Louis Poulsen is world-renowned as an innovator in modern Danish lighting, but this wasn’t the goal from the start. Founded in 1874 by Ludvig R. Poulsen as a wine importer, the business went through several incarnations before its first pendant lights came to fruition. Through its designs, the company helped establish the foundations of good lighting — function, comfort and ambience — that are now standard in modern furniture design.
In 1924, Danish architect Poul Henningsen partnered with Louis Poulsen & Co., then an electrical supply company, to create what’s now known as the Paris lamp. This design, which incorporated three layers of curved metal disks, created ambience with its indirect light instead of glare. Shown at the 1925 Exposition Internationale des Arts Décoratifs et Industriels Modernes in Paris — the exhibition that brought Art Deco design to worldwide attention — the Paris lamp was awarded a gold medal. This led to Poulsen and Henningsen working together on several lighting pieces, including the popular PH pendant light with its concentric shades for the Forum Building in Copenhagen. These high-profile projects helped make Louis Poulsen a go-to purveyor of innovative lighting design.
One of the company’s most well-known lamps is Henningsen’s PH Artichoke lamp (1958), with its 72 copper leaves artfully placed to conceal the light bulb, prevent glare and promote a warm, alluring glow in any room. Another is the steel and die-cast zinc AJ lamp (1960), which Arne Jacobsen designed with an adjustable angled shade for his commission for the SAS Royal Hotel in Copenhagen. The company has also worked with notables such as Verner Panton and Alfred Homann as well as, more recently, Louise Campbell and Oki Sato.
In 2010, the company was awarded the American Institute of Architects’ Honors in Collaborative Achievement Award; it was the first lighting manufacturer to receive this honor. In 2018, the company was acquired by an investment subsidiary of Investindustrial VI L.P.
Still headquartered in Denmark, the brand continues to produce its high-end lighting for both indoor and outdoor use, manufacturing both classic icons as well as new designs. “We design to shape light,” states Louis Poulsen. In doing so, they have also shaped culture.
Find a range of new and vintage Louis Poulsen floor lamps, table lamps and other lighting and furniture on 1stDibs.
GamFratesi Black 'Yuh' Wall Light for Louis Poulsen
By GamFratesi Design Studio, Louis Poulsen
Located in Los Angeles, CA
GamFratesi Black 'Yuh' Wall Light for Louis Poulsen Designed in 2017 by the Danish-Italian duo Stine Gam and Enrico Fratesi, the 'Yuh' is inspired by the classic virtues of Danish M...
Aluminum, Brass
GamFratesi White and Brass 'Yuh' Wall Light for Louis Poulsen
By Louis Poulsen, GamFratesi Design Studio
Located in Los Angeles, CA
GamFratesi White and Brass 'Yuh' Wall Light for Louis Poulsen Designed in 2017 by the Danish-Italian duo Stine Gam and Enrico Fratesi, the 'Yuh' is inspired by the classic virtues o...
Brass, Aluminum
Large Pierre Guariche 'G1' Wall Lamp for Sammode Studio in Black
By Pierre Guariche, Sammode
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Large Pierre Guariche 'G1' wall lamp for Sammode Studio in black. Originally designed by Pierre Guariche in 1951, this monumental wall lamp is newly produced in an authorized re-ed...
Aluminum, Brass, Steel
Vilhelm Lauritzen 'VL 38 Radiohus' Sconce for Louis Poulsen in Black
By Louis Poulsen, Vilhelm Lauritzen
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Vilhelm Lauritzen 'VL 38 Radiohus' Sconce for Louis Poulsen in Black Originally designed in the 1930s by Vilhelm Lauritzen in partnership with Louis Poulsen for the construction of ...
Brass, Metal
Ignazio Gardella 'Coppa Aperta Applique' Wall Lamp in Black and Brass
By Tato Italia, Ignazio Gardella
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Ignazio Gardella 'Coppa Aperta Applique' Wall Lamp in Black and Brass. Ignazio Gardella was one of the leading figures in Italian twentieth-century architecture. A graduate of the P...
Brass, Metal
Large 'Flindt' Indoor or Outdoor Wall Light in Black for Louis Poulsen
By Christian Flindt, Louis Poulsen
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Large 'Flindt' Indoor or Outdoor Wall Light in Black for Louis Poulsen. A circular, wall-mounted fixture that brings bold, sculptural illumination to both indoor and outdoor spaces....
Aluminum, Steel
Louis Poulsen, Wall Brass Lamp by GamFratesi
By Louis Poulsen, GamFratesi Design Studio
Located in Saint-Ouen, FR
Louis Poulsen, wall brass lamp by Gamfratesi Measures: Width x height x length (mm) 296 x 626 x 296, 4.6 kg Gamfratesi black and brass 'YUH' wall light for Louis Poulsen. Designed by Stine Gam and Enrico Fratesi, the YUH reflects Louis Poulsen’s philosophy of designing to shape light. Inspired by the Classic virtues of Danish Modernism, Poul Henningsen’s philosophy about light and with Arne Jacobsen’s geometric shapes, Gamfratesi pays homage to the legends and adds their own characteristic aesthetic playfulness to the new Yuh Lamp...
Metal
Konsthantverk Svep Wall Lamp in Black Brass, Scandinavian Design
Located in Barcelona, Barcelona
Wall lamp model Svep designed by Konsthantverk and manufactured by themselves. The production of lamps, wall lights and floor lamps are manufactured using craftsman’s techniques ...
Brass
Contemporary Wall Lamp in Black Steel 'Mosaik' by Lyfa
By Bent Karlby, Lyfa
Located in Paris, IDF
Mosaik, wall lamp in black steel by LYFA. Size : H 23,5 x W 17 x D 21,4 cm Materials : Matt painted Steel, Solid brass LIGHT SOURCE (NOT INCLUDED) Socket: E27 Max wattage: 4...
Brass, Steel
Signal Arm Sconce in Black x Brass, Long, by Souda, Made to Order
By Souda, Shaun Kasperbauer
Located in Brooklyn, NY
The Signal arm sconce is a rotatable sconce that seamlessly blend the Mid-Century Modern aesthetic with that of science fiction. A bent aluminum tube...
Metal, Steel
Vilhelm Lauritzen 'VL Studio' Wall Lamp in Brass for Louis Poulsen
By Vilhelm Lauritzen
Located in Tilburg, NL
Vilhelm Lauritzen 'VL Studio' wall lamp in brass for Louis Poulsen. Designed in the 1940s. New, current production. The VL Studio family derives from a lamp designed by architect Vilhelm Lauritzen for Radiohuset (The Radio House, headquarters of the Danish Broadcasting Corporation) in Copenhagen in the 1940s. The name ‘Studio’ was chosen because some of the lamps were used outside studios to indicate – with either a red or green light – whether recording was taking place. Vilhelm Lauritzen was the architect behind Radiohuset, which was inaugurated in his functionalist design in 1945. Radiohuset is a ‘gesamtkunstwerk’ – like most of Lauritzen’s buildings – meaning that he designed all the interiors and every detail of the building for the project. When developing Radiohuset, Lauritzen designed a broad collection of lamps in close collaboration with Louis Poulsen. For this project, Lauritzen created the Studio lamp, the VL 38...
Brass
Jaime Hayon Lighto A Black Matte- Golden Glossy Cup Wall Lamp For Parachilna
By Jaime Hayon
Located in Barcelona, Barcelona
Jaime Hayon Lighto A Black Matte- Golden Glossy Cup Wall Lamp For Parachilna This is a skinny yet characteristic collection. So simple yet so unique, with stunning finishes. Produ...
Steel
