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 The modernists rejected both natural and historical references and relied primarily on industrial materials such as metal, glass, plywood, and, later, plastics.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.
21st Century and Contemporary Modern Figurative Sculptures
Earthenware
Late 20th Century Zimbabwean Modern Figurative Sculptures
Stone
1970s American Vintage Modern Figurative Sculptures
Wicker, Rattan
Mid-19th Century Danish Antique Modern Figurative Sculptures
Bronze
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Figurative Sculptures
Blown Glass
21st Century and Contemporary Greek Modern Figurative Sculptures
Composition
1970s French Vintage Modern Figurative Sculptures
Stainless Steel
2010s Italian Modern Figurative Sculptures
Aluminum
1970s American Vintage Modern Figurative Sculptures
Ceramic
20th Century English Modern Figurative Sculptures
Stoneware
2010s Spanish Modern Figurative Sculptures
Wood
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Figurative Sculptures
Glass
21st Century and Contemporary French Modern Figurative Sculptures
Marble
Early 2000s Italian Modern Figurative Sculptures
Art Glass
20th Century American Modern Figurative Sculptures
Rock Crystal, Brass
Mid-20th Century Italian Modern Figurative Sculptures
Glass
2010s Italian Modern Figurative Sculptures
Enamel
1990s Modern Figurative Sculptures
Iron
2010s Italian Modern Figurative Sculptures
Aluminum
Late 20th Century Portuguese Modern Figurative Sculptures
Marble, Bronze
1930s French Vintage Modern Figurative Sculptures
Silver Plate, Spelter
1980s Italian Vintage Modern Figurative Sculptures
Travertine, Iron
Mid-20th Century European Modern Figurative Sculptures
Bronze
2010s Italian Modern Figurative Sculptures
Aluminum
1980s Spanish Vintage Modern Figurative Sculptures
Marble, Bronze
Late 20th Century Austrian Modern Figurative Sculptures
Bronze
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Figurative Sculptures
Glass
20th Century American Modern Figurative Sculptures
Steel
20th Century Modern Figurative Sculptures
Metal
1990s French Modern Figurative Sculptures
Bronze
Early 2000s American Modern Figurative Sculptures
Ceramic, Wood
Mid-20th Century Danish Modern Figurative Sculptures
Bronze
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Figurative Sculptures
Wood, Hardwood, Walnut
21st Century and Contemporary Modern Figurative Sculptures
Porcelain
2010s Italian Modern Figurative Sculptures
Ceramic, Paint
2010s Italian Modern Figurative Sculptures
Aluminum
21st Century and Contemporary British Modern Figurative Sculptures
Bronze
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Figurative Sculptures
Blown Glass
1960s American Vintage Modern Figurative Sculptures
Lucite
2010s Italian Modern Figurative Sculptures
Aluminum
Late 20th Century Unknown Modern Figurative Sculptures
Marble
21st Century and Contemporary French Modern Figurative Sculptures
Glass
20th Century Danish Modern Figurative Sculptures
Bronze
Late 20th Century Unknown Modern Figurative Sculptures
Bronze
21st Century and Contemporary Modern Figurative Sculptures
Blown Glass
1980s American Vintage Modern Figurative Sculptures
Marble
1980s Italian Vintage Modern Figurative Sculptures
Crystal
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Figurative Sculptures
Hardwood
Mid-20th Century Spanish Modern Figurative Sculptures
Iron
2010s Italian Modern Figurative Sculptures
Aluminum
Early 2000s Modern Figurative Sculptures
Metal
2010s Italian Modern Figurative Sculptures
Ceramic, Paint
1980s Italian Vintage Modern Figurative Sculptures
Porcelain
2010s Spanish Modern Figurative Sculptures
Sheepskin, Upholstery, Lacquer
1970s Danish Vintage Modern Figurative Sculptures
Granite
Early 2000s American Modern Figurative Sculptures
Composition
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Figurative Sculptures
Glass
Late 20th Century American Modern Figurative Sculptures
Iron