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 The modernists rejected both natural and historical references and relied primarily on industrial materials such as metal, glass, plywood, and, later, plastics.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.
Early 2000s Israeli Modern Figurative Sculptures
Metal
2010s British Modern Figurative Sculptures
Stainless Steel
Early 2000s Hong Kong Modern Figurative Sculptures
Plastic
21st Century and Contemporary French Modern Figurative Sculptures
Bronze
2010s American Modern Figurative Sculptures
Maple, Walnut
2010s American Modern Figurative Sculptures
Walnut
2010s American Modern Figurative Sculptures
Maple, Walnut
2010s American Modern Figurative Sculptures
Walnut
2010s American Modern Figurative Sculptures
Walnut
2010s American Modern Figurative Sculptures
Walnut
2010s American Modern Figurative Sculptures
Maple
2010s American Modern Figurative Sculptures
Walnut
2010s American Modern Figurative Sculptures
Maple, Walnut
2010s American Modern Figurative Sculptures
Maple, Walnut
2010s American Modern Figurative Sculptures
Maple, Walnut
2010s American Modern Figurative Sculptures
Marble
2010s American Modern Figurative Sculptures
Marble
2010s American Modern Figurative Sculptures
Maple, Walnut
2010s American Modern Figurative Sculptures
Maple
2010s American Modern Figurative Sculptures
Walnut
2010s American Modern Figurative Sculptures
Walnut
2010s American Modern Figurative Sculptures
Walnut
2010s American Modern Figurative Sculptures
Walnut
2010s American Modern Figurative Sculptures
Maple, Walnut
2010s American Modern Figurative Sculptures
Ash
2010s American Modern Figurative Sculptures
Ash
20th Century French Modern Figurative Sculptures
Crystal
1950s Italian Vintage Modern Figurative Sculptures
Murano Glass
2010s American Modern Figurative Sculptures
Bronze
2010s American Modern Figurative Sculptures
Maple
21st Century and Contemporary French Modern Figurative Sculptures
Copper
1970s French Vintage Modern Figurative Sculptures
Plaster
Early 2000s Modern Figurative Sculptures
Metal
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Figurative Sculptures
Ceramic
1960s American Vintage Modern Figurative Sculptures
Plaster
21st Century and Contemporary Modern Figurative Sculptures
Composition
2010s English Modern Figurative Sculptures
Fiberglass
Late 20th Century American Modern Figurative Sculptures
Clay, Ceramic
21st Century and Contemporary French Modern Figurative Sculptures
Brass, Bronze
Early 20th Century Italian Modern Figurative Sculptures
Carrara Marble
1970s French Vintage Modern Figurative Sculptures
Malachite, Gold Plate, Bronze
1990s American Modern Figurative Sculptures
Marble
20th Century Italian Modern Figurative Sculptures
Resin
1960s American Vintage Modern Figurative Sculptures
Bronze
1940s American Vintage Modern Figurative Sculptures
Bronze
1960s American Vintage Modern Figurative Sculptures
Bronze
Early 20th Century Modern Figurative Sculptures
Terracotta
1950s American Vintage Modern Figurative Sculptures
Bronze
1960s American Vintage Modern Figurative Sculptures
Bronze
21st Century and Contemporary French Modern Figurative Sculptures
Chrome
21st Century and Contemporary French Modern Figurative Sculptures
Brass, Bronze
20th Century French Modern Figurative Sculptures
Crystal
Late 20th Century Italian Modern Figurative Sculptures
Murano Glass
20th Century French Modern Figurative Sculptures
Bronze
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Figurative Sculptures
Blown Glass
1990s French Modern Figurative Sculptures
Bronze
1960s Spanish Vintage Modern Figurative Sculptures
Brass
21st Century and Contemporary French Modern Figurative Sculptures
Zinc