundbreaking, as it set the design free from the limitations of traditional materials. Using this method, Arne Jacobsen created some of his most famous and innovative furniture designs, such as the Swan, the Egg and the Drop, which combined exceptional craftsmanship, modern technology and free artistic form in sculptural furniture.