Alfred Jensen

Key facts

Lived

1903–1981, American^[1]

Works held in

13 museums

Wikipedia

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• What is Alfred Jensen known for?+

  Alfred Jensen is known for his unique post-war paintings. He created large canvases covered with dense impasto grids of brightly coloured triangles, circles, and squares, organised by Pythagorean number sequences, Goethe's colour theory, Mayan calendrical cycles, the I Ching, and ancient Greek proportional systems.
• What is Alfred Jensen's most famous work?+

  Alfred Jensen is not known for one single, definitive work. Instead, he developed a recognisable style centred on geometric abstraction and colour theory. His paintings often incorporate grids, squares, and numerical sequences. Jensen's mature works explored systems of knowledge. He was influenced by Goethe's colour theory, magic squares, and ancient cosmological diagrams. He aimed to represent complex ideas through visual form. Examples of Jensen's paintings include "Great Pyramid I" (1960^[1]), "The Mayan Calendar" (1961), and his series of calendar paintings. These works demonstrate his interest in systems of order and the relationships between colour and number. While no single piece overshadows his other creations, his overall approach to painting, combining mathematical and philosophical concepts with abstract forms, defines his artistic output. His work invites viewers to contemplate the underlying structures of the universe.
• What should I know about Alfred Jensen's prints?+

  Alfred Jensen (1903^[1]-1981^[1]) was a Guatemalan-American^[1] abstract painter. His mature work engaged with number systems, calendars, and theories, rendered in a grid-like, colour-coded style. Jensen's prints are less well known than his paintings, but they represent a significant aspect of his wider practice. He explored similar themes in his printmaking as in his paintings, including mathematical and philosophical concepts. Like other artists of his generation, Jensen's approach to printmaking was experimental. He was less concerned with traditional techniques than with using print as another medium for exploring his ideas. His prints often incorporate bold colours and geometric shapes, mirroring the style of his paintings. Collectors should be aware that Jensen's prints, like those of many artists, were not always produced under strict rules. The numbering of prints, for example, was not a standard practice early in his career. The intent of the artist is a useful guide when assessing the status of a print, differentiating between an original print and a reproduction.
• What style or movement did Alfred Jensen belong to?+

  Alfred Jensen's artistic affiliations are complex. He was born in Guatemala in 1903^[1], but his early travels in Europe exposed him to modernism. He studied at Hans Hofmann's school in Munich in 1926^[1], and at the Academie Scandinave in Paris in 1929. These experiences introduced him to contemporary European art. Jensen settled in New York in 1951, and he befriended Mark Rothko. His work from the 1950s and onward displays an interest in colour theory, mathematics, and ancient cultures. His paintings often incorporate grids and geometric shapes, referencing systems like the Mayan calendar or Pythagorean mathematics. One example, "Uaxactun" (1964), relates to a Mayan astronomical observatory. While Jensen's work does not fit neatly into a single category, it shares characteristics with abstract expressionism and geometric abstraction. His interest in systems and theories sets him apart, but his use of colour and form aligns with abstract painting traditions. He died in 1981^[1] in New Jersey.
• What techniques or materials did Alfred Jensen use?+

  Alfred Jensen's paintings often involved oil on canvas. One example, "Uaxactun" (1964^[1]), is oil on canvas measuring approximately 127 x 127 cm. Jensen's approach involved colour and form (numbers), structured according to what he called "the pyramid builders' concepts". These expressions, he explained, represented time-cycles, planetary orbits, and the sun, set against a background of fixed stars. He associated numerical relationships with astronomical theories from Central American^[1] cultures, drawing inspiration from his travels and observations of landscapes and pyramids in Guatemala, Yucatan, and Mexico. His work often explored the arithmetic properties of squared numbers. In "Uaxactun", the twenty-eight squares of the perimeter have a reciprocal relationship to the total number of squares in the painting. He linked these numerical relationships to the astronomical theories of Central American cultures, while citing Pythagoras as a source.
• What was Alfred Jensen known for?+

  Alfred Jensen (1903^[1]-1981^[1]) was an abstract painter known for his grid-based compositions and use of colour theory. He often incorporated mathematical and philosophical systems into his work. Born in Guatemala, Jensen travelled extensively before settling in the United States. He studied with Hans Hofmann in Munich during the 1930s. His early work was influenced by Expressionism, but he later developed a unique style. Jensen's mature paintings feature arrangements of squares and rectangles filled with numerals, letters, and symbols. He drew inspiration from diverse sources: the I Ching, Goethe's colour theory, Mayan calendars, and ancient mathematical concepts. He believed that art could reveal underlying structures of the universe. His paintings can appear complex, but they are based on simple numerical progressions and colour relationships. Jensen aimed to create a visual language that communicated universal truths. His work has been associated with Op art and Conceptual art, though he remained independent of any particular movement. He exhibited widely in Europe and the United States.
• When did Alfred Jensen live and work?+

  Alfred Julio Jensen was born in Guatemala City in 1903^[1]. After his mother's death in 1910^[1], he relocated to Denmark to live with relatives. He briefly lived in Guatemala in 1923, before moving to southern California in 1924. There, he studied painting at the San Diego School of Fine Arts. In 1926, Jensen travelled to Munich, where he met Carl Holty and Vaclav Vytlacil, who encouraged him to enrol in Hans Hofmann's painting school. He studied at the Academie Scandinave in Paris in 1929. During the 1930s, Jensen travelled extensively and advised on modern art collections. He met André Masson in 1938 and began studying Goethe's colour theories. Jensen settled in New York in 1951. His first solo show took place in New York in 1952. He taught at the Maryland Institute, Baltimore, during the summer of 1958. In 1959, he was commissioned to create a mural for the Time-Life building in Paris. Jensen lived and worked in Glen Ridge, New Jersey, until his death in 1981^[1].
• Where can I see Alfred Jensen's work?+

  Alfred Jensen's works can be viewed in several museum collections. In the United States, these include the Art Institute of Chicago, the Cincinnati Art Museum, the Cleveland Museum of Art, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Museum of Modern Art (both in New York), the Busch-Reisinger Museum (at Harvard University, in Cambridge, Massachusetts), the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, the Minneapolis Institute of Arts, the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts (Richmond), the Charles Hosmer Morse Museum of American^[1] Art (Winter Park, Florida), and the Wolfsonian at Florida International University (Miami Beach). In Europe, Jensen's art can be seen at the Aarhus Kunstmuseum (Denmark), the Albertina (Vienna), the Museum am Ostwall (Dortmund, Germany), the Kunstmuseum Bern, the Kunstmuseum Luzern, the Louisiana Museum of Modern Art (Humlebaek, Denmark), the Musée National d'Art Moderne (Centre Georges Pompidou, Paris), the Nasjonalgalleriet (Oslo), and the Nationalmuseum (Stockholm). Other locations include the Amos Andersonin Taidemuseo (Helsinki), the Arkiv for Dekorativ Konst (Lund, Sweden), the Fondation Maeght (Saint Paul de Vence, France), the Fyns Stifts Kunstmuseum (Odense, Denmark), the Henie-Onstad Art Center (Hovikodden, Norway), the Malmö Museum (Sweden), and the Museum of Modern Art (Oxford).
• Where was Alfred Jensen from?+

  Alfred Jensen was born in Guatemala City, Guatemala, on 11 December 1903^[1]. After his mother's death in 1910^[1], he was sent to live with relatives in Horsholm, Denmark. In 1923, Jensen returned briefly to Guatemala. In 1924, he moved to southern California, where he received a scholarship to study painting at the San Diego School of Fine Arts. He travelled to Munich in 1926 and met Carl Holty and Vaclav Vytlacil, who encouraged Jensen to enrol in Hans Hofmann's painting school. There, he met Saidie A. May, an American^[1] student and patron, who supported his education at the Academie Scandinave in Paris in 1929. During the 1930s, he travelled extensively with May, advising her on her modern art collection until her death in 1951. In 1938, he met André Masson and was encouraged by Herbin's painting and writing to undertake an intensive study of Goethe's colour theories. Jensen settled in New York in 1951, and his first solo show took place at the John Heller Gallery, New York, in 1952. He lived and worked in Glen Ridge, New Jersey, until his death on 4 April 1981^[1].
• Who did Alfred Jensen influence?+

  It is difficult to make definitive claims about Jensen's artistic influence. The Danish art scene maintained lively contact with Paris and the Bauhaus. Before 1939^[1], a group of young artists, some of whom became important after the war, had already established themselves. Their idols included artists like Kandinsky and Klee, as well as Mondrian and the great Russians. Their avant-garde spirit survived the war years, and immediately after 1945, they renewed their international contacts. Robert Jacobsen and Richard Mortensen moved to Paris, where they stayed for many years. Parallel to this movement was the COBRA group (Copenhagen, Brussels, Amsterdam), whose prime mover was the Danish artist Asger Jorn, who also moved to Paris but spent long periods in Denmark and Sweden. There were active links with German art, particularly in the wake of the COBRA movement. These links can be traced to the SPUR group in West Germany, to the international situationist movement, and to Fluxus.
• Who influenced Alfred Jensen?+

  Alfred Jensen's artistic development involved a range of influences, most notably from the fields of mathematics, science, and philosophy. He studied with Hans Hofmann in Munich in the early 1930s; Hofmann's theories about colour and space had a considerable effect on Jensen's early work. Jensen's interest in systems of knowledge led him to explore diverse subjects such as Goethe's colour theory, the I Ching, Mayan mathematics, and ancient Greek philosophy. These intellectual pursuits shaped his mature artistic style, which is characterised by grid-like structures and the use of colour to represent abstract concepts. While Jensen was part of the Abstract Expressionist movement, his work diverges from its emphasis on spontaneous gesture. Instead, he favoured a more systematic approach, reflecting his deep engagement with intellectual and philosophical ideas. Piet Mondrian's geometric abstraction and Paul Klee's symbolic language are also seen as antecedents to Jensen's unique artistic vocabulary. His paintings are visualisations of complex systems, demonstrating the artist's synthesis of art and knowledge.
• Who was Alfred Jensen?+

  Alfred Jensen (1903^[1]-1981^[1]) was a Guatemalan-American^[1] abstract painter. He is best known for his grid-based paintings that incorporate mathematical and philosophical systems. Born in Guatemala to a Danish father and German-Polish mother, Jensen was orphaned at a young age and sent to Denmark for schooling. He travelled extensively in his youth, including time spent studying art in Munich. In the 1930s, he worked as a museum guide and began collecting art. He met Saidie Adler May, his future patron, in 1934^[1]. Jensen moved to the United States in 1936. He studied painting with Hans Hofmann in the late 1940s. His mature style emerged in the 1950s. Jensen's paintings often feature bright colours and geometric forms arranged in complex patterns. He drew inspiration from a range of sources, including Goethe's colour theory, the I Ching, and Mayan mathematics. His works can be found in the collections of the Museum of Modern Art, the Guggenheim Museum, and the Whitney Museum of American Art, all in New York.