Modern Figurative Sculptures
The late 19th and early 20th centuries saw sweeping social change and major scientific advances — both of which contributed to a new aesthetic: modernism. Rejecting the rigidity of Victorian artistic conventions, modernists sought a new means of expression. References to the natural world and ornate classical embellishments gave way to the sleek simplicity of the Machine Age. Architect Philip Johnson characterized the hallmarks of modernism as “machine-like simplicity, smoothness or surface [and] avoidance of ornament.”
Early practitioners of modernist design include the De Stijl (“The Style”) group, founded in the Netherlands in 1917, and the Bauhaus School, founded two years later in Germany.
Followers of both groups produced sleek, spare designs — many of which became icons of daily life in the 20th century. The modernists rejected both natural and historical references and relied primarily on industrial materials such as metal, glass, plywood, and, later, plastics. While Bauhaus principals Marcel Breuer and Ludwig Mies van der Rohe created furniture from mass-produced, chrome-plated steel, American visionaries like Charles and Ray Eames worked in materials as novel as molded plywood and fiberglass. Today, Breuer’s Wassily chair, Mies van der Rohe’s Barcelona chair — crafted with his romantic partner, designer Lilly Reich — and the Eames lounge chair are emblems of progressive design and vintage originals are prized cornerstones of collections.
It’s difficult to overstate the influence that modernism continues to wield over designers and architects — and equally difficult to overstate how revolutionary it was when it first appeared a century ago. But because modernist furniture designs are so simple, they can blend in seamlessly with just about any type of décor. Don’t overlook them.
1990s Spanish Modern Figurative Sculptures
Porcelain
Early 2000s Italian Modern Figurative Sculptures
Wood
Mid-20th Century Italian Modern Figurative Sculptures
Murano Glass
Mid-20th Century American Modern Figurative Sculptures
Plaster
21st Century and Contemporary Chinese Modern Figurative Sculptures
Stainless Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Canadian Modern Figurative Sculptures
Lucite
2010s Modern Figurative Sculptures
Copper
1960s Chinese Vintage Modern Figurative Sculptures
Wood
2010s French Modern Figurative Sculptures
Brass
1990s Spanish Modern Figurative Sculptures
Porcelain
2010s Italian Modern Figurative Sculptures
Fiberglass
Early 2000s Italian Modern Figurative Sculptures
Wood
20th Century Spanish Modern Figurative Sculptures
Bronze
Early 2000s German Modern Figurative Sculptures
Porcelain
1980s Italian Vintage Modern Figurative Sculptures
Ceramic
21st Century and Contemporary Unknown Modern Figurative Sculptures
Bronze
21st Century and Contemporary Modern Figurative Sculptures
Gold Plate
21st Century and Contemporary Spanish Modern Figurative Sculptures
Porcelain
21st Century and Contemporary Spanish Modern Figurative Sculptures
Porcelain
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Figurative Sculptures
Acrylic
21st Century and Contemporary Canadian Modern Figurative Sculptures
Lucite
1980s Spanish Vintage Modern Figurative Sculptures
Porcelain
Late 20th Century Spanish Modern Figurative Sculptures
Brass, Steel
21st Century and Contemporary French Modern Figurative Sculptures
Crystal
1980s American Vintage Modern Figurative Sculptures
Marble, Bronze, Chrome
Early 2000s Italian Modern Figurative Sculptures
Wood
2010s Modern Figurative Sculptures
Copper
1920s German Vintage Modern Figurative Sculptures
Marble, Bronze
2010s Belgian Modern Figurative Sculptures
Metal
21st Century and Contemporary Modern Figurative Sculptures
Porcelain
Early 2000s Italian Modern Figurative Sculptures
Ceramic
2010s American Modern Figurative Sculptures
Metal
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Figurative Sculptures
Glass
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Figurative Sculptures
Glass, Plastic
1980s American Vintage Modern Figurative Sculptures
Bronze
1990s Modern Figurative Sculptures
Iron
Late 20th Century American Modern Figurative Sculptures
Bronze
2010s Italian Modern Figurative Sculptures
Resin
2010s Italian Modern Figurative Sculptures
Resin
2010s Brazilian Modern Figurative Sculptures
Ceramic
20th Century Modern Figurative Sculptures
Plastic
2010s Italian Modern Figurative Sculptures
Aluminum
2010s Italian Modern Figurative Sculptures
Resin
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Figurative Sculptures
Glass, Plastic
Late 20th Century American Modern Figurative Sculptures
Composition, Marble, Brass
2010s Italian Modern Figurative Sculptures
Fiberglass
2010s Mexican Modern Figurative Sculptures
Hardwood
2010s Italian Modern Figurative Sculptures
Resin
2010s Italian Modern Figurative Sculptures
Resin
Mid-20th Century Sicilian Modern Figurative Sculptures
Terracotta
2010s Italian Modern Figurative Sculptures
Fiberglass
2010s Indonesian Modern Figurative Sculptures
Wood
Early 20th Century Danish Modern Figurative Sculptures
Bronze
20th Century Italian Modern Figurative Sculptures
Carrara Marble
20th Century Modern Figurative Sculptures
Resin, Plastic
20th Century American Modern Figurative Sculptures
Resin
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Figurative Sculptures
Glass, Plastic
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Figurative Sculptures
Glass, Plastic