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 The modernists rejected both natural and historical references and relied primarily on industrial materials such as metal, glass, plywood, and, later, plastics.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 Italian Modern Figurative Sculptures
Bronze
1950s French Vintage Modern Figurative Sculptures
Ceramic
Early 20th Century Danish Modern Figurative Sculptures
Plaster
21st Century and Contemporary French Modern Figurative Sculptures
Fiberglass
2010s British Modern Figurative Sculptures
Ceramic, Stoneware
21st Century and Contemporary British Modern Figurative Sculptures
Bronze
21st Century and Contemporary Spanish Modern Figurative Sculptures
Porcelain
2010s American Modern Figurative Sculptures
Walnut, Maple
Late 20th Century Modern Figurative Sculptures
Granite, Marble
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Figurative Sculptures
Marble
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Figurative Sculptures
Alabaster, Marble
21st Century and Contemporary Chinese Modern Figurative Sculptures
Porcelain
21st Century and Contemporary European Modern Figurative Sculptures
Plywood
2010s Italian Modern Figurative Sculptures
Art Glass
Early 2000s Hong Kong Modern Figurative Sculptures
Metal
2010s Modern Figurative Sculptures
Copper
20th Century Spanish Modern Figurative Sculptures
Metal
20th Century Spanish Modern Figurative Sculptures
Porcelain
1960s French Vintage Modern Figurative Sculptures
Ceramic
Early 20th Century Austrian Modern Figurative Sculptures
Gold, Silver, Enamel
1990s North American Modern Figurative Sculptures
Wool, Acrylic
21st Century and Contemporary European Modern Figurative Sculptures
Plywood
2010s Argentine Modern Figurative Sculptures
Resin, Fiberglass
Mid-20th Century German Modern Figurative Sculptures
Multi-gemstone
21st Century and Contemporary French Modern Figurative Sculptures
Iron
20th Century American Modern Figurative Sculptures
Bronze
21st Century and Contemporary Spanish Modern Figurative Sculptures
Porcelain
2010s Italian Modern Figurative Sculptures
Blown Glass, Murano Glass
21st Century and Contemporary Modern Figurative Sculptures
2010s Polish Modern Figurative Sculptures
Bronze
Mid-20th Century American Modern Figurative Sculptures
Plaster
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Figurative Sculptures
Resin
1990s Modern Figurative Sculptures
Bronze
Early 2000s Hong Kong Modern Figurative Sculptures
Rubber
21st Century and Contemporary Modern Figurative Sculptures
Crystal
20th Century Italian Modern Figurative Sculptures
Glass
Early 20th Century Italian Modern Figurative Sculptures
Carrara Marble
Early 2000s Hong Kong Modern Figurative Sculptures
Plastic
Early 2000s American Modern Figurative Sculptures
Paper
Early 2000s Hong Kong Modern Figurative Sculptures
Plastic
1970s American Vintage Modern Figurative Sculptures
Brass
21st Century and Contemporary French Modern Figurative Sculptures
Stone
20th Century North American Modern Figurative Sculptures
Alabaster, Stainless Steel
Late 20th Century Swedish Modern Figurative Sculptures
Granite
2010s Ukrainian Modern Figurative Sculptures
Wood, Ash, Oak
2010s British Modern Figurative Sculptures
Glass, Art Glass, Blown Glass
2010s German Modern Figurative Sculptures
Ceramic, Clay
20th Century Belarusian Modern Figurative Sculptures
Bronze
1990s American Modern Figurative Sculptures
Marble
20th Century French Modern Figurative Sculptures
Marble, Bronze
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Figurative Sculptures
Marble, Alabaster
2010s Italian Modern Figurative Sculptures
Blown Glass, Murano Glass
20th Century Spanish Modern Figurative Sculptures
Metal
2010s Italian Modern Figurative Sculptures
Murano Glass
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Figurative Sculptures
Marble
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Figurative Sculptures
Ceramic
2010s Italian Modern Figurative Sculptures
Murano Glass
2010s Italian Modern Figurative Sculptures
Murano Glass