Carl Petersen designed the Faaborg Museum. Petersen was a good friend of the sculptor Kai Nielsen but it was the painter Peter Hansen who suggested him as the architect. He was a surprising choice. Petersen had studied architecture in Copenhagen but he had only worked on a few buildings in collaboration with other architects. He had also worked as a ceramicist and was artistic director for the Copenhagen porcelain company Bing & Grøndahl. Nevertheless the ‘Funen Painters’ commissioned him as architect on account of his understanding of design and of materiality, as well as an ability to collaborate across different disciplines.

Surprises

In his design for the Museum Petersen focussed on the specifics of materiality and colour and their overall suitability and compatibility. He wrote that he wanted to create ‘variety and compatibility within forms and through lighting’ and he must have ‘work that co-existed with creative tension’.

The Museum’s architecture is also full of surprises. As a visitor one rarely gets an overview of the building. One is led through narrow passages to spaces with a wide variety of colour, lighting effects and dimensions. The black plinths and the hypnotic repetition of pilasters create a harmony in their interplay with Petersen’s work which employed the ‘golden mean’ of classical architecture.

Academic and Motivator

Faaborg Museum was Carl Petersen’s most important work as an architect. He developed aspects of his philosophy further namely the experiencing of spatial awareness through contrasts, and the belief that the materiality of texture is critical in art and architecture.