Obituaries - Jan. 27, 1993

Robert Jacobsen; Danish Sculptor Known for Abstracts in Iron

Robert Jacobsen, 80, a Danish sculptor known for huge, abstract works in iron. He was one of Denmark’s most prominent and popular artists, with works displayed in museums and on city squares in Europe, the United States and Brazil. Jacobsen first made his mark in 1950 in Paris and Copenhagen with exhibitions of black-painted, iron sculptures. Among his last works was a sculpture park opened in 1992 with French sculptor Jean Clarebout near Jacobsen’s home in Jutland, in western Denmark. Jacobsen said he decided to become a sculptor after running into a group of beer-drinking artists in a Copenhagen art gallery. As a young artist, he and Danish painter Henry Heerup visited dumps to find materials for their artworks. Jacobsen lived in France from 1947 to 1967 and was a professor at the Academy of Fine Arts in Munich, Germany, in 1962-1981. In Copenhagen on Wednesday of a heart attack.