Skønvirke and Georg Jensen

Danish Art Nouveau, skønvirke, combined the forms of nature with craft, and Georg Jensen's silver became world-famous.

Arnold Krog became artistic director of the royal porcelain manufactory in 1885 and developed a new underglaze painting in muted blue and green tones, with landscapes and animals. The factory had great success at the world's fair in Paris in 1889. Bing & Grøndahl, founded in 1853, was a competitor in the same spirit. Thorvald Bindesbøll made ceramics, silver and graphics with bold, abstract patterns.

Georg Jensen opened his silver smithy in 1904. His silver combined hammered surfaces with stylised fruit and leaves, and the painter Johan Rohde made for him simpler, almost plain forms, such as the cutlery Konge of 1915. The Museum of Decorative Arts in Copenhagen was founded in 1890.