Hans Agne Jakobsson

HANS AGNE JAKOBSSON (Sweden, 1919–2009)
Pair of ceiling lamps.
Brass and smoked glass.
In working condition.
Measurements: 110 x 60 cm (x2).
Pair of ceiling lamps, each with six lights. True to Jakobsson’s philosophy, both pieces use smoked blown-glass cylinders to cover the bulbs and diffuse a soft, warm, and ambient light, avoiding direct glare.
Hans-Agne Jakobsson was a Swedish interior and furniture designer, born in Gotland, Sweden. He is known for his glare-free light fixtures, inspired by the “Organic Modern” concept of Poul Henningsen and Alvar Aalto. He began designing at age 18 and later graduated with a degree in architecture from Gothenburg. He started his career as an assistant to Carl Malmsten and Werner West, the latter known as a master of interior design.After gaining experience as a designer at various companies, including General Motors, he founded his own lighting company, Hans-Agne Jakobsson AB, in Markaryd, where he began manufacturing lighting fixtures and furniture of his own design.
To understand the philosophy behind his work, it is interesting to turn to his own words: “Here in Scandinavia, we have always regarded the art of Japanese interior decoration as an excellent model of simplicity and functionality. The way of life of our people, combined with our inherited traditions, is so diverse that we can rarely apply ideas from other countries to our own. However, I believe that the pine-veneer lamps depicted here possess some of the warmth and gentle intimacy that we Scandinavians are inclined to associate with the atmosphere created in Japanese interior design.”