Watercolours by Hans J. Wegner reveals the private artistic practice behind one of Scandinavian design's most celebrated minds — the medium Wegner used to finalise and refine his furniture drawings, and which remained largely unseen until now.
About This Book
Hans J. Wegner designed more than 500 chairs in his lifetime, yet his watercolour practice has remained one of midcentury design's best-kept secrets. Where his furniture achieved global recognition, these works on paper show the thinking behind the objects — the searching, the resolving, the finishing. Organised thematically, the book moves through chair studies, lighting fixtures, and complete room compositions, revealing Wegner not simply as a craftsman but as a visual artist whose chosen mediums — wood and watercolour — were deliberate and boundary-pushing in equal measure. Essential reading for anyone serious about Scandinavian design, design drawing, or the intersection of craft and modernism.
Key Features
- 192 pages of thematically organised watercolour reproductions spanning chair designs, lighting fixtures, and room compositions
- Text and interpretation by Anne Blond, director of the future Wegner Museum in Denmark and author of Wegner's biography
- Published by Thames and Hudson, 2007
What You'll Discover
- How Wegner used watercolour as a finishing and finalising tool within his workshop design process — not as independent art, but as a critical stage in realising furniture
- The breadth of Wegner's design scope beyond chairs, including lighting fixtures and fully composed interior schemes
- The tension between traditional craft media and the New Media Age, and how Wegner navigated both woodworking and watercolour as acts of resistance and precision
- Thematic readings of the watercolours that open onto the artistic and intellectual dimensions of Wegner's studio practice
About the Author
Anne Blond is the director of the future Wegner Museum in Denmark and the author of Wegner's biography, published on the centennial anniversary of his birth in 2014. Her interpretation forms the critical framework through which the watercolours are presented and contextualised throughout this volume.
Specifications
- Format: Hardcover
- Pages: 192
- Dimensions: 282 x 248 mm
- Language: English
- ISBN: 9788794102568
- Publisher: Thames and Hudson
- Publication Date: 2007
Perfect For: Designers and collectors drawn to Scandinavian modernism, furniture history, and the role of drawing in design practice — as well as admirers of Finn Juhl and the broader Danish design tradition.