Else Marie Jakobsen
Else Marie Jakobsen was a Norwegian textile artist and designer from Kristiansand. She lived from 1927 to 2012.
Workshop, tapestry and textile design
She studied at the National College of Art and Design from 1946 to 1950, followed by practical training at the De Knipscheer tapestry workshop in the Netherlands. In 1951 she opened her own workshop in Kristiansand. The business began with functional textiles and developed into extensive production of independent tapestries.
Jakobsen also worked as a regular designer for Høie from 1960 to 1967. The upholstery pattern Hålkrus was produced by Sellgren & Co.
Her work encompasses church textiles, secular public commissions and smaller tapestries. Christian symbolism and narrative imagery feature prominently, alongside political and social concerns. As well as wool, linen and silk, Jakobsen used materials including hawsers and fishing nets. Materials could carry meaning while creating different surfaces.
From Madonna II to political textiles
Vest-Agder Museum owns the early Madonna II (1953). It also describes Bleke minner om en mor (1986), incorporating used cleaning rags, pillowcases, tablecloths and her mother's embroidery. Family textiles become both material and a remembrance of women's work.
Den røde tråd (1981 to 1982), in the University of Bergen's science building, comprises three sections covering 90 square metres. KORO describes historical pattern fragments assembled in warm reds. The work connects Norwegian textile history with women's labour and cultural contributions.
The university's account explains how its position across several wall surfaces and floors prevents the entire work being seen from one viewpoint. Exposed threads weighted with stones and woven artists' names form part of its construction. Space and architecture are therefore integral to understanding the work.
KORO records St. Olav. Soga om heilag Olav (1) (1997) as tapestry in wool, linen and nylon. It measures 200 x 1000 cm, reference KORO.002205. This documents a particular combination of materials different from those of the early tapestries.
ARKIVET in Kristiansand documents ownership of Krig og fred (2001) and Konvoi (2006). Their titles also provide a starting point for considering war and history in her later work.
In 2008 Jakobsen received an honorary doctorate from MF. The institution's presentation highlights both her church commissions and her work as a designer and socially engaged artist.
Signatures and accurate object descriptions
The Grev Wedels Plass Auksjoner catalogue for Broen describes its title and the initials EMJ as woven in. This record concerns the catalogued tapestry. It documents one method of signing and does not establish that all her works were marked alike.
A textile offered under Jakobsen's name should be examined to determine what role the name denotes: independent tapestry, workshop design or industrial pattern design. A printed image of a tapestry is a reproduction even when the artist's name and a signature image are included. Claims about editions or exclusive execution require evidence for the individual object.
When examining tapestries incorporating used materials, distinguish the artist's stitching, incorporated patches and loose material elements from later interventions. Earlier photographs may show whether an opening, hanging thread or inserted textile already belonged to the work. Document the reverse and inscriptions before a new hanging arrangement conceals them. Describe observed thread loss, discolouration and changes to hanging arrangements precisely, while retaining uncertainty where materials have not been securely identified.
For provenance, a commission history or gallery receipt linked to the same tapestry's imagery and dimensions is particularly useful. A name supplied only through an oral account should be treated as information to investigate, rather than proof of authorship.
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Sources
- Store norske leksikon: Else Marie Jakobsen
- Norsk biografisk leksikon: Else Marie Jakobsen
- Norsk kunstnerleksikon: Else Marie Jakobsen
- Vest-Agder Museum: Madonna II and Bleke minner om en mor
- KORO: Den røde tråd, section 2
- University of Bergen: Den røde tråd in the science building
- KORO: St. Olav. Soga om heilag Olav (1), 1997
- ARKIVET: Krig og fred and Konvoi
- MF Norwegian School of Theology, Religion and Society: honorary doctorate, 2008
- Grev Wedels Plass Auksjoner: Broen, signature and title
