Porcelain figurine of a Cat, Dahl-Jensen, 20th century.

The factory was founded in 1925.In 1925, a small factory of artistic porcelain appeared in Copenhagen, founded by Dahl and Jensen, who previously worked as a fashion designer at the Bing- Graendal factory. Only hand-painted decorative porcelain is made here, mainly figures, vases and decorative plates.Dahl Jensen is a famous Danish factory of the twentieth century, with more than fifty years of history. Collectors of Danish porcelain are well aware of this brand, which is valued for its high quality and uniqueness of objects.Dahl Jensen is an author's brand, the name of which comes from the name of the famous Danish sculptor Jens-Peter Dahl Jensen, a master who worked at the Bing and Graendal factory for more than thirty years, and then decided to engage in independent creativity and open his own workshop. Jensen was a high-class professional, he graduated from the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Copenhagen and had a huge creative potential. It is possible that his talent became cramped within the boundaries of the Bing and Graendal factories, and his author's imagination lacked space.Possessing knowledge in the production of porcelain, as well as exceptional organizational skills, in 1925 Jens-Peter opened his company, which at first was small and resembled a studio. Every year the business was rapidly gaining momentum, the number of workers increased to thirty people, production volumes were growing. And yet the factory looked more like a family enterprise than an industrial or business one. Careful preservation of tradition and the transfer of skill literally from hand to hand were appreciated here above all. Therefore, family continuity at the Dahl Jensen plant was very important. Together with Dahl-Jensen, his son Georg, daughter-in-law Christa, and the artist's grandchildren Elsa and Anker worked there. Among other masters who were not marked by family ties with J.-P. Dahl-Jensen, L. Jensen and J. Bregno worked. The factory's products were exported to the USA and European countries.The main direction of production was small plastic items. The figures, diverse in subject matter, attracted attention with the expressiveness and liveliness of the characters. The enumeration of the subjects reproduced in porcelain seems meaningless, since there is no account for them. It would probably be easier to name the topics that the masters bypassed.At first glance, Dahl Jensen's works are very similar to Bing & Grondahl's products. They are related by theme, technique, artistic solution, and even color scheme. It is difficult for a non-enlightened person to find differences if it were not for the marking. And if we take into account that Dahl-Jensen in the period 1897 to 1925, even before the opening of his company, created models for Bing & amp; Grondahl, then the edges of the two factories sometimes lose the rigidity of their outlines. But this is only at first glance. If you look closely at the figures of Dahl Jensen, you can notice one characteristic feature. The artists focused on the eyes, subtly drawing eyebrows, pupils and even eyelashes. The images acquired individual expressiveness and characteristic features. They were very different from the sometimes impersonal heroes of Bing & Grondahl, representing more human types than portraits.The color palette of Dahl Jensen products varied depending on the subject of the images. For example, in the most famous and rare oriental series, the palette is saturated with bright colors. Indian and Thai dancers, musical geisha, elegant Japanese women, semi-naked oriental beauties - the works were distinguished by dynamics and subtle exoticism. This series is also interesting for its connection with the Art Deco style. Here his main features manifested themselves: expressiveness and clarity, lines, contrast of sensuality and strong emotions, oriental flavor.The children's theme, beloved by both sculptors and artists Dahl Jensen, has almost never lost its popularity: "A girl in a nightgown", "A kid playing with cubes", "A boy with a bundle", "A boy in a cap with a book", "A girl with geese", "A girl with an elephant". The images of children are direct and touching. The characters are passionate about their favorite activities or games, and do not pay attention to the viewer at all. The authors of these models were especially attentive to details, emphasized cute, memorable moments in each child's clothes.Dahl Jensen was a wonderful animalist, he created many animal figures, among which dogs are especially popular. Unlike Bing & Grondahl dogs, Dahl Jensen quadrupeds are more naturalistic. The detailed study of the hairs, ears and muzzles is devoid of conventionality, on the contrary, it is more accurate. And the expression of the muzzles of the master was given special importance. They were so animated that it seemed they would start talking now, or at least barking and wagging their tail, expressing greeting, surprise or embarrassment. It is known that Dahl Jensen has created about three hundred models of figures for all his work, diverse in subject matter and not repetitive in plastic. The craftsmen working with him maintained the main line of decoration, so all products have integrity and a pronounced style. The objects were abundantly covered with glaze, and had a specific shine that emphasized their special gloss.Along with the production of figurines, decorative vases, dishes, plates and bowls were made at the Dahl Jensen factory. The most interesting for collectors are items made in the "crackle" technique. The peculiarity of such products is in their painting. The surface of the vase was stylized as a colorful layer cracked from time. On top of this "pseudo craquelure", which served as the main background, the artist applied floral arrangements and geometric ornaments. Vases repeating the outlines of antique amphorae acquired the character of archaism, and vases with a narrow throat resembled oriental ceramics. At a cursory glance, such a painting technique even resembled a "cloisonne".The factory flourished in the 1950s, and in the following decades there was some decline in production, possibly associated with the passing of Dahl Jensen in 1960. In 1985, the production was closed, and the molds were destroyed. The collectible and artistic value of Dahl Jensen's works is very high today and is in demand among collectors around the world.The works of the plant are kept in museums and private collections in Europe, America and Russia.