JOSEF FRANK

Rare ‘Monkey’ Cabinet

Circa 1941

Model no. 1140

Mahogany, printed paper, oak frames

Produced by Svenskt Tenn, Sweden

H. 139,5 W. 121,5 D. 44 cm

History:

Known for his designs made with a wealth of colour, nature’s forms were a significant inspiration to Josef Frank. As of today, this is the only cabinet known that has been executed with these specific prints. Documents in the Svenskt Tenn Archive show: ‘Cabinet with copper plate - Model no. 1140. Oak strips around each copper plate. Buffon’s natural history, the ‘Apskåpet (Monkey Cabinet)’

The cabinet was most likely a special commissioned piece, made for a client who had strong ties to the exotic, working as a lawyer for the United Nations Educations, Scientific and Cultural Organization, and the World Health Organization in the Congo, Persia and Korea, among other places.

Provenance:

Home of the family of the businessman and financier Axel Wenner-Gren. The parents acquired the cabinet from Svenskt Tenn around 1941, shortly after their marriage.

Alfred Grenander

Swedish-born architect Alfred Grenander (1863 - 1931) is best known for his work in Berlin, where he spent most of his professional career.

Grenander moved to Germany in the 1880s, an eventful era in which many international contemporaries explored progressive and new styles of design. For instance, the Vienna Secession led by architects Koloman Moser and Josef Hoffmann were breaking away from the conservative traditions of the past, seeking new approaches to design. The forward-thinking works by Grenander quickly garnered attention, and he was put forward as the young and vigorous architect who could lead German design to new horizons. His designs were presented at leading international exhibitions, including the Louisiana Purchase Exposition. St.Louis, in 1904, and the Arts and Crafts Exhibition in Dresden in 1906. Following this, his prestige grew by designing numerous metro stations in Berlin, of which about 70 are still intact today.

In 1906, on the south coast of Malmö, Sweden, he built a summer house named ‘Villa Tångvallen’. Exclusively for his families’ personal use, the villa was designed in an unusual and progressive style for its time. The bright pink exterior and purple roof tiles resulted in a new and pioneering architecture that served as an inspiration to his German colleagues. For instance, Villa Tångvallen inspired Mies van der Rohe’s first summer house, which he built two years later in Berlin. The villa was a total gesamtkunstwerk; Grenander designed the entire exterior, interior and the furniture within. The furniture was made out of white painted pine, combined with brightly coloured walls. In comparison his prior works, these pieces were very simplistic, employing simple woods and geometric shapes. The furniture he conceived for Villa Tångvallen were never published, providing the freedom to explore and develop styles that he had never previously attempted.

The works of Charles Rennie Mackintosh were highly inspirational for Grenander. In early 1905, the two designers worked together during the ‘A.S. Ball Exhibition of Modern Furniture’ in Berlin. The exhibition was curated by Grenander, and presented several rooms furnished by individual designers. Mackintosh displayed a dining room, filled with simple furniture, which appeared structural without ornaments. His colour use was sophisticated, adding details of purple, in the predominantly dark grey room. When analysing Villa Tångvallen, the mutualisation of inspiration among Grenander and Mackintosh becomes readily apparent. The concept of the whitepainted furniture pieces, placed as geometric and abstract shapes in the room, can be understood to represent a radical movement in design, which was used by Grenander and Mackintosh, among others, to demonstrate their proto-modernist concepts.

Alfred Grenander

Pair of Folding Tables

1905-06

Painted pine

Two separate units with gate leg supports, which open to support folding leaves to create one large table

H.75 W.89 D.89cm

Exhibited: Broehan Museum, ‘From Arts and Crafts to the Bauhaus, Art and Design - A New Unity!’ , Berlin, 2019

History:

This pair of folding tables was designed for Alfred Grenander’s summer house, Villa Tångvallen, located at the southern coast of Malmö, Sweden. The villa was built in 1906-07 in the style of the late English Arts and Crafts Movement. The white painted furniture, designed by Grenander for the house, was paired with bold accent colours, such as shimmering blue tiles and yellow painted walls.

Provenance:

Alfred Grenander’s personal summer home, Villa Tangvallen, Falsterbo, Sweden.

Literature:

Tobias Hoffmann, ‘From Arts and Crafts to the Bauhaus. Art and Design - A New Unity!’ , exh. cat., Bröhan-Museum, Berlin, 2019, p.163, cat. no. 91, illustrated.