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 The modernists rejected both natural and historical references and relied primarily on industrial materials such as metal, glass, plywood, and, later, plastics.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.
2010s Italian Modern Figurative Sculptures
Murano Glass, Art Glass
21st Century and Contemporary European Modern Figurative Sculptures
Plywood
2010s Italian Modern Figurative Sculptures
Ceramic
21st Century and Contemporary French Modern Figurative Sculptures
Stoneware
21st Century and Contemporary Indonesian Modern Figurative Sculptures
Bronze
Early 20th Century Italian Modern Figurative Sculptures
Carrara Marble
Early 20th Century Italian Modern Figurative Sculptures
Terracotta
Mid-20th Century American Modern Figurative Sculptures
Plaster
2010s Brazilian Modern Figurative Sculptures
Onyx, Bronze
1970s Spanish Vintage Modern Figurative Sculptures
Foam
1990s Italian Modern Figurative Sculptures
Travertine, Iron
Late 20th Century Italian Modern Figurative Sculptures
Murano Glass
2010s Italian Modern Figurative Sculptures
Art Glass, Murano Glass
2010s Italian Modern Figurative Sculptures
Art Glass, Murano Glass
2010s Italian Modern Figurative Sculptures
Art Glass, Murano Glass
2010s Italian Modern Figurative Sculptures
Art Glass, Murano Glass
2010s Italian Modern Figurative Sculptures
Art Glass, Murano Glass
2010s Italian Modern Figurative Sculptures
Art Glass, Murano Glass
2010s Spanish Modern Figurative Sculptures
Cast Stone, Brass, Nickel
2010s European Modern Figurative Sculptures
Wood, Beech
2010s Danish Modern Figurative Sculptures
Marble
2010s Spanish Modern Figurative Sculptures
Cast Stone, Brass, Nickel
2010s Spanish Modern Figurative Sculptures
Cast Stone, Brass, Nickel
2010s Dutch Modern Figurative Sculptures
Velvet, Polyester
2010s Italian Modern Figurative Sculptures
Art Glass, Murano Glass
2010s Spanish Modern Figurative Sculptures
Cast Stone, Brass, Nickel
2010s Spanish Modern Figurative Sculptures
Cast Stone, Brass, Nickel
20th Century Modern Figurative Sculptures
Terracotta
2010s Spanish Modern Figurative Sculptures
Cast Stone, Brass, Nickel
2010s Spanish Modern Figurative Sculptures
Cast Stone, Brass, Nickel
2010s Italian Modern Figurative Sculptures
Art Glass, Murano Glass
Early 20th Century Italian Modern Figurative Sculptures
Marble
21st Century and Contemporary Balkan Modern Figurative Sculptures
Stainless Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Figurative Sculptures
Ceramic
20th Century Modern Figurative Sculptures
Porcelain
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Figurative Sculptures
Brass
21st Century and Contemporary French Modern Figurative Sculptures
Resin
1970s Italian Vintage Modern Figurative Sculptures
Porcelain, Wood
2010s Italian Modern Figurative Sculptures
Art Glass, Murano Glass
2010s French Modern Figurative Sculptures
Plaster
2010s Italian Modern Figurative Sculptures
Murano Glass, Art Glass
2010s Belgian Modern Figurative Sculptures
Fiberglass
21st Century and Contemporary French Modern Figurative Sculptures
Resin
2010s American Modern Figurative Sculptures
Marble, Bronze
2010s Italian Modern Figurative Sculptures
Murano Glass, Art Glass
2010s Italian Modern Figurative Sculptures
Art Glass, Murano Glass
2010s Greek Modern Figurative Sculptures
Marble
2010s Mexican Modern Figurative Sculptures
Quartz
1970s Vintage Modern Figurative Sculptures
Bronze, Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Spanish Modern Figurative Sculptures
Porcelain
2010s Italian Modern Figurative Sculptures
Enamel
21st Century and Contemporary Indonesian Modern Figurative Sculptures
Bronze
2010s Italian Modern Figurative Sculptures
Terracotta
21st Century and Contemporary Canadian Modern Figurative Sculptures
Lucite
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Figurative Sculptures
Marble
21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Modern Figurative Sculptures
Marble
1960s Unknown Vintage Modern Figurative Sculptures
Wood
Late 20th Century Portuguese Modern Figurative Sculptures
Marble, Bronze