Dame au chapeau bougeoir

Bjørn Wiinblad (1918–2006) was a Danish painter, illustrator and ceramicist, and one of the most productive Danish artists of his time. Trained first as a typographer, he made his name in the 1950s with ceramics and posters, designed for the German porcelain maker Rosenthal, and lived and worked in the Blue House in Kongens Lyngby, which today is open as a museum. In 2014 Rosendahl Design Group acquired the rights to his designs and began launching new interpretations based on his originals. Montreal Lighting & Hardware carries a curated selection of Bjørn Wiinblad vases, candle holders and tableware for Canadian homes.

Where much Danish design of the period was spare and functional, Wiinblad chose colour, ornament and a playful, romantic world of faces and figures. Eva, the female motif he returned to again and again, appears on vases, flowerpots and candle holders with rosy cheeks and colourful dresses. The Dora series brings his archival faces to porcelain tableware, and the hand-painted Lady with Hat pieces balance towering hats on sculptural figures. Olga, Nina and Titania add more of his characters in glazed ceramic. Bjørn Wiinblad brings joy, colour and a sense of play to the table, the windowsill and the shelf.