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 The modernists rejected both natural and historical references and relied primarily on industrial materials such as metal, glass, plywood, and, later, plastics.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.
1990s French Modern Figurative Sculptures
Enamel
1990s American Modern Figurative Sculptures
Aluminum
1990s Italian Modern Figurative Sculptures
Aluminum
1990s American Modern Figurative Sculptures
Marble
1990s French Modern Figurative Sculptures
Bronze
1990s French Modern Figurative Sculptures
Enamel
1990s French Modern Figurative Sculptures
Enamel
1990s Modern Figurative Sculptures
Bronze
1990s American Modern Figurative Sculptures
Bronze
1990s French Modern Figurative Sculptures
Bronze
1990s Italian Modern Figurative Sculptures
Wood
1990s French Modern Figurative Sculptures
Aluminum, Steel
1990s Italian Modern Figurative Sculptures
Plaster
1990s American Modern Figurative Sculptures
Metal
1990s American Modern Figurative Sculptures
Metal
1990s Unknown Modern Figurative Sculptures
Metal
1990s Polish Modern Figurative Sculptures
Wood
1990s American Modern Figurative Sculptures
Marble
1990s Spanish Modern Figurative Sculptures
Porcelain
1990s Spanish Modern Figurative Sculptures
Porcelain
1990s Modern Figurative Sculptures
Porcelain
1990s Spanish Modern Figurative Sculptures
Porcelain
1990s Italian Modern Figurative Sculptures
Travertine, Iron
1990s American Modern Figurative Sculptures
Marble
1990s American Modern Figurative Sculptures
Steel
1990s Israeli Modern Figurative Sculptures
Porcelain
1990s French Modern Figurative Sculptures
Aluminum, Cut Steel
1990s Italian Modern Figurative Sculptures
Cut Glass, Murano Glass, Blown Glass, Art Glass, Glass
1990s American Modern Figurative Sculptures
Lucite, Acrylic
1990s Japanese Modern Figurative Sculptures
Wood
1990s Modern Figurative Sculptures
Iron
1990s American Modern Figurative Sculptures
Wood
1990s American Modern Figurative Sculptures
Lucite
1990s American Modern Figurative Sculptures
Lucite
1990s Dutch Modern Figurative Sculptures
Steel
1990s Modern Figurative Sculptures
Bronze
1990s Italian Modern Figurative Sculptures
Art Glass, Murano Glass, Cut Glass, Blown Glass, Glass
1990s American Modern Figurative Sculptures
Steel
1990s Mexican Modern Figurative Sculptures
Wood
1990s Hungarian Modern Figurative Sculptures
Porcelain
1990s American Modern Figurative Sculptures
Ceramic
1990s Italian Modern Figurative Sculptures
Plexiglass
1990s American Modern Figurative Sculptures
Ceramic, Plaster
1990s American Modern Figurative Sculptures
Ceramic
1990s Italian Modern Figurative Sculptures
Blown Glass, Murano Glass, Cut Glass, Art Glass, Glass
1990s American Modern Figurative Sculptures
Steel
1990s Modern Figurative Sculptures
Hardwood
1990s Spanish Modern Figurative Sculptures
Plaster
1990s French Modern Figurative Sculptures
Wood
1990s American Modern Figurative Sculptures
Bronze
1990s European Modern Figurative Sculptures
Metal
1990s American Modern Figurative Sculptures
Marble, Bronze, Chrome
1990s Modern Figurative Sculptures
1990s American Modern Figurative Sculptures
Bronze
1990s Modern Figurative Sculptures
Aluminum
1990s Italian Modern Figurative Sculptures
Murano Glass, Art Glass
1990s Italian Modern Figurative Sculptures
Art Glass, Murano Glass