Modern Paintings and Screens
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 The modernists rejected both natural and historical references and relied primarily on industrial materials such as metal, glass, plywood, and, later, plastics.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.
2010s Italian Modern Paintings and Screens
Brass
2010s Italian Modern Paintings and Screens
Brass
2010s French Modern Paintings and Screens
Metal
2010s Italian Modern Paintings and Screens
Other
2010s Italian Modern Paintings and Screens
Brass, Other
2010s Italian Modern Paintings and Screens
Other
2010s Italian Modern Paintings and Screens
Brass, Other
Early 20th Century British Modern Paintings and Screens
Paper
21st Century and Contemporary British Modern Paintings and Screens
Canvas
Late 20th Century Asian Modern Paintings and Screens
Wood
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Paintings and Screens
Crystal, Brass, Iron
2010s Italian Modern Paintings and Screens
Steel
19th Century Chinese Antique Modern Paintings and Screens
Paint
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Paintings and Screens
Gold Plate, Stainless Steel
2010s French Modern Paintings and Screens
Copper, Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Paintings and Screens
Brass
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Paintings and Screens
Metal
21st Century and Contemporary Indian Modern Paintings and Screens
Felt, Paper
19th Century British Antique Modern Paintings and Screens
Oak
1950s Mexican Vintage Modern Paintings and Screens
Mahogany
20th Century Japanese Modern Paintings and Screens
1950s Asian Vintage Modern Paintings and Screens
Wood
20th Century Chinese Modern Paintings and Screens
Wood
1940s Chinese Vintage Modern Paintings and Screens
Stone
Late 20th Century Chinese Modern Paintings and Screens
Enamel
19th Century Japanese Antique Modern Paintings and Screens
Brass
Early 20th Century Japanese Modern Paintings and Screens
Paper
20th Century Indian Modern Paintings and Screens
Teak
1970s Vintage Modern Paintings and Screens
Hardwood, Paint
20th Century Chinese Modern Paintings and Screens
Gold Leaf, Brass
Early 2000s Spanish Modern Paintings and Screens
Paint
Early 20th Century Modern Paintings and Screens
Canvas
1960s Vintage Modern Paintings and Screens
Paint
Late 20th Century Asian Modern Paintings and Screens
Wood
1990s Japanese Modern Paintings and Screens
Paper
1990s Tibetan Modern Paintings and Screens
Canvas
21st Century and Contemporary Indian Modern Paintings and Screens
Canvas
2010s Modern Paintings and Screens
Paper