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Poul Henningsen

Poul Henningsen, 1894-1967, Danish architect, writer, multi-artist. On the background of the emancipated radical cultural environment of the 1920s he displayed great inventiveness in many fields.

He designed the anti-dazzle table lamp (the PH lamp), developed in several forms and imitated around the world, he built functionalistic houses, he was influential as the Tivoli architect from 1941.

He advocated freedom and naturalness of form as a newspaper polemist and provocateur; he created a linguistic style with his socially critical, now classic revue texts from 1929 onwards.

As the most abused godless personality of his time he influenced education, sexual emancipation and general usageof the language in his battle against conventions and moralising.

Always contrary, he invigorated the democratic mentality in Denmark with his mixture of daring and deliberate recklessness, combined with a delight in the useful miracles of practical everyday life.

Selections of his articles have been published in Vi er selv historie (1963, We Are Ourselves History) and Kulturkritik 1-4 (1973, Cultural Criticism).

Torben Brostrøm, Gyldendal Leksikon

Edited April 23, 2007

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