Kaare Klint
(1888-1954), the man behind classics such as the Safari
Chair and the Faaborg Chair, is considered the father
of Danish furniture design. For Kaare Klint, the son of architect
Peder Vilhelm Jensen-Klint, exposure to architecture was a natural
part of his early development. However, it was primarily as a
furniture designer that Kaare Klint made his mark on Danish
architecture.
Kaare Klint was
born in 1888 in Frederiksberg and designed his first furniture in
1914, for the Faaborg Museum. From the beginning, Klint's furniture
was characterized by harmony between his choice of form and
materials, often inspired by earlier styles or other
cultures.
Klint helped found the Royal
Academy of Fine Arts Furniture School in 1923, and was appointed
professor there in 1924. In this role, he inspired and taught a
number of prominent Danish furniture designers, who went on to pave
the way for the golden age of Danish design, from 1945 to
1975.
Kaare Klint
also founded the Furniture and Spatial Design Department at the
Royal Academy of Fine Arts, where he employed a teaching method
considered radical in his day. He asked students to construct
furniture items from the inside out, based on thorough
pre-analysis. The outward style was less significant; instead, the
focus was on function analysis, choice of materials, and material
processing.
Klint's influence led to a
comprehensive renewal of Danish furniture design. He demanded clear
and logical structures, with nothing superficial - only honest,
pure lines, the best materials, and genuine
craftsmanship.