Peder Vilhelm Jensen-Klint (21 June 1853 – 1 December 1930) 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 a ...

architect An architect is a person who plans, designs and oversees the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to provide services in connection with the design of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the buildings that h ...

, designer,

painter Painting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a solid surface (called the "matrix" or "support"). The medium is commonly applied to the base with a brush, but other implements, such as knives, sponges, and ai ...

and architectural theorist, best known for designing

Grundtvig's Church Grundtvig's Church ( da, Grundtvigs Kirke) is located in the Bispebjerg district of Copenhagen, Denmark. It is a rare example of expressionist church architecture. Due to its originality, it is one of the best known churches in the city. History ...

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 ...

, generally considered to be one of the most important Danish architectural works of the time. Its

Expressionist Expressionism is a modernist movement, initially in poetry and painting, originating in Northern Europe around the beginning of the 20th century. Its typical trait is to present the world solely from a subjective perspective, distorting it rad ...

style relies heavily on Scandinavian brick

Gothic Gothic or Gothics may refer to: People and languages *Goths or Gothic people, the ethnonym of a group of East Germanic tribes **Gothic language, an extinct East Germanic language spoken by the Goths **Crimean Gothic, the Gothic language spoken b ...

traditions. Jensen-Klint was the father of fellow architect

Kaare Klint Kaare Klint (15 December 1888 – 28 March 1954) was a Danish architect and furniture designer, known as the father of modern Danish furniture design. Style was epitomized by clean, pure lines, use of the best materials of his time and super ...

who assumed responsibility for completing work on Grundtvig's Church after his father's death in 1930.

Early life and career

Peder Vilhelm Jensen-Klint was born in 1853 as Peder Vilhelm Jensen but changed his name on 10 November 1890. He was admitted to the College of Advanced Technology in 1870 and graduated as a building engineer in 1877. One of his teachers was

Johan Daniel Herholdt Johan Daniel Herholdt (13 August 1818 – 11 April 1902) was a Danish architect, professor and royal building inspector. He worked in the Historicist style and had a significant influence on Danish architecture during the second half of the 19th an ...

—who with his

Copenhagen University Library The Copenhagen University Library ( Danish: Københavns Universitetsbibliotek) in Copenhagen, Denmark, is the main research library of the University of Copenhagen. Founded in 1482, it is the oldest library in Denmark. The old main building of th ...

started a trend with the use of red bricks for landmark buildings in

Danish architecture 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 a ...

—and he greatly influenced Jensen-Klint's understanding of materials and knowledge of early Danish architectural traditions. In May 1878, Jensen-Klint was admitted to the

Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts The Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts ( da, Det Kongelige Danske Kunstakademi - Billedkunst Skolerne) has provided education in the arts for more than 250 years, playing its part in the development of the art of Denmark. History The Royal Dani ...

School of Painting where he took all the classes but never graduated. He wanted to pursue a career as an artist but had to teach mathematics to make a living. In the end he had to give up his aspirations to live as an artist and from 1889 to 1897 he worked as an assistant for the City Engineer in Copenhagen and from 1892 to 1916 he also gave drawing classes at the

Royal Veterinary and Agricultural University The Royal Veterinary and Agricultural University ( da, Kongelige Veterinær- og Landbohøjskole, abbr. KVL) was a veterinary and agricultural science university in Denmark. It was founded in 1856 and operated until 2007, when it became a part of t ...

. In 1891 he travelled 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 ...

and in 1910 he visited

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

Breakthrough as an architect

Jensen-Klint became increasingly interested in architecture and his first architectural work was a villa in

Hellerup Hellerup () is a very affluent district of Gentofte Municipality in the suburbs of Copenhagen, Denmark. The most urban part of the district is centred on Strandvejen and is bordered by Østerbro to the south and the Øresund to the east. It compri ...

designed for a good friend, the goldsmith W. Holm, after a small private competition also involving the architect Eugen Jørgensen. After that followed several more villas in the same area which all demonstrate various experiments with masonry in red brick. Following completion of the Gym House in

Frederiksberg Frederiksberg () is a part of the Capital Region of Denmark. It is formally an independent municipality, Frederiksberg Municipality, separate from Copenhagen Municipality, but both are a part of the City of Copenhagen. It occupies an area of ...

, he was admitted into the Architects' Association of Denmark in spite of his lack of formal training. His principal inspiration came from Danish manor houses, churches and stout, simple

Baroque The Baroque (, ; ) is a style of architecture, music, dance, painting, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished in Europe from the early 17th century until the 1750s. In the territories of the Spanish and Portuguese empires including t ...

houses. In 1907 he designed a house for the Danish composer Thorvald Aagaard in Ryslinge on the island of

Funen Funen ( da, Fyn, ), with an area of , is the third-largest island of Denmark, after Zealand and Vendsyssel-Thy. It is the 165th-largest island in the world. It is located in the central part of the country and has a population of 469,947 as of ...

and subsequently another house in

Svendborg Svendborg () is a town on the island of Funen in south-central Denmark, and the seat of Svendborg Municipality. With a population of 27,300 (1 January 2022), Svendborg is Funen's second largest city.Carl Bloch Carl Heinrich Bloch (23 May 1834 – 22 February 1890) was a Danish artist. Biography He was born in Copenhagen, Denmark, and studied there at the Royal Danish Academy of Art (''Det Kongelige Danske Kunstakademi'') under Wilhelm Marstrand ...

replaced Jørgen Toed as professor at the Academy. After he gave up his artistic career, he still painted occasionally but also started to show an interest in sculptural work. He participated in the competition for a new fountain for

Amagertorv Amagertorv (English: Amager Square), today part of the Strøget pedestrian zone, is often described as the most central square in central Copenhagen, Denmark. Second only to Gammeltorv, it is also one of the oldest, taking its name from the Amage ...

in Copenhagen which led to the

Stork Fountain The Stork Fountain is located on Amagertorv in central Copenhagen, Denmark. It was a present to Crown Prince Frederik (later Frederik VIII) and Crown Princess Louise in connection with their silver wedding anniversary in 1894. It depicts three s ...

with an entry depicting a merry Amager peasant sitting on a cabbagehead (1890).

Ceramics

With inspiration from

Joakim Skovgaard Joakim Frederik Skovgaard (18 November 1856 – 9 March 1933) was a Danish painter. He is remembered above all for the frescos which decorate Viborg Cathedral. Biography Born in Copenhagen, from an early age he was trained in drawing and paintin ...

he also began working with ceramics and eventually other decorative works such as gravestones, bookbindings and particularly furniture.

Selected buildings

* Villa for W. Holm (Sofievej 27),

(1896) * Gym House (Vodroffsvej 49-51),

(1898) *

Bien Bien may refer to: * Bien (newspaper) * Basic Income Earth Network * Bień, Poland {{disambiguation ...

tramway waiting room, Trianglen, Copenhagen (1904–07) * Villa Rødsten (Onsgårdsvej 12),

(1905–06) * Aagaard's House, Ryslinge,

(1907–08) * Bentzon's House,

Svendborg Svendborg () is a town on the island of Funen in south-central Denmark, and the seat of Svendborg Municipality. With a population of 27,300 (1 January 2022), Svendborg is Funen's second largest city.Funen Funen ( da, Fyn, ), with an area of , is the third-largest island of Denmark, after Zealand and Vendsyssel-Thy. It is the 165th-largest island in the world. It is located in the central part of the country and has a population of 469,947 as of ...

(1908) * Anna Church,

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 ...

, Copenhagen (1911, construction 1913–14, 1921, 1924–28) *

Gedser Church Gedser Church lies in the town of Gedser on the southern tip of the Danish island of Falster. It is the church of Gedser Parish. Completed in 1915, it was designed by Peder Vilhelm Jensen-Klint, best known for designing Grundtvig's Church in Cop ...

Gedser Gedser is a town at the southern tip of the Danish island of Falster in the Guldborgsund Municipality in Sjælland region. It is the southernmost town in Denmark, and also the southernmost point of Scandinavia and the Nordic countries. The town h ...

Falster Falster () is an island in south-eastern Denmark with an area of and 43,398 inhabitants as of 1 January 2010.

(1913–15) *

Bispebjerg Bispebjerg, more commonly referred to as Nordvest (English: North-West), is one of the 10 official districts of Copenhagen, Denmark. Located on the northern border of the municipality, it covers an area of 5.39 km² and a population of 40,033 ...

, Copenhagen (1913, construction 1921–40) * Villa (Høyrups Allé 35),

(1915) * Villa (Gardes Allé 36),

(1915–20) * Klintegården, Nyrup Strand (1916–17) * St. Hans Tveje' Church,

Odense Odense ( , , ) is the third largest city in Denmark (behind Copenhagen and Aarhus) and the largest city on the island of Funen. As of 1 January 2022, the city proper had a population of 180,863 while Odense Municipality had a population of 20 ...

(1916–20) * '' On the Hill'' housing,

, Copenhagen (1924–26) * Bethlehem Church, Copenhagen (with

, 1930)

Gallery

Image:Gedser Church.jpg,

, Denmark Image:Gedser Church - interior.jpg, Gedser Church File:Fredodense(01).JPG, Peace Church, Odense File:09-07-29-i6-Grundtvigs kirken (København).jpg,

Image:Grundtvig's Church - surroundings.jpg, Houses surrounding Grundtvig's Church File:Bethlehemskirken Copenhagen interior.jpg, Bethlehem Church, Copenhagen

References

External links

Biography
(Danish)

{{DEFAULTSORT:Jensen-Klint, Peder Vilhelm 1853 births 1930 deaths Danish architects Expressionist architects Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts alumni Recipients of the C.F. Hansen Medal