Jensen, Gerrit

Gerrit Jensen, English Gerrard Johnson, (born before 1680, Low CountriesLondon, England), royal cabinetmaker of Louis XIV-style furniture, who became one of the most fashionable and foremost designers and craftsmen of his time. Apparently the first cabinetmaker to earn individual distinction in England, he became famous for his technique of metal- inlaid furniture and is therefore sometimes called the English Boulle, after the renowned contemporary French cabinetmaker André-Charles Boulle, who had developed a distinctive style of inlay work.

It is known that Jensen settled in London before 1680, in which year he created furniture for King Charles II for a royal gift to the ruler of Morocco. The crown employed him repeatedly after 1688, and in 1693 he lived on St. Martin’s Lane, later the district of fashionable furniture makers. Although the furniture he made for Charles is no longer extant, many of his creations for William and Mary have survived. A document of about 1689 confirms his position as royal cabinetmaker. For Queen Anne he supplied several pieces of furniture that were decorated with lacquer rather than with the more costly metal marquetry. Some of Jensen’s greatest work was made around 1701 for the state drawing room at Windsor Castle.