Jens Jacob Nielsen Bregnø (9 February 1877 – 26 March 1946), often referred to as J. J. Bregnø, was a

Danish Danish may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to the country of Denmark People * A national or citizen of Denmark, also called a "Dane," see Demographics of Denmark * Culture of Denmark * Danish people or Danes, people with a Danish ance ...

sculptor and ceramics designer. He collaborated with

Bing & Grøndahl Bing & Grøndahl was a Danish porcelain manufacturer founded in 1853 by the sculptor Frederik Vilhelm Grøndahl and merchant brothers Meyer Hermann Bing and Jacob Herman Bing. The trademark backstamp for Bing & Grøndahl (B&G) porcelains is the t ...

, Saxbo and Dahl Jensen Porcelain and also designed silver for

Kay Bojesen Kay Bojesen (15 August 1886 – 28 August 1958) was a Danish silversmith and designer. He is best known for creating wooden animals, especially his wooden monkey which was exhibited at the Victoria and Albert museum in London in the nineteen-f ...

. He received the

Eckersberg Medal The Eckersberg Medal (originally the ''Akademiets Aarsmedaille'' or Annual Academy Medal) is an annual award of the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts. It is named after Christoffer Wilhelm Eckersberg, known as the father of Danish painting. The Ec ...

in 1919.

Early life and education

He was born in Hedensted, near

Horsens Horsens () is a city on the east coast of Jutland region of Denmark. It is the seat of the Horsens municipality. The city's population is 61,074 (1 January 2022) and the municipality's population is 94,443 (), making it the 8th largest city in De ...

, the son of shoemaker Mads Nielsen (1843–87) and Elise Laursen (1854-31). He changed his surname to Bregnø in 1913. He initially completed an apprenticeship as a

joiner A joiner is an artisan and tradesperson who builds things by joining pieces of wood, particularly lighter and more ornamental work than that done by a carpenter, including furniture and the "fittings" of a house, ship, etc. Joiners may work in ...

and

woodcarver Wood carving is a form of woodworking by means of a cutting tool (knife) in one hand or a chisel by two hands or with one hand on a chisel and one hand on a mallet, resulting in a wooden figure or figurine, or in the sculptural ornamentation ...

Aarhus Aarhus (, , ; officially spelled Århus from 1948 until 1 January 2011) is the second-largest city in Denmark and the seat of Aarhus Municipality. It is located on the eastern shore of Jutland in the Kattegat sea and approximately northwest ...

and then apprenticed as a stobenason in

Stockholm Stockholm () is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, largest city of Sweden as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in Scandinavia. Approximately 980,000 people liv ...

from 1898. He worked as a decorative sculptor in stucco artist Hans Lamberg-Petersen's workshop in

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( or .; da, København ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a proper population of around 815.000 in the last quarter of 2022; and some 1.370,000 in the urban area; and the wider Copenhagen metropolitan ar ...

from 1902 to 1905 and then continued his studies in

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

and

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

until 1908.

Career

From 1907 to 1911, Bregnø created a number of ceramic works that were burnt in Patrick Nordström's workshop in

Islev Islev is a suburb, located approximately 10 km west of central Copenhagen, Denmark. The suburb consists of single-family detached home, single-family detached houses and a commercial area. The suburb is connected to Copenhagen by the S-train. ...

. He later created numerous statuettes for

in collaboration with the company's artistic director

Hans Tegner Hans Christian Harald Tegner, known as Hans Tegner (30 November 1853 – 2 April 1932), was a Danish artist and illustrator. He is primarily known for his illustrations of literary works by Hans Christian Andersen and Ludvig Holberg and for his wo ...

. He later also worked for Dahl-Jensen and

Nathalie Krebs Johanne Nathalie Krebs (August 5, 1895 in Aarhus – January 5, 1978 in Copenhagen) was a Danish potter. She was the sister of the medical doctor and explorer Carl Krebs. Krebs was employed at the Bing & Grøndahl between 1919 and 1929, where she ...

' Saxbo. Bregnø also created unica works in his own name that were burnt at different workshops, including Saxbo in Herlev and Hjorth in

Rønne Rønne ( sv, Rönne) is the largest town on the Danish island of Bornholm in the Baltic Sea. It has a population of 13,807 (1 January 2022). It was a municipality in its own right from 1970 until 2002, when Bornholm was a county (Danish: ''Bornh ...

Bornholm Bornholm () is a Danish island in the Baltic Sea, to the east of the rest of Denmark, south of Sweden, northeast of Germany and north of Poland. Strategically located, Bornholm has been fought over for centuries. It has usually been ruled by ...

. He also designed stoneware for

Saxbo Johanne Nathalie Krebs (August 5, 1895 in Aarhus – January 5, 1978 in Copenhagen) was a Danish potter. She was the sister of the medical doctor and explorer Carl Krebs. Krebs was employed at the Bing & Grøndahl between 1919 and 1929, where she ...

and silver for

. His studio was located at Haraldsgade 18 in the

Nørrebro Nørrebro (, ) is one of the 10 official districts of Copenhagen, Denmark. It is northwest of the city centre, beyond the location of the old Northern Gate (''Nørreport''), which, until dismantled in 1856, was near the current Nørreport station ...

district of Copenhagen. He was a member of Kunstforeningen af 18. November. A Hercules sculpture by Bregnø was installed in

Nørrebroparken Nørrebroparken is a park in Copenhagen, Denmark. The park is located in the area Nørrebro and was renovated in 2007. It has sparked controversy that the construction of the Copenhagen Metro The Copenhagen Metro ( da, Københavns Metro, ) is a ...

in 1936. It has later been moved to a new site in

Fælledparken The park Fælledparken in Copenhagen, Denmark, was created 1906–1914 by landscape architect Edvard Glæsel in cooperation with the Copenhagen Municipality on the commons (Danish: ''fælled'') previously named ''Nørrefælled'' and ''Østerfæl ...

. His statue ''

The Humane Nurse The Humane Nurse ( Danish: Den Humane Sygeplejerske) is a monument to Danish nurses standing in front of Bispebjerg Hospital, facing its old main entrance and with Lersø Park as a backdrop, in the Bispebjerg district of Copenhagen, Denmark. It ...

'', a monument to Danish nurses, was installed in front of

Bispebjerg Hospital Bispebjerg Hospital is one of the hospitals in the Capital Region of Denmark. Along with a number of other hospitals and the University of Copenhagen (the Faculty of Health Sciences), Bispebjerg Hospital forms part of the Copenhagen University Hos ...

in 1941.

Personal life

Bregnø joined the Danish Nazi Party on 28 August 1940. After the war he was blacklisted by former collaborators and received no commissions. He died on 26 March 1946 and is buried in

Vestre Cemetery Vestre Cemetery ( da, Vestre Kirkegård, meaning "Western Cemetery") is located in a large park setting in the Kongens Enghave district of Copenhagen, Denmark. With its 54 hectares it is the largest cemetery in Denmark. The cemetery is landscape ...

in Copenhagen.

Selected works

* ''Danaide'' (1912) * ''Samson'' (1912, Statens Museum for Kunst) * ''Druepigefontæne'' (1929) * ''Satyrdreng med en gås'' *''Susanne i Badet'' (fountain), bronze and Cementsten * ''Læsende Pige'' ( "Poesien") * '' Lyttende Pige'' ("Samvittigheden"), Cararamarmor * ''Diana'' (

sundial A sundial is a horological device that tells the time of day (referred to as civil time in modern usage) when direct sunlight shines by the apparent position of the Sun in the sky. In the narrowest sense of the word, it consists of a flat ...

), Bronze and tax wood plinth * ''Baccantinde'', stoneware * ''Vinhøst'' * ''Hemmeligheden'' * ''Moder og Barn'' * ''Trillinger'' * ''Firlinger'' * ''Fad. Eva og Slangen'' * ''Fad. Eva med Æbler'' * ''Satyrhoved'' * ''Geden malkes'' * ''Anger'' * ''Menneskepar'' * ''Elskende Par'', stoneware * ''Venus og Amor'' * '' Thor og Midgaardsormen'' * ''Pegasus'' * ''Lyksaligheden'' * '' Druepigen'' * ''Haarfletningen'', rec clay * ''Herkules paa Skillevejen'' * '' Nilmoderen'', bronze * ''Fuglebad, stoneware * ''Havhexen''

Public art

* ''Herkules, Dyden og Lasten'' (1936; Nørrebroparken, later moved to

) * ''

'' (1941,

)

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bregnø, Jens Jacob 1877 births 1946 deaths 20th-century Danish sculptors Male sculptors Danish designers Danish stonemasons People from Hedensted Municipality Danish Nazis Danish male artists 20th-century Danish male artists