Cecilie Manz's Caravaggio Pendant Lamps

Posted on September 27, 2007 Under Design

If Danish-born Designer Cecilie Manz were to take her cues from her own country's cultural heritage she might be selling light fixtures adorned with little mermaids with missing tongues, but rather than relying on Hans Christian Anderson for her inspiration, Manz turns to Italian Baroque painter Caravaggio as the muse for her collection of pendant lamps that bare his name. Caravaggio was best known for combining "naturalism with a dramatic, even theatrical approach to the use of light and shadow" and Ms. Manz pays homage by adroitly addressing "commercial and residential lighting with a unique minimalistic twist" ensuring that the focus remains on both function and illumination, though she doesn't completely eschew the Danish sensibility by exhibiting a preference for "durable materials and sublime, craftsman-like finish"…a prime example of what’s not at all rotten in the state of Denmark.