The name Poul Henningsen is synonymous with the best and most innovative modern Scandinavian lamps and other lighting. The Danish designer created a signature vocabulary of fixtures with tiered and layered shades in sculptural arrangements that are at once naturalistic and geometric.
Henningsen grew up in a town on the outskirts of Copenhagen and studied architecture at the Technical University of Denmark. He would become a noted art critic, journalist and screenwriter, but his first love was lighting design.
Henningsen’s childhood home was illuminated by oil lamps. When his family switched to electrified lighting, he was alarmed and repelled by the harsh glare cast by an incandescent bulb, and in his late teens he began conducting quasi-scientific experiments to measure which materials and methods best diffused or reflected light to give it a warm brightness. His work came to the attention of the lighting-fixtures firm Louis Poulsen, which sponsored the development of a prototype lamp. The design won a gold medal at the 1925 Paris Expositions Internationales des Arts Decóratifs et Industriels Modernes — from which the term Art Deco derives. The lamp, whose three-part shade is said to be inspired by the arrangement of a dinner plate atop a soup bowl atop a teacup, became the basis for Henningsen’s most successful design, the PH 4/3 desk lamp.
All told, Henningsen would design some 100 lighting fixtures in his career. Some of his most notable creations are hanging lamps, which include the Septima (1929), a pendant composed of seven graduated frosted-glass layers; the Spiral (1942), made of a single ribbon of enameled aluminum; and the Artichoke lamp (1958), whose 70 glass or metal fins in a staggered and graduated arrangement on a central steel frame resemble those of its namesake. The last is likely Henningsen’s masterwork and an icon of mid-20th-century design. Like all Henningsen lighting designs, it is striking, sculptural and — thanks to his insistence on the primacy of the quality of the light cast — superbly functional.
Find a collection of authentic Poul Henningsen table lamps, floor lamps and other lighting on 1stDibs.
Big Mid-Century Modern Artichoke by Poul Henningsen
By Poul Henningsen
Located in Weesp, NL
Elevate your space with the epitome of timeless elegance and iconic design – the PH Artichoke pendant, a masterpiece conceived by the visionary Poul Henningsen in 1957 and brought to...
Metal, Brass, Steel
Poul Henningsen Artichoke Pendant Light
By Poul Henningsen
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Poul Henningsen for Louis Poulsen Artichoke pendant light, Denmark, circa 1957. Copper, aluminum, and enameled steel.
Metal, Copper
$16,287
H 25.6 in Dm 28.35 in
Artichoke Hanging lamp by Poul Henningsen for Louis Poulsen, 1960s, 1st edition
By Louis Poulsen, Poul Henningsen
Located in bruxelles, BE
First edition of the Artichoke copper pendant light designed by Poul Henningsen for Louis Poulsen. Stamped “Louis Poulsen.” Wear due to age and time. FOR SHIPPING, REQUEST US FOR REC...
Metal, Copper
$9,600
H 23.63 in Dm 23.63 in
Poul Henningsen for Louis Poulsen. PH Artichoke pendant lamp, late 20th C
Located in København, Copenhagen
Poul Henningsen for Louis Poulsen. "Kogle" (PH Artichoke) pendant. Upper shade in matte white metal, blades in brushed steel, suspension with integrated steel line. 72 blades. Late 2...
Metal, Copper, Steel
$16,062
H 70.87 in Dm 23.63 in
Poul Henningsen Artichoke Ceiling Lamp Produced by Louis Poulsen in Denmark
By Poul Henningsen
Located in Limhamn, Skåne län
Artichoke ceiling lamp designed by Poul Henningsen. Produced by Louis Poulsen in Denmark.
Copper
Artichoke Hanging lamp by Poul Henningsen for Louis Poulsen, 2000s
By Louis Poulsen, Poul Henningsen
Located in Brussels, BE
Artichoke Hanging lamp by Poul Henningsen for Louis Poulsen, 2000s
Metal
Small Copper Artichoke by Poul Henningsen for Louis Poulsen
By Poul Henningsen, Louis Poulsen
Located in Brussels, BE
Original Poul Henningsen 'PH Artichoke' copper Pendant crafted for Louis Poulsen. This piece is available in small (here) and yet big model as shown in the context pictures. Met...
Aluminum, Copper
Earliest 1960's production PH Artichoke Ø 72cm
By Poul Henningsen
Located in CASTENRAY, NL
The first five Artichoke ceiling lights were commissioned in 1957 from Poul Henningsen by architects Eva and Nils Koppel for use in the Langelinie Pavilion restaurant in Copenhagen. They are not for sale, they still hang there today. In the early 1960's after much praise and popular demand Louis Poulsen started to produce the PH Artichoke for the market. This Artichoke lamp here is such early 1960's example. It was almost exactly made like the Langelinie lamps...
Copper, Chrome
Poul Henningsen Large Copper Artichoke Pendant Light, by Louis Poulsen
By Louis Poulsen, Poul Henningsen
Located in Wargrave, Berkshire
Poul Henningsen PH Artichoke Pendant Light, produced by Louis Poulsen large size in copper, 72 leaves The large 'PH Artichoke' copper chandelier by Poul Henningsen for Louis Poulsen...
Aluminum, Copper, Steel
Poul Henningsen Ph Artichoke Pendant – Large
By Poul Henningsen, Louis Poulsen
Located in Berkeley, CA
The fixture provides 100% glare-free light. The 72 precisely positioned leaves form 12 unique rows of six leaves each. They illuminate the fixture as well as emitting diffused light with a unique pattern. The fixture provides decorative and comfortable lighting. For the energy saving LED variant the quality of light and atmosphere surrounding the product is kept at the highest level. The PH Artichoke...
Chrome
Rare Large Early Poul Henningsen Louvre Pendants by Louis Poulsen, 1962
By Poul Henningsen
Located in Dronten, NL
Rare large early Louvre pendants designed by Poul Henningsen for Louis Poulsen in 1962. An important example of Henningsen’s celebrated approach to sculptural, glare-free lighting, t...
Aluminum
Max Sauze 'Orion' Chandelier, France, Original 1960s
By Max Sauze
Located in Dronten, NL
A striking original Orion chandelier designed by Max Sauze in France during the 1960s. Renowned for his sculptural approach to lighting, Sauze combined geometric forms with elegant m...
Aluminum
Poul Henningsen PH Septima Glass Pendant
By Poul Henningsen
Located in Dronten, NL
The PH Septima is regarded as one of Poul Henningsen’s most refined pendants. When exhibited for the first time as a prototype at the Danish Museum of Decorative Art (now Designmuseu...
Brass
Poul Henningsen PH 4½-4 Glass Pendant Light by Louis Poulsen
By Louis Poulsen, Poul Henningsen
Located in Dronten, NL
Desirable and rare PH 4½-4 Glass Pendant in excellent vintage condition. Poul Henningsen designed the three-shade system back in 1925-1926. The first lights using the system were des...
Steel, Chrome
Mid Century Modern Chandelier by Carl Fagerlund
By Orrefors, Carl Fagerlund
Located in Dronten, NL
Mid-Century Chandelier with Crystal and Amber Glass Shades by Carl Fagerlund for Orrefors, Sweden, circa 1960. An exquisite example of Scandinavian mid-century lighting design, this...
Brass
Nordiska Kompaniet Adjustable Pendant Lamp, Aluminum & Porcelain, 1950
By Nordiska Kompaniet, Paavo Tynell
Located in Dronten, NL
A refined example of Scandinavian modern lighting, this counterbalance pendant lamp was produced in Sweden in the 1950s by Nordiska Kompaniet (NK), one of the most influential design...
Aluminum, Brass
