International Style Decorative Objects
The International Style, a modernist movement within architecture and furniture design that was given its name by American architect Philip Johnson and historian Henry-Russell Hitchcock, was born during the 1920s and ’30s. It gained steam initially in Europe and then in the United States as a response to the first World War. Building projects associated with the movement, as well as vintage International Style chairs, tables and other furnishings, are minimal and pared back.
Pioneers of the International Style — architect Walter Gropius and his Bauhaus colleagues Ludwig Mies van der Rohe and Marcel Breuer, De Stijl advocate and Dutch architect J.J.P. Oud and visionary designer Le Corbusier — stripped away decorative elements and placed considerable value on functionality and clean lines, integrating the use of industrial materials like steel, concrete and large sheets of glass in their work. Quite aptly, this mode of design and architectural style coincided with an era now known as the Machine Age and became a global symbol of modernism. The primary motive of its practitioners was to address the changing needs of a rapidly industrializing society, especially the demand for office complexes and apartments in large cities, through economical, technologically advanced, yet aesthetically pleasing designs for furniture and buildings.
“Space and light and order. Those are the things that men need just as much as they need bread or a place to sleep,” said Le Corbusier of the philosophy behind his practical modernist architecture.
The International Style’s designers and architects were inspired by the advantages afforded them by the era’s new technology and industrial machinery as well as state-of-the-art materials. Le Corbusier was fond of framing his buildings in steel but reinforced concrete made far more economic sense. He is probably most admired for the iconic private homes and commercial buildings that he designed or codesigned with his cousin Pierre Jeanneret, which are spread across the world, from New York City to Paris to Chandigarh, India. Today, Breuer’s Wassily Lounge chair; the elegant LC series created by Le Corbusier, Jeanneret and Charlotte Perriand; and Mies van der Rohe’s Barcelona chair, crafted with his romantic partner, designer Lilly Reich, are emblems of progressive modernist design and all make prominent use of tubular steel. Vintage originals are the prized cornerstone of collections.
“The International Style is probably the first fundamentally original and widely distributed style since the Gothic,” posited Johnson in the book that accompanied “Modern Architecture: International Exhibition,” an architectural show he cocurated with Hitchcock that featured the work of Frank Lloyd Wright, Le Corbusier, Richard Neutra and others. While the term “International Style” had previously been circulating in Europe, when the show opened at the Museum of Modern Art in 1932, it yielded a much broader application of this important style of design.
Find International Style furniture on 1stDibs.
1930s French Vintage International Style Decorative Objects
Porcelain
1950s Italian Vintage International Style Decorative Objects
Murano Glass
1950s Italian Vintage International Style Decorative Objects
Murano Glass
1950s Italian Vintage International Style Decorative Objects
Murano Glass
1950s Italian Vintage International Style Decorative Objects
Murano Glass
Early 1900s Czech Antique International Style Decorative Objects
Murano Glass
1950s Italian Vintage International Style Decorative Objects
Murano Glass
1950s Italian Vintage International Style Decorative Objects
Murano Glass
1950s Italian Vintage International Style Decorative Objects
Murano Glass
1950s European Vintage International Style Decorative Objects
Murano Glass
1960s French Vintage International Style Decorative Objects
Other
1950s Italian Vintage International Style Decorative Objects
Murano Glass
1950s Italian Vintage International Style Decorative Objects
Murano Glass
1950s Italian Vintage International Style Decorative Objects
Murano Glass
Late 20th Century Italian International Style Decorative Objects
Brass
2010s French International Style Decorative Objects
Bronze
1950s Italian Vintage International Style Decorative Objects
Murano Glass
1920s Austrian Vintage International Style Decorative Objects
Bronze
Early 20th Century Indian International Style Decorative Objects
Brass
1970s Italian Vintage International Style Decorative Objects
Sterling Silver, Enamel
1980s Italian Vintage International Style Decorative Objects
Leather
2010s Brazilian International Style Decorative Objects
Brass, Steel
1970s Italian Vintage International Style Decorative Objects
Murano Glass
1950s Italian Vintage International Style Decorative Objects
Murano Glass
1970s Italian Vintage International Style Decorative Objects
Murano Glass
2010s Brazilian International Style Decorative Objects
Brass, Stainless Steel, Steel
2010s Brazilian International Style Decorative Objects
Brass, Steel
1960s Italian Vintage International Style Decorative Objects
Murano Glass
1950s Italian Vintage International Style Decorative Objects
Murano Glass
1950s Italian Vintage International Style Decorative Objects
Murano Glass
Late 19th Century Swedish Antique International Style Decorative Objects
Brass
1950s Italian Vintage International Style Decorative Objects
Murano Glass
20th Century Canadian International Style Decorative Objects
Travertine, Bronze
1850s Italian Antique International Style Decorative Objects
Bronze
1950s French Vintage International Style Decorative Objects
Plaster
1950s Italian Vintage International Style Decorative Objects
Murano Glass
2010s Brazilian International Style Decorative Objects
Brass, Steel
1950s Italian Vintage International Style Decorative Objects
Murano Glass
Mid-20th Century Italian International Style Decorative Objects
Wood
1950s Italian Vintage International Style Decorative Objects
Murano Glass
1950s Italian Vintage International Style Decorative Objects
Murano Glass
1950s Italian Vintage International Style Decorative Objects
Murano Glass
1950s Italian Vintage International Style Decorative Objects
Murano Glass
1950s Italian Vintage International Style Decorative Objects
Murano Glass
1950s Italian Vintage International Style Decorative Objects
Murano Glass
1950s Italian Vintage International Style Decorative Objects
Murano Glass
1950s Italian Vintage International Style Decorative Objects
Murano Glass
16th Century Thai Antique International Style Decorative Objects
Bronze
1950s Italian Vintage International Style Decorative Objects
Murano Glass
1950s Italian Vintage International Style Decorative Objects
Murano Glass
1990s American International Style Decorative Objects
Art Glass
1950s Italian Vintage International Style Decorative Objects
Murano Glass
1950s Italian Vintage International Style Decorative Objects
Murano Glass
1950s Italian Vintage International Style Decorative Objects
Murano Glass
1950s Italian Vintage International Style Decorative Objects
Murano Glass
1970s Brazilian Vintage International Style Decorative Objects
Steel
1950s Italian Vintage International Style Decorative Objects
Porcelain
1950s Brazilian Vintage International Style Decorative Objects
Wood