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 The modernists rejected both natural and historical references and relied primarily on industrial materials such as metal, glass, plywood, and, later, plastics.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.
20th Century European Modern Figurative Sculptures
Marble, Bronze
Late 20th Century European Modern Figurative Sculptures
Bronze
1980s American Vintage Modern Figurative Sculptures
Plastic, Hardwood
1970s American Vintage Modern Figurative Sculptures
Plaster
20th Century Italian Modern Figurative Sculptures
Terracotta
20th Century Italian Modern Figurative Sculptures
Terracotta
20th Century Italian Modern Figurative Sculptures
Terracotta
Mid-20th Century Italian Modern Figurative Sculptures
Art Glass
1970s French Vintage Modern Figurative Sculptures
Aluminum
20th Century Scandinavian Modern Figurative Sculptures
Bronze
20th Century Italian Modern Figurative Sculptures
Terracotta
20th Century Italian Modern Figurative Sculptures
Terracotta
20th Century Italian Modern Figurative Sculptures
Terracotta
20th Century Italian Modern Figurative Sculptures
Terracotta
20th Century Italian Modern Figurative Sculptures
Terracotta
Late 20th Century Italian Modern Figurative Sculptures
Marble
1990s American Modern Figurative Sculptures
Bronze
Early 20th Century Italian Modern Figurative Sculptures
Cement
Late 20th Century Modern Figurative Sculptures
Bronze
Mid-20th Century American Modern Figurative Sculptures
Marble, Bronze
Late 20th Century American Modern Figurative Sculptures
Bronze
1980s Italian Vintage Modern Figurative Sculptures
Art Glass, Hardwood, Paint
Mid-20th Century French Modern Figurative Sculptures
Stone, Bronze
20th Century American Modern Figurative Sculptures
Porcelain
1980s North American Vintage Modern Figurative Sculptures
Marble, Bronze
Late 20th Century North American Modern Figurative Sculptures
Bronze
Late 20th Century American Modern Figurative Sculptures
Bronze
1990s French Modern Figurative Sculptures
Bronze
1950s French Vintage Modern Figurative Sculptures
Plaster
1930s French Vintage Modern Figurative Sculptures
Plaster
Late 20th Century American Modern Figurative Sculptures
Acrylic
Late 20th Century American Modern Figurative Sculptures
Bronze
1960s French Vintage Modern Figurative Sculptures
Chrome, Brass
1950s French Vintage Modern Figurative Sculptures
Metal
1960s Italian Vintage Modern Figurative Sculptures
Murano Glass
Late 20th Century Italian Modern Figurative Sculptures
Marble
1970s Mexican Vintage Modern Figurative Sculptures
Marble, Bronze
Late 20th Century Modern Figurative Sculptures
Stone
Mid-20th Century Italian Modern Figurative Sculptures
Glass
1920s French Vintage Modern Figurative Sculptures
Plaster
Late 20th Century Italian Modern Figurative Sculptures
Marble
1950s American Vintage Modern Figurative Sculptures
Bronze
Late 20th Century Italian Modern Figurative Sculptures
Marble
Late 20th Century Italian Modern Figurative Sculptures
Marble
Late 20th Century Italian Modern Figurative Sculptures
Marble
Late 20th Century Italian Modern Figurative Sculptures
Marble
1990s Italian Modern Figurative Sculptures
Wood
Late 20th Century Portuguese Modern Figurative Sculptures
Marble, Bronze
1950s Italian Vintage Modern Figurative Sculptures
Ceramic
Late 20th Century French Modern Figurative Sculptures
Birch, Fruitwood
1970s Vintage Modern Figurative Sculptures
Wrought Iron
1960s Italian Vintage Modern Figurative Sculptures
Murano Glass
Late 20th Century Modern Figurative Sculptures
Ceramic
Mid-20th Century Mexican Modern Figurative Sculptures
Marble, Bronze
1970s Italian Vintage Modern Figurative Sculptures
Wood
1990s French Modern Figurative Sculptures
Aluminum, Steel
Early 20th Century Italian Modern Figurative Sculptures
Carrara Marble
1970s American Vintage Modern Figurative Sculptures
Ceramic