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 The modernists rejected both natural and historical references and relied primarily on industrial materials such as metal, glass, plywood, and, later, plastics.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.
1970s Italian Vintage Modern Figurative Sculptures
Limestone
Early 2000s Spanish Modern Figurative Sculptures
Ceramic, Porcelain, Wood
2010s Italian Modern Figurative Sculptures
Resin
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Figurative Sculptures
Ceramic
21st Century and Contemporary British Modern Figurative Sculptures
Earthenware
2010s Italian Modern Figurative Sculptures
Blown Glass
2010s Italian Modern Figurative Sculptures
Resin
2010s Italian Modern Figurative Sculptures
Resin
2010s Italian Modern Figurative Sculptures
Fiberglass
1970s French Vintage Modern Figurative Sculptures
Bronze
2010s Mexican Modern Figurative Sculptures
Hardwood
2010s Italian Modern Figurative Sculptures
Resin
2010s Italian Modern Figurative Sculptures
Fiberglass
2010s Italian Modern Figurative Sculptures
Aluminum
2010s Italian Modern Figurative Sculptures
Resin
2010s Italian Modern Figurative Sculptures
Aluminum
2010s Italian Modern Figurative Sculptures
Fiberglass
21st Century and Contemporary Modern Figurative Sculptures
Gold Plate
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Figurative Sculptures
Acrylic
2010s Italian Modern Figurative Sculptures
Resin
21st Century and Contemporary French Modern Figurative Sculptures
Resin
2010s Italian Modern Figurative Sculptures
Fiberglass
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Figurative Sculptures
Brass
1990s Spanish Modern Figurative Sculptures
Porcelain
Late 20th Century Zimbabwean Modern Figurative Sculptures
Stone
2010s Indonesian Modern Figurative Sculptures
Wood
1980s Italian Vintage Modern Figurative Sculptures
Ceramic
Mid-20th Century Italian Modern Figurative Sculptures
Glass
1970s French Vintage Modern Figurative Sculptures
Ceramic
2010s Italian Modern Figurative Sculptures
Aluminum
2010s German Modern Figurative Sculptures
Metal
Late 20th Century American Modern Figurative Sculptures
Composition, Marble, Brass
Early 2000s Spanish Modern Figurative Sculptures
Bronze
1980s Italian Vintage Modern Figurative Sculptures
Murano Glass
Early 2000s American Modern Figurative Sculptures
Metal
2010s Belgian Modern Figurative Sculptures
Oak
20th Century American Modern Figurative Sculptures
Bronze
2010s Mexican Modern Figurative Sculptures
Clay
Early 20th Century Danish Modern Figurative Sculptures
Bronze
20th Century Belarusian Modern Figurative Sculptures
Bronze
2010s Mexican Modern Figurative Sculptures
Clay
1980s American Vintage Modern Figurative Sculptures
Marble
2010s Philippine Modern Figurative Sculptures
Aluminum
21st Century and Contemporary Czech Modern Figurative Sculptures
Ceramic
2010s German Modern Figurative Sculptures
Rubber
1970s Canadian Vintage Modern Figurative Sculptures
Copper
Mid-20th Century American Modern Figurative Sculptures
Plaster
2010s American Modern Figurative Sculptures
Other
2010s German Modern Figurative Sculptures
Bronze
2010s German Modern Figurative Sculptures
Natural Fiber
2010s Belgian Modern Figurative Sculptures
Fiberglass
20th Century American Modern Figurative Sculptures
Porcelain
2010s Colombian Modern Figurative Sculptures
Natural Fiber
Mid-20th Century Korean Modern Figurative Sculptures
Brass
2010s German Modern Figurative Sculptures
Natural Fiber
Early 2000s Hong Kong Modern Figurative Sculptures
Rubber, Plastic
20th Century European Modern Figurative Sculptures
Marble, Carrara Marble
21st Century and Contemporary Modern Figurative Sculptures
Earthenware