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 The modernists rejected both natural and historical references and relied primarily on industrial materials such as metal, glass, plywood, and, later, plastics.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 Swedish Modern Figurative Sculptures
Granite
Mid-20th Century Sicilian Modern Figurative Sculptures
Terracotta
Early 20th Century Danish Modern Figurative Sculptures
Clay
20th Century Italian Modern Figurative Sculptures
Art Glass, Blown Glass, Murano Glass
1990s Modern Figurative Sculptures
Porcelain
Mid-20th Century Danish Modern Figurative Sculptures
Wood
Early 20th Century Italian Modern Figurative Sculptures
Marble
Early 20th Century Italian Modern Figurative Sculptures
Marble
1980s Brazilian Vintage Modern Figurative Sculptures
Rock Crystal
1970s French Vintage Modern Figurative Sculptures
Bronze
Late 20th Century English Modern Figurative Sculptures
Chrome
Mid-20th Century Italian Modern Figurative Sculptures
Glass
Late 20th Century Zimbabwean Modern Figurative Sculptures
Stone
1980s Italian Vintage Modern Figurative Sculptures
Ceramic
1980s American Vintage Modern Figurative Sculptures
Marble
Late 20th Century American Modern Figurative Sculptures
Composition, Marble, Brass
1990s Spanish Modern Figurative Sculptures
Porcelain
20th Century American Modern Figurative Sculptures
Bronze
1970s Italian Vintage Modern Figurative Sculptures
Limestone
1970s French Vintage Modern Figurative Sculptures
Ceramic
1980s Italian Vintage Modern Figurative Sculptures
Murano Glass
1970s Canadian Vintage Modern Figurative Sculptures
Copper
20th Century Belarusian Modern Figurative Sculptures
Bronze
20th Century American Modern Figurative Sculptures
Porcelain
Mid-20th Century American Modern Figurative Sculptures
Plaster
20th Century European Modern Figurative Sculptures
Marble, Carrara Marble
Mid-20th Century Korean Modern Figurative Sculptures
Brass
1920s Italian Vintage Modern Figurative Sculptures
Wood
Early 20th Century Danish Modern Figurative Sculptures
Bronze
Late 20th Century Spanish Modern Figurative Sculptures
Porcelain
1930s Belgian Vintage Modern Figurative Sculptures
Ceramic
1970s Spanish Vintage Modern Figurative Sculptures
Cast Stone, Cement
Mid-20th Century Italian Modern Figurative Sculptures
Plaster
20th Century American Modern Figurative Sculptures
Concrete
Mid-20th Century German Modern Figurative Sculptures
Multi-gemstone
20th Century American Modern Figurative Sculptures
Concrete, Tin
Early 20th Century Italian Modern Figurative Sculptures
Marble
1980s French Vintage Modern Figurative Sculptures
Ceramic
1970s Italian Vintage Modern Figurative Sculptures
Metal, Chrome
Mid-20th Century American Modern Figurative Sculptures
Plaster
20th Century Modern Figurative Sculptures
Porcelain
1980s Italian Vintage Modern Figurative Sculptures
Travertine, Iron
Early 20th Century Italian Modern Figurative Sculptures
Terracotta
Early 20th Century Italian Modern Figurative Sculptures
Carrara Marble
1940s French Vintage Modern Figurative Sculptures
Terracotta, Wood
1990s Italian Modern Figurative Sculptures
Travertine, Iron
Early 20th Century Italian Modern Figurative Sculptures
Marble
Late 20th Century Italian Modern Figurative Sculptures
Murano Glass
20th Century Modern Figurative Sculptures
Terracotta
Late 20th Century Portuguese Modern Figurative Sculptures
Marble, Bronze
1970s Spanish Vintage Modern Figurative Sculptures
Foam
20th Century German Modern Figurative Sculptures
Porcelain
Mid-20th Century Modern Figurative Sculptures
Clay
Early 20th Century Israeli Modern Figurative Sculptures
Mother-of-Pearl, Olive, Abalone
20th Century Unknown Modern Figurative Sculptures
Metal
20th Century French Modern Figurative Sculptures
Resin
Late 20th Century Italian Modern Figurative Sculptures
Art Glass
20th Century French Modern Figurative Sculptures
Bronze