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 The modernists rejected both natural and historical references and relied primarily on industrial materials such as metal, glass, plywood, and, later, plastics.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.
Late 20th Century Danish Modern Figurative Sculptures
Ceramic
Early 2000s Italian Modern Figurative Sculptures
Polystyrene
1960s Italian Vintage Modern Figurative Sculptures
Murano Glass
Late 20th Century Italian Modern Figurative Sculptures
Bronze
2010s Spanish Modern Figurative Sculptures
Wood
21st Century and Contemporary French Modern Figurative Sculptures
Resin, Plaster
2010s Greek Modern Figurative Sculptures
Marble
Late 20th Century Spanish Modern Figurative Sculptures
Brass, Steel
20th Century French Modern Figurative Sculptures
Metal
Late 20th Century American Modern Figurative Sculptures
Bronze
21st Century and Contemporary Modern Figurative Sculptures
Earthenware
1930s American Vintage Modern Figurative Sculptures
Bronze
2010s Italian Modern Figurative Sculptures
Art Glass
Mid-20th Century European Modern Figurative Sculptures
Bronze
1970s Italian Vintage Modern Figurative Sculptures
Metal
21st Century and Contemporary Chinese Modern Figurative Sculptures
Porcelain
2010s Italian Modern Figurative Sculptures
Concrete
1940s French Vintage Modern Figurative Sculptures
Ceramic
1960s French Vintage Modern Figurative Sculptures
Bronze
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Figurative Sculptures
Gold Leaf
21st Century and Contemporary French Modern Figurative Sculptures
Metal
Mid-20th Century Danish Modern Figurative Sculptures
Bronze
1990s French Modern Figurative Sculptures
Aluminum, Cut Steel
2010s American Modern Figurative Sculptures
Walnut
2010s Italian Modern Figurative Sculptures
Art Glass
2010s Modern Figurative Sculptures
Copper
2010s Italian Modern Figurative Sculptures
Gold Leaf
1980s British Vintage Modern Figurative Sculptures
Marble
2010s Italian Modern Figurative Sculptures
Fiberglass
20th Century French Modern Figurative Sculptures
Crystal
20th Century American Modern Figurative Sculptures
Porcelain
2010s Italian Modern Figurative Sculptures
Gold Leaf
2010s Argentine Modern Figurative Sculptures
Resin, Fiberglass
1980s Italian Vintage Modern Figurative Sculptures
Ceramic
2010s Argentine Modern Figurative Sculptures
Resin, Fiberglass
Early 2000s Italian Modern Figurative Sculptures
Art Glass
2010s British Modern Figurative Sculptures
Ceramic, Stoneware
1970s American Vintage Modern Figurative Sculptures
Bronze
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Figurative Sculptures
Marble
1980s Mexican Vintage Modern Figurative Sculptures
Ceramic, Paint
1980s American Vintage Modern Figurative Sculptures
Bronze, Enamel
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Figurative Sculptures
Glass, Murano Glass
Late 20th Century Italian Modern Figurative Sculptures
Art Glass
Late 20th Century Dutch Modern Figurative Sculptures
Bronze
Mid-20th Century Modern Figurative Sculptures
Teak
21st Century and Contemporary French Modern Figurative Sculptures
Metal
2010s Italian Modern Figurative Sculptures
Aluminum
Early 20th Century German Modern Figurative Sculptures
Stone, Bronze
20th Century Spanish Modern Figurative Sculptures
Porcelain
2010s Italian Modern Figurative Sculptures
Art Glass
21st Century and Contemporary British Modern Figurative Sculptures
Earthenware
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Figurative Sculptures
Acrylic
1980s French Vintage Modern Figurative Sculptures
Iron
21st Century and Contemporary Chinese Modern Figurative Sculptures
Porcelain
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Figurative Sculptures
Glass
2010s Italian Modern Figurative Sculptures
Ceramic, Paint
Early 2000s American Modern Figurative Sculptures
Bronze
2010s Greek Modern Figurative Sculptures
Marble
2010s American Modern Figurative Sculptures
Glass, Art Glass, Blown Glass
2010s Italian Modern Figurative Sculptures
Art Glass