The Best of Hans Wegner in the Marketplace

There’s a big difference between understanding the concept of a design style and recognizing individual artists’ work; Danish modernism has a lot of common themes that can make it easy to grasp, but designers like Verner Panton and Arne Jacobsen have unique attributes all their own. Let’s start your formal design training with a look at how exactly Hans Wegner has maintained popularity well into the modern era.

You know you’re dealing with a future design prodigy when their origin story includes being a “child apprentice” to a cabinetmaker. Young Hans Wegner stayed dedicated to the craft of woodworking all the way through into adulthood, where he eventually ended up working for Arne Jacobsen after completing his education in architecture and carpentry. While Jacobsen was responsible for the construction of the Arhaus City Hall, Wegner began his influence over the design world by crafting the interior furniture.

Wegner’s design approach was said to be “stripping the old chairs of their outer style and letting them appear in their pure construction.” This meant an emphasis on comfort and simplicity, which is evident in the designs that still grace so many modern or minimalist homes. If you had to summarize the common aesthetic themes of his work, it would be smooth wood curves paired with natural materials like rattan and leather.

And as is usually the case with the work of well-known designers, chances are you’re going to run into a bunch of knockoffs. But luckily a little background research can mean the difference between a cheap imitator and scoring the real deal.

Feeling well-versed in your Intro to Wegner studies? Throughout this post, we’ve featured some of the best pieces currently listed on the Marketplace, all ready for you to claim as your own. So for anyone wishing for a Wegner, consider this a sign to act now.