The PH5, a 20th Century design masterpiece, remains the most popular light in Denmark.

Let There Be (Danish) Light

When you think of Denmark, you might think of long, dark winters, or Vikings, or Hamlet, or blondes - all things that are hard to stuff into a suitcase. What's easier to pack? The light from this Scandinavian country.

Poul Henningsen wanted to make fixtures that could recreate natural Danish light.

Henningsen worked to recreate the soft glow of the petroleum lamps he knew as a child.

For decades, no one has done lighting better than Danish designers, and no Danish designer is better known for funneling the Danish spirit into a lighting fixture than Poul Henningsen (1894-1967).

Henningsen, who started designing lamps in the 1920s, grew up without electricity and was therefore exposed early on to the wonders of natural Danish light. Working with the manufacturing Danish company Louis Poulsen, he worked to recreate the soft glow of the petroleum lamps he knew as a child. His treatment of light, form, and function was so remarkable, it was nearly impossible for any other designer not to be influenced by his work.

"No designer comes close to Poul," says Wayne Marmorstein, owner of the Danish Modern furniture shop Denmark 50 in Los Angeles. "He was a master. His lamps are beautiful works of art, and the way they handle light rays as they come out of the design . . . I can't even think of another designer who comes close."

Introduced in 1958, his PH5 Pendant Lamp is made of aluminum discs of varying sizes; the discs direct light in several directions, avoiding harsh glare on the eyes. "It's in almost every house in Denmark," says Marmorstein. Many of Henningsen's early lamps, including one that won a prize at the 1925 Paris World Exhibition, shared these characteristics. The PH5 is still in production today, along with several other sizes. Original vintage ones are also available.

His other most famous fixture is the PH Artichoke Lamp, a must-have for any design aficionado. Another 1958 design, the suitably named large pendant light has 72 metal leaves that evenly diffuse light from its center. Then there's the Bombardment Chandelier, a 5-armed glass and metal lamp that was first introduced over 60 years ago. When it was reintroduced in 1999, Louis Poulsen sold 10,000 of them in just 2 months - because great light, it seems, never goes out of style.

Posted on June 19, 2006