Modern Architectural Elements
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 The modernists rejected both natural and historical references and relied primarily on industrial materials such as metal, glass, plywood, and, later, plastics.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.
1980s French Vintage Modern Architectural Elements
Lava
Early 20th Century Italian Modern Architectural Elements
Carrara Marble
Mid-20th Century American Modern Architectural Elements
Bronze
Early 20th Century Italian Modern Architectural Elements
Carrara Marble
Early 20th Century American Modern Architectural Elements
Metal
Early 20th Century Italian Modern Architectural Elements
Carrara Marble
Early 20th Century Italian Modern Architectural Elements
Carrara Marble
Early 20th Century Italian Modern Architectural Elements
Marble
Early 20th Century Italian Modern Architectural Elements
Marble
1970s Danish Vintage Modern Architectural Elements
Concrete
20th Century European Modern Architectural Elements
Brass
1950s Spanish Vintage Modern Architectural Elements
Plaster
20th Century American Modern Architectural Elements
Lead
20th Century American Modern Architectural Elements
Lead
20th Century American Modern Architectural Elements
Lead
1970s French Vintage Modern Architectural Elements
Brass
Early 20th Century English Modern Architectural Elements
Brass
20th Century French Modern Architectural Elements
Iron
19th Century Swedish Antique Modern Architectural Elements
Terracotta
19th Century French Antique Modern Architectural Elements
Oak
2010s Italian Modern Architectural Elements
Steel
Early 1900s American Antique Modern Architectural Elements
Leather, Maple
Late 20th Century American Modern Architectural Elements
Aluminum, Steel
Early 20th Century Italian Modern Architectural Elements
Terracotta
1930s American Vintage Modern Architectural Elements
Glass
2010s Italian Modern Architectural Elements
Concrete, Steel
2010s Australian Modern Architectural Elements
Bronze
20th Century French Modern Architectural Elements
Plaster
20th Century Spanish Modern Architectural Elements
Copper, Iron
2010s Italian Modern Architectural Elements
Aluminum, Steel
2010s Chinese Modern Architectural Elements
Malachite, Bronze
20th Century French Modern Architectural Elements
Cowhide
Mid-20th Century American Modern Architectural Elements
Brass
Late 20th Century European Modern Architectural Elements
Bronze
Late 20th Century Italian Modern Architectural Elements
Travertine, Marble
Mid-20th Century American Modern Architectural Elements
Brass
Late 20th Century American Modern Architectural Elements
Brass
Mid-17th Century Unknown Antique Modern Architectural Elements
Iron
20th Century American Modern Architectural Elements
Lead
Late 19th Century American Antique Modern Architectural Elements
Brass
20th Century Modern Architectural Elements
Brass
20th Century Modern Architectural Elements
Chrome
1950s Mexican Vintage Modern Architectural Elements
Paint